Agony.
I scream, tasting blood.
“I know, I know. I’m sorry,” says a woman’s voice.
A pinch, a needle enters my neck. Warmth melts the pain.
It’s hard to breathe, impossible to move. I can’t open my eyes. I hear rolling wheels, hooves on cobbles, a presence by my side.
“I—” I start coughing.
“Shush, don’t try to talk. You’re back in the butler,” says the woman in an urgent whisper, laying a hand on my arm. “It’s been fifteen minutes since Gold attacked you, and you’re being taken by carriage to the gatehouse to rest.”
“Who are—?” I croak.
“A friend. It doesn’t matter yet. Now, listen. I know you’re confused, tired, but this is important. There are rules to all of this. There’s no use trying to abandon your hosts the way you did. You get a full day in each of them, whether you want it or not. That’s from whenever they wake up until midnight. Understand?”
I’m dozing, struggling to stay awake.
“That’s why you’re back here,” she continues. “If one of your hosts falls asleep before midnight, you’ll jump back into the butler and carry on living this day. When the butler falls asleep, you’ll be returned. If the host slept past midnight, or if they died, you’ll jump into somebody new.”
I hear another voice. Rougher. From the front of the carriage.
“Gatehouse coming up.”
Her hand touches my forehead.
“Good luck to you.”
Too tired to hold on, I slip back into the dark.