Hikari felt awful, hot and horrible. She preferred the heat usually, but this was much too much. She hardly felt it as Asa shook her awake to cut her shoulder open a second time and apply medicine to the wound. Whatever this was from this bite, Hikari had a shuddering feeling that the medicine was not working. She could tell the room was cold, but it helped her none. She felt tired, but unable to stay asleep beyond dozing.

She heard the noise of heavy footsteps stumble into the room. "Is she alright?" a loud, booming voice asked. She felt a heavy weight sit on the bed next to her and pull her hand over to it. She squeezed the hand feebly. "Hikari?" the booming voice asked. "Is she any better?" the voice asked louder. "She doesn't look a whole lot better."

Asa answered, "my prince, we've kept giving her medicine, but it doesn't seem to be working at all. Our best course of action now is to keep the fever down and let her sweat it out."

"That's it? That's the best you can do?" the prince's voice accused. "Mother said you were one of the best healers in the nation."

Asa answered him, but Hikari could not quite catch her words, slipping back into another hot and stuffy doze. She wanted to see Mother and Father again... She could have sworn she held the buffeting of wind behind her. Sensed, almost heard, something call to her, wanting her to turn around.

She woke up, feeling the sharpest pain in her shoulder. She blinked her eyes open, whimpering when she would rather have screamed. Too tired to scream. She grabbed for her right shoulder, but felt a tight grip hold her left hand back.

"Don't let her rip them out!" a small voice said next to her. Maiha. That was Maiha's voice. How was Maiha here?

Hikari felt less hotter, but as the heat dissipated, the pain in her shoulder and neck increased. She felt more lucid. She tried again to pull her left hand to her right shoulder. She felt a strong grip hold fast to her left hand, pulling it to their chest. She blinked her eyes open, seeing the prince was holding her left hand. She tried to yank her hand from him, but could not. She tried to use her right hand, but saw Maiha was laying down on top of her forearm, refusing to let use her right hand.

Hikari whimpered, biting back a scream. She pulled for her arms, but was too weak to get free from either one of them. She tried to kick and squirm her way free, but it did not work. "Please, please," she begged. She felt cooler now, almost chilled, but the pain in her shoulder increased. "Mother," she called for.

"I'm here, I'm right here," Mother said, wiggling her way onto the left side of the head of the bed next to Hikari's head. Her gentle hands came around her head, turning her to look at her. "I'm here," she soothed.

The moving her head away from her right shoulder made Hikari twinge, the pain ever increasing. "What is it?" she asked.

"Medicine from Maiha. It's almost finished. It's working," Mother soothed.

Hikari scrunched up her face, unsure if she could take much more of the pain. She almost gave in when something weird tickle against her neck and the pain stop all of a sudden. She tried to look down at them, but could not move her head for Mother's hands. Maiha reached up to her, pulling something from her shoulder, seeing the girl hold up three ordinary looking white flowers in her hand, but with red stained roots. She took the flowers away. Mother let Hikari's face go, but Prince Takashi held tight to her left hand. Asa maneuvered over to her right shoulder, rub something against it, and healed the pin prick sized wounds the roots left on her.

"What are those? What happened?" she asked tiredly. She sat up, Mother slipping almost off the bed to make room for her. Her shoulder and neck felt better, loads better. A bit sore and a bit tight yet, but the pain was gone. She felt cold, but a comfortable cold, like nothing had been wrong with her at all.

Maiha explained it all to her. The wolf demon's bite was an alpha bite, so nothing Asa or Brother had given her was going to help her. Maiha gave her extractor seeds, drawing out the poison from the bite. She also told her about how Mother came and rescued her, and Father as well. The prince took his turn explaining about the search for her, her grandfather, rooting out the wolf demons.

"There was also a message from the Great Hawk Spirit Nishi kept from us," Father added in. Hikari looked up at Mother, and then back over to Father.

"What message?" she asked, croaking.

Mother shifted uncomfortably. "You should have wed Prince Takashi. When he first got here. Selflessly."

Hikari stiffened at that. "What?" She pulled her hand away from the prince, unsure how to react to that. "When?"

"When she first got the messages," Father continued.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Hikari asked Mother incredulously. She felt ready to shove Mother away from her.

Father cut her off. "She regrets it. She won't do it again. Go easy on her." Mother looked somber at that. "Any more messages she gets will be shared fully," he added in a warning tone. Hikari also noticed Asa looking down hoard on Mother.

"She won't get anymore messages," Brother said knowingly. Hikari noticed all eyes in the room turned to him. His eyes were shifty, but Hikari barely caught that look.

Mother brought her hands around her middle. "I imagine I won't be trusted with them anymore," she resigned. She looked over at Hikari, tears in her eyes. "Hikari, I'm so sorry," she apologized.

Hikari nodded, launching herself over and into Mother's arms, clinging to her like a small child.