Page 63 of Dragon King’s Bullied Mate

The king is changing. The poison affected his judgment. Mikael almost admired the strategy if it had not been aimed directly at undermining him.

“We are done here,” Mikael said quietly. “You may leave.”

The advisors exchanged uncertain glances. “Sire—”

“Now.”

They obeyed immediately and headed toward the door. Mikael snapped his fingers to get their attention before they left. “And I would advise you to spend less time on someone trying to start trouble and more time on the fact that there is immediate trouble within these castle walls.”

After they left, he remained standing there for several long minutes wrestling with the growing certainty that nowhere was truly safe anymore. A sharp knock interrupted him.

Before Mikael could answer, another guard entered quickly. “Your Majesty, King Sven of Stagholt requests immediate communication via video.”

Mikael frowned and accepted the laptop from the guard. He waited until he was alone before he sat down and accepted the call.

King Sven appeared on screen looking exhausted with dark circles beneath his eyes.

“You look awful,” Mikael greeted bluntly.

Sven snorted. “Wait until you have a baby with croup.:

“Fair enough,” Mikael laughed. “What can I do for you?”

“I spoke with Dr. Martin who wanted me to relay this information immediately.”

Mikael straightened immediately. “What did he find?”

Sven’s expression darkened. “He tested your blood sample that he brought back. The toxin used against you is an exact match to the poison used in my assassination attempt.”

“He’s positive?”

“Exact compound profile,” Sven confirmed grimly. “Martin is certain.”

Cold realization settled sharply into Mikael’s chest. “That means…” he paused, not wanting to speak about the implications of a terrorist organization being involved.

“Skelvarns,” Sven finished for him. “This wasn’t some random poisoning. We thought the Skelvarn cells fractured. Apparently we were wrong.” He leaned closer toward the screen. “You need to start considering the possibility that someone inside your own court is working with them.”

Mikael’s jaw tightened painfully because two things had just added up. “I already am.” Before Sven could respond, the chamber doors suddenly slammed open hard enough to rattle the walls.

Dag stormed inside, visibly furious. “What the hell is this nonsense about bringing Lyra to the castle?”

Mikael immediately ended the call. He could apologize to Sven later but didn’t want Dag to know of the call. Dag barely seemed to notice.

“You’re compromising security for a village girl,” he snapped.

Mikael rose slowly from behind the desk. “There was another attack.”

“I know there was, and I don’t appreciate you ordering the guards around behind my back.”

“I’ll remind you that I’m your king, not the other way around. And if you know about the attack, then you understand why she’s coming here.”

Dag laughed sharply without humor. “No, Mikael, what I understand is that you’ve become irrationally obsessed with someone who has never mattered in the first place.”

The dragon stirred instantly. Mikael kept his voice cold. “Watch your tongue.”

Dag ignored the warning entirely. “You’re risking the stability of the throne for her.”

“She and Beckett were targeted.”