Chapter 141 : Deja Vu
*Jared*
Eliza was gone too long. I tracked her down to the bathroom and found her lying on the floor, moaning.
“Eliza!” I scooped her into my arms and shook her gently.
She groaned and her head lolled to the side.
“Eliza? Wake up, my love.” I patted her face gently.
She just groaned and turned in my arms.
Panic rose in my chest. What happened to her?
There was a yellow powder all over her face and shirt. This wasn’t good. She had a foreign substance on her and
was stuck in some unconscious state.
It reminded me too much of how Lena had been when she was poisoned.
I needed to get Eliza to the White Queen.
I got her into the back of the car. “We need to get to King Xander and Queen Lena right now, double time!”
The driver peeled away from the curb and sped through the streets.
Lena and Xander weren’t that far. They were staying in Winter Forest. The driver pulled up in front of their hotel. I
tossed him a tip and carried Eliza inside. I went straight for the front desk.
“I need to see Queen Lena, right now,” I demanded.
“Sir… is she alright….” the concierge pointed to Eliza.
“No! She’s the queen’s cousin and I need to get her to Queen Lena immediately!”
“Okay, yes, of course.”
The concierge made a call and a few moments later, Xander appeared in the elevator. He took me in and looked at
Eliza.
“Goddess! Let’s go, now.” He waved me into the elevator. “The concierge said it was important but….”
“More like an emergency!”
“You could have called me directly,” Xander said, frowning slightly.
“Yeah, next time my wife ends up unconscious, I’ll call first.”
Xander pursed his lips. “I just meant….”
I sighed and nodded. “I know what you meant. Thanks.”
The elevator doors opened to the top-floor penthouse and Xander let us in. I brought Eliza to the bedroom and laid
her on the bed.
Lena rushed right over and put a hand on Eliza’s forehead. She seemed to be reading Eliza’s energy.
“What happened?” Lena asked.
I shrugged. “I’m not sure… we were out to lunch and she went to the bathroom. I found her like this when she
didn’t come back….”
“You didn’t inhale any of this, did you?” Lena pointed to the powder on Eliza’s face and shirt.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“No. I mean… I don’t think so.”
“If you haven’t started hallucinating, you’re probably fine.”
“Hallucinating?” I glanced at Xander.
“The yellow powder is a very powerful hallucinogenic, mind-altering substance. I’ve had… some experience with it.”
“The baby? Is the baby okay?” I asked frantically. I was about ready to jump out of my skin as Lena ran her hands
over Eliza.
I didn’t know what she was doing, but apparently, she was figuring something out.
She held her hands over Eliza’s stomach and hummed softly. After a moment, she opened her eyes and nodded.
“The baby is fine. As for what it’s doing to Eliza….” She brought her hand back to Eliza’s forehead and hummed
more.
I paced back and forth next to the bed. Any time Eliza made a sound, I looked at her, holding my breath and hoping
she’d open her eyes.
Xander came back into the room and handed me a mug of warm, steaming tea.
“It’ll take the edge off. We need you calm and clear.”
I nodded and gulped the tea down in one big gulp. Almost immediately, a state of heavy relaxation settled over me.
I stopped pacing and sat on the bed beside Eliza. I took her hand in mine and looked at Lena.
“What’s going on?”
Lena frowned and stepped away from the bed. “From what I can tell, Eliza is in some kind of dream state.”
“Like you were?” I asked, raising my eyes to hers.
“I doubt it. I drank my poison. Eliza clearly inhaled this. Besides, the poison I drank was meant to keep me in a
suspended state that would lead to my death. The goal here wasn’t to kill Eliza.”
Lena glanced at Xander. I saw the look they shared but I kept my focus on Eliza. I squeezed her hand, silently
begging her to come back to me.
My heart wasn’t racing anymore but I was still worried about her and the baby.
“What was the goal?” I asked, keeping my eyes on Eliza.
Lena sighed. “I’m not sure. It is rare that hallucinogenic substances are used for killing. More than likely, it is being
used to show Eliza something.”
“Something like what?” I asked, my voice hitching. “You said it was mind-altering.”
“Jared, the best thing we can do right now is wake Eliza up and hopefully, the substance hasn’t had a chance to fully
do what it was meant to do.”
I nodded. “Yeah, can you wake her?”
“I can try. But I’m going to need a few things. Xander…?” She handed the king a small list.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He nodded and kissed Lena on the cheek before leaving.
“What are you going to give her?”
“I’ll make a potion, similar to the one that Rosalie made for me. But this one will be altered to match the substance
Eliza was given.”
