Lion Head Mesa you're like a parasite, but you keep me alive

She woke at sundown, unknowingly. Overhead the stars were slipping from their places, slanting soft light over the palace.
There was weakness, and then there was this, plaguing Nazli now. She could lift her head; she could taste metal on her tongue from the medicines and foods that Tavina had fed to her. Still, Nazli was not all there.
In the corner of her eye she could see a figure leaning against the wall —