I Raised the Demon Queen (Now She Won't Leave Me Alone)

Elias wasn't invincible. He just pretended well.

At least until he collapsed face-first into a half-stirred pot of cabbage stew with a dull splorp.

Rhea blinked, spoon in hand. "Did you just die?"

No response. Just the faint hiss of vegetables gently boiling beside his cheek.

"Okay," she said, standing on a stool and poking his forehead. "You either died mid-sentence or entered an extremely unimpressive coma."

Still no response.

She leaned in, squinting suspiciously. "Are you faking this to get out of helping with math?"

Then she noticed the fever. The kind that made skin feel like overcooked bread and breath come in weak, hot gasps.

Rhea's eyes widened.

"Elias?"

The healer lived a mile out of town and charged two silvers just to glance at someone.