Chapter 112
Additional Treatment
Mother went to Lilith's room.
I saw the tray in her hands, the glass of water, the small dish holding Dr. Zam's pills. Beside them lay the linen-wrapped poultice. My poultice. It looked small and faintly primitive against the polished lacquered wood, like a relic from a dirtier, more honest world.
Her back was to me, rigid beneath her ceremony-best silk. I watched her shoulders lift as she took a steadying breath before turning the knob and stepping inside.
The door didn't latch.
I should have gone to my room. I should have washed the yellow stains from my hands and gone downstairs, smiled when spoken to, played my part. But my feet wouldn't move. I was stuck there, held in place by something tight and sharp in my chest.
This was the moment.
I needed to know what Lilith would do.
Would she use it?
Or would she turn her face away and let it cool, untouched, until it meant nothing?