I nodded and squeezed Eliza’s hand.
She didn’t respond to me at all. It was like she couldn’t feel my touch, even though she was just in some dream
state.
“We should clean her up. That powder is still potent.”
Lena left for a moment and returned with a bowl of water and a cloth. I took them from her.
“I can do it.”
She nodded and stepped back.
I wrung the cloth out and carefully wiped the yellow powder off of Eliza’s face. I carefully wiped out her eyes,
around her nose and mouth, and down her neck.
“Can we get her some clean clothes?” I asked.
“Of course.”
Lena ducked out of the room for a moment and came back with some fresh clothes. She left again, respectfully
allowing me to take care of my wife.
I changed Eliza’s clothes and made sure to wipe away any traces of the yellow powder still on her skin.
Once I had her dressed again, I went out of the bedroom and found Lena making a potion and Xander hovering
nearby.
They told me where to put the cloth and dirty clothes and then I went back to Eliza. I took her hand and stroked her
fingers.
“Soon, Eliza. You’ll be awake again soon.”
Lena and Xander returned and Lena had a mug of some steaming liquid in her hands. She handed me the mug.
I cupped the back of Eliza’s head and angled her head up. I pressed the mug to her lips and tipped it, causing the
liquid to pour into her mouth.
Nothing happened for a moment and then Eliza coughed and sputtered, blinking her eyes furiously.
I jumped back as she pitched forward, coughing and pounding her chest.
Lena went to her side and rubbed her back.
“That’s it Eliza, get it all out. You’re back with us now. You’re safe.”
Eliza’s coughing eased and she lifted her eyes. I saw her look at Lena and Xander. She smiled brightly.
“Thank you! I don’t know what happened. You two… you saved me.”
“Uhh… Eliza….” I waved my hand, catching her attention.
She turned to me and her face paled. She leaned back toward Lena.
My heart pounded suddenly when I saw how she recoiled from me. Her eyes shone with betrayal and… terror. She
wrapped her arms around her protectively, like she thought I’d hurt the baby.
“What are you doing here?” Her voice was almost fearful.
I creased my brow. “What do you mean? You were showing me the Light Realm, don’t you remember?”
She shook her head and looked at her cousin. “What is he doing here?”
“Eliza, he came here for you, to be with you and the baby,” Lena explained.
“No.” Eliza shook her head and looked at me again. “No. It’s too late. You need to leave, now!”
“Eliza… what happened… you were given a powerful substance. What did it do?” I reached out to her and she
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmrecoiled further. I didn’t want to scare her, so I stepped back.
What was going on?
“Leave! I don’t want anything to do with you!” Eliza’s voice was shrill and hysterical.
I stared at Eliza for a moment and then looked at Xander and Lena. They both shrugged.
“Eliza, Jared is the one who saved you. He found you and brought you to me for help.”
“I love you Eliza, that’s–”
“No! Get out! Get out! I don’t even want to look at you!”
Eliza screamed and kicked at the comforter.
Xander grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the room.
“What the hell?” I gasped.
“Jared, I know this isn’t easy, but she’s pregnant and can’t get worked up like that. I think it’s best for Eliza and the
baby if you wait down in the lobby until we can sort this out.”
I looked back at the door. I could still hear Eliza sobbing, completely distraught.
What had she seen in the dream state?
“I agree.” I nodded.
I headed out of the penthouse and walked down the hotel stairs. It was not easy to leave Eliza alone but Xander was
right, the baby was at risk if she got too worked up.
My heart clenched in my chest. I couldn’t believe how upset she got from seeing me. She was like a completely
different person.
Was that even possible? Lena did say that the substance had mind altering abilities. Had someone changed Eliza’s
mind?
Xander and Lena could calm her down. They’d figure out what was going on. Clearly, she didn’t have a problem
with them, just me.
Sighing, I shook my head. There were a few other people in the stairwell, jostling around.
A petite woman came up the stairs holding something in her arms. She clutched it protectively to her chest.
The woman was jostled by a couple of burly men rushing down the stairs.
She lost her footing and cried out as she tipped backward.
I sprang to action, vaulting down the stairs and catching her. I put my arms around her and helped her upright.
“There you go. Are you alright?” I asked, setting her on her feet again.
“Oh, thank you, so much.” She lifted her head and smiled wickedly at me. “Oh, yes. Thank you!”
She lifted the item in her arms, a bowl filled with yellow powder.
I released her quickly and jumped back.
Too late….
She blew on the bowl and yellow powder filled my eyes, nose, and mouth.
The last thing I heard was her laughter as I tumbled into darkness.