“My love, what is it?”
Baylor’s eyes widened as he listened, then he covered his face with his hands and rubbed his forehead. The others exchanged worried looks.
“Oh no,” he whispered, and fell into a chair. He continued to rub his face. “Yes, tell Lance to contact me as soon as he has a moment. I understand he must be busy. I will alert everyone here…yes, of course. It will be good for Trinee to tell her.” He glanced at Alina. “Please be careful, Janet.” His face scrunched up. “I love you, too.”
He handed the phone to Alina. “It’s Trinee.”
Alina snatched the phone. “Trin? Is everything okay?”
“Yes, we’re fine, at least for now. But there’s something I need to tell you.” She paused. “Zaiden’s here. In Stormport.”
Alina almost dropped the phone. By the sound of Trinee’s voice, this wasn’t a good thing. “Zaiden?” she whispered. “Is he insane?”
“No, you can stop worrying about that,” Trinee rushed.
Alina closed her eyes and placed her hand over her heart. “But how did he escape?”
“No one knows yet.” Trinee cleared her throat. “He’s very ill, Alina.”
“Ill?”
“Yes. With a virus no one has seen before. The doctors are baffled. They suspect Sampson sent it in.”
Alina covered her mouth. “Are you certain?”
“Yes. And it’s spreading like crazy. There’s another man who came with him from Pria, named Crome. He’s infected as well.”
“Crome!” Alina gasped, and Rex started at the name. Baylor was quietly sharing the news.
Trinee continued. “Any who have come in contact with them have fallen ill, and it kills fast. Already three nurses have died, and Zaiden and Crome arrived only a few hours ago. Lance is certain this is an attack from Sampson. You know how valuable Stormport is to Carthem. We’ve completely shut down.”
“How many are sick?”
“Last we counted, twenty-nine. We can’t leave our homes. Once someone is sick, there’s nothing anyone can do. No one can get near them. We have to sit back and hope their bodies are strong enough to pull through.” Trinee broke into sobs. “It’s scary, Lina. I wish Dad was with us, but I know you need him more right now.”
Tears came to Alina’s eyes. “Thank you for letting him help us.”
Trinee steadied her breath. “You’re welcome.”
“Can I ask you one more thing?”
“Of course.”
“How bad is Zaiden? Has he talked to anyone?”
“Well,” Trinee giggled through her tears. “It could be a rumor, but I heard he’s been calling for you since he got here. He’s delirious, of course, which makes his words more sincere!”
Alina’s heart jumped. “I wish I was there. I could take care of him and everyone who’s sick.”
“There you go again, wanting to save the world,” Trinee teased.
“I can’t help it. Immortality does that to a person.” Alina managed to laugh. “Stay safe, Trin.”
“You too.”
“Bye.”
Alina hung up the phone. Baylor turned to her.
“Stormport is being quarantined,” he said. “No one can go in; no one can leave.”
“Why can’t they leave? They should go before they get infected!” protested Rex.
“Like many diseases, people are contagious before they have symptoms,” Baylor explained. “We can’t afford to have this spread outside of Stormport. Lance is worried it will wipe out all of Carthem—in fact, he believes that’s Sampson’s intention. He knows there’s a rebellion growing, and Lance is leading it—Sampson’s been trying to kill Lance for years. Losing him would be a crushing blow.” Baylor rubbed his eyebrows. “We need to get to Jaden right away. A quarantine could really complicate our plans. We must leave tomorrow.”
Alina’s heart dropped. Tomorrow! She wasn’t prepared for this. Stormport called for her now, not Jaden! She could fly there at full speed, and if Zaiden was calling for her from his deathbed, she could save him. But it would mean abandoning the mission when so many counted on her.
“Can we talk to Lance before we go?” Jade asked.
“No, he’s busy working with the medical team to find a cure,” Baylor said. “We must manage without his advice for now. Rex, can you travel tomorrow, or would you rather stay here?”
“Stay here!” Rex exclaimed. “You think I’d let you go without me? I’m coming. I’ll be fine.”
Rex did look better. His face was scarred, but that would fade in time. His leg needed a few more weeks in the cast, but as long as they had the car, that wouldn’t matter.
“Pack up tonight, then, all of you. We must get off early, while Gerard’s men are sleeping. I don’t know where they are, but any head start will give us an advantage.”
Jade and Alina left the parlor and headed toward the stairs. As they passed the front door, they heard a knock.
Oliver grinned through the window on the door. “Oh—I forgot!” Alina said. “We planned to work at the granary this evening. Do you think I should still go?”
“Of course,” Jade said. “You have all night to pack, remember?”
Alina sighed. “I don’t feel like going, actually. I’ll talk to him.”
She opened the door. “Hey, Lina! Ready to go?” Oliver asked. His smile vanished. “What’s wrong?”
She stepped outside. “We’ve had some bad news.” She glanced up the street at Mayor Nelson and Maxwell, who were marching toward his home. “Here they come to speak to Baylor. There’s an emergency in Stormport.”
“What’s going on?” Oliver asked. The men came inside the gate and nodded, then went into the house, their eyes heavy with worry.
“They’ve had an outbreak of a serious illness. Sampson smuggled a virus in. Many people are dying, so the city is under quarantine.”
Oliver went pale. “How was it smuggled in?”
“Two people brought it.”
“From Pria?”
“Yes.”
“That’s awful. You must be worried for your friends there. Are any of them sick?”
“Yes. I know both of the boys who brought in the disease. One of them was the reason I escaped Pria in the first place.”
“Do you think Millflower will be quarantined?”
“Yes, most likely.”
Oliver released a long breath. “Well, I’m not going to lie, I’m happy to hear that. I was dreading the day you
