Sai it again...

Mira’s lips moved faintly. Her throat rasped, dry as stone, and one fragile word tumbled free—so faint it was nearly lost under the trickle of the fountain.

Eira leaned in, her breath held. “Mira? What was that? Say it again…”

But before Mira could try, Sai put a firm hand on Eira’s shoulder, pulling her back. His voice was low, steady, final.

“Don’t. We don’t need to hear it right now.”

Eira blinked at him, confused. “But what if she’s trying to tell us something important?”

Sai’s eyes were sharp, unyielding. “If it was important, it’ll come back later. Right now, what we need is to move. Get her somewhere safe. Dex is expecting us, and this…” he gestured down at Mira’s pale, trembling body, “…this is bigger than just exhaustion.”

Corvin let out a harsh laugh, standing and flexing his bitten arm. “Bigger? You mean like swinging knives at her own friends bigger? Because yeah, I’d say that qualifies.”

Eira opened her mouth to protest again, but Sai was already standing. He pulled her up by the elbow gently.

“We’re wasting time. Let’s go.”

Corvin grunted, scooping Mira up once more. “Fine. But if she wakes up swinging again, you’re all on your own this time.”

They moved quickly through the winding streets, the village shifting around them. The sun had dipped lower, throwing long shadows between the timber-framed houses. Doors were shutting, merchants packing away their stalls, voices hushed as night approached. Every corner seemed to press in tighter, every glance from a villager heavier with suspicion.

Sai’s pace quickened. “This way. The inn’s close.”

They rounded a corner—and stopped.

Dex stood waiting outside the inn’s door, cloaked and hooded, his face hidden in shadow. He leaned against the stone wall casually, but the way his head lifted told them he’d spotted them from halfway down the street.

Corvin let out a relieved, sarcastic huff. “Oh, great. The mysterious man in a hood. Really subtle.”

Dex ignored the jab. His gaze fell on Mira immediately, her limp body in Corvin’s arms, and his jaw tightened beneath the hood.

“Inside. Quickly.”

But Sai shook his head. “No. Not here. Too many eyes.”

Dex glanced at him for half a second, then gave a single nod. Without another word, he turned and led them away from the inn, cutting across the street toward a narrow shop with shuttered windows and an iron sign shaped like a pestle and mortar. He pushed open the door, the faint chime of a bell ringing overhead, and motioned them inside.

The shop smelled of dried herbs and smoke. Shelves sagged under bundles of leaves, jars of strange powders, and small bottles filled with murky liquid. A single oil lamp burned low on the counter, giving the whole place a dim golden haze.

Dex locked the door behind them. “Set her down.”

Corvin carried Mira to a cleared worktable, lowering her gently. She stirred faintly but didn’t wake. Eira hovered close, wringing her hands. Sai glanced at the shelves, recognizing nothing, but hoping Dex knew what to do.

“Explain,” Dex said curtly.

Sai did. Quickly. From Mira lashing out in the alley, to the knife, to Shadow One’s taunting presence. He left nothing out.

Dex listened in silence, his hood casting his face in shadow, but his hands curled into fists as the story went on. When Sai finished, he moved immediately, striding toward the shelves with deliberate steps. His hands worked quickly, pulling jars and bundles, muttering under his breath.

Corvin frowned. “And this is supposed to help? A couple leaves and weeds?”

Dex shot him a glare sharp enough to silence him. Then he spoke, his voice low, clipped.

“She’s been poisoned.”

Eira gasped. “What?!”

Sai’s brows furrowed. “Poisoned? By who?”

Dex slammed a jar onto the counter. The lid rattled.

“Gladius. He dosed her at some point. Not enough to kill—not yet. Just enough to weaken, confuse, and twist her senses. It’s a coward’s weapon.”

Corvin’s face darkened. “You’re telling me all that—her trying to stab us, seeing monsters—that wasn’t her? That was him?”

Dex began grinding herbs into a fine powder, his movements precise. “Yes. The drug is designed to manipulate sight. Hallucinations, phantoms in the dark, shadows that don’t belong. You can’t fight what you can’t see clearly. That’s why it’s effective—it forces the victim to fight enemies that aren’t real, while ignoring the ones that are.”

Eira pressed a trembling hand to her mouth. “That’s why she looked at us like we weren’t even there…”

Dex gave a single, grim nod. “To her, you weren’t.”

The weight of that hung heavy. Corvin swore under his breath, pacing. Sai stepped closer to the table, his jaw set.

“Can you cure it?”

Dex didn’t answer immediately. He sprinkled the powder into a small clay bowl, added water from a jug, and stirred until it thickened into a green paste. Only then did he speak.

“It isn’t a permanent poison. It will fade eventually, but not without cost. If untreated, her mind could fracture under the hallucinations, her body wasting as exhaustion drags her down. She’d die fighting ghosts.”

“So treat it,” Sai said firmly.

Dex turned, holding up the bowl. “This will help. It won’t erase the poison completely, but it will weaken it—give her clarity, stop the visions long enough for her to recover.”

He moved to Mira, kneeling beside her, and carefully lifted her head. Her eyes fluttered weakly, still locked in whatever dream plagued her. Dex pressed the mixture to her lips, coaxing it down. She coughed once, then swallowed, her body twitching as if rejecting it. Slowly, her breathing evened out again.

Eira knelt at her side, brushing her hair back. “She’ll be okay?”

“If she rests,” Dex replied.

Corvin leaned against the wall, his face still taut with frustration. “Rest. Great. So while she’s napping, the rest of us just twiddle our thumbs, waiting for another assassin to stroll out of the shadows?”

Dex stood, dusting off his hands. His hood still hid his eyes, but his voice was steel.

“You’ll do what I tell you. For now, she stays inside, under watch. Once she wakes, you’ll see for yourselves the poison is fading.” as he finished his words he threw his cloak over her making it possible to carry her thru the inn and up to her and Eiras room without getting bombarded with questions by the owner, the fact that Dex payed a little more then needed clearly helped as well.

Sai exhaled, tension the bleeding from his nose had stopped . His gaze flicked toward one of the beds in the the room. Without hesitation, he walked over and dropped onto it face-first, boots still on.

“Finally. A bed.” His muffled voice came through the blanket. “If Mira gets one, so do I.”

Corvin snorted. “Seriously? We’re in the middle of a crisis and you’re already napping?”

Sai rolled onto his back, folding his arms behind his head.

“Call it… tactical resting.”

Eira gave a weak laugh despite herself, covering her mouth. Even Dex’s shoulders shook faintly before he forced the amusement down.

“Hey let me take part of this tactical resting,” Corvin said amused as he approached the bed Sai laid in. “No do not, you slept in a bed all night while i had the floor” Sai hissed as he held his arms up stopping Corvin.

Mira layed quietly on the second bed, her chest rising and falling steadily now, no longer caught in feverish thrashing. The shadows on her face seemed softer, less twisted.

Eira sank into a chair by her side, eyes heavy with worry but also relief.

“We’ll watch her. Until she wakes.”

Dex nodded. “Good. And when she does, she’ll need to hear the truth—about what Gladius did to her. Lies won’t protect her from what’s still in her blood.”

His words lingered in the room, heavier than the smell of herbs and smoke.