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Taking a sip of wine, I thought on my next words carefully. The queen was being very casual with me, and I didn’t want to misspeak. “They see my power that’s all.”
The queen laughed, her head tilting back. “Oh, to be young again. My dear, power is one thing yes, but that does not illicit desire. I would allow the marriage if my son is the one you want. Is he?”
Between her words and the wine, I felt vulnerable, something I didn’t like.Callum and I had never discussed our feelings, though I sensed he cared, but after I tricked him to take the queen, I really didn’t know how he felt about me. Mab had said he was the one to save me from the cave-in, but what if he did that to secure his freedom?
“I have a gift for you.” The queen smiled and whispered a word in her fae tongue. The black snake slithered on to the couch and I froze. “Relax, if I wanted to kill you there are more entertaining ways. This is not an ordinary snake, and yes while its bite will kill you; it can also do something else.”
The queen took out a black box with silver etching along the sides. She opened the lid and inside were six vials filled with green liquid. Taking one out, she smiled and held it up. “Drink this and after you are bitten it will counter the poison instantly.”
“Why would I do any of that?”
Dragging a fingernail along the snake’s back she smiled. “Because once you are healed, you are impervious to any type of poison.”
Seeing the shock on my face, she continued. “You are taking my granddaughter to the surface and I need you powerful in all ways. I already know you can fight, and your intellect is impressive, but even the strongest fighters can fall to a single drop of poison.”
“And how do I know that isn’t some poison that will kill me outright?”
“Here,” she said. “I’ll show you.”
Taking the vial, she drank then held the snake to her wrist. “Bìdeadh.”
The black mamba bit into the queen’s wrist drawing blood then quickly retracted. “See? Nothing to fear.”
She handed me a vial, taking my glass from me. I held it, counting in my head, waiting for any sign that the queen felt ill. When more than a minute had passed with no change in her expression, I drank the vial. The queen commanded the snake again and it bit into my wrist.
My stomach churned from the liquid and my mouth watered.
“You’ll feel out of sorts as the poison and the tonic work through your system.”
I gripped the side of the couch, my tongue feeling like sandpaper and my head spinning. Closing my eyes, I breathed deeply, wanting to throw up what I just drank. Another minute passed and my stomach clenched.
“Let’s chat while we wait for you to recover. Do you know why Callum was imprisoned?” the queen asked, dragging a finger along the rim of her glass.
“No, the record is sealed,” I replied, my voice hoarse and pained. Opening my eyes, I breathed slowly, using my training to steady the panic festering under my skin. “Not even my superior told me.”
The queen drank before speaking. “I sent him there.”
“Why?”
With a smile, she handed me back the wine. “The wine will help. Callum is stubborn, arrogant, and fiercely loyal.”
Her gaze darted to a portrait on the wall of a group of dark fae, two I recognized as the queen and a young Prince Eldritch. “Callum never knew Lara was his, even though their bond was unlike any of his other students. When he discovered that her betrothed had very unfavorable tastes, he slaughtered the fae on his wedding night. I, of course, understood why he had acted so rash but could not speak it. The king was unfortunately still alive at that time and though he assumed Lara wasn’t his, he never denied her station.”
“Why would you exile him then?”
The queen sipped her wine, drumming her long fingernails against the top of the couch. “What he did nearly risked our alliances. He had to be punished and exile was easier than killing him.”
Holding the glass in my hand, I thought on everything I’d learned. “Why are you telling me this?”
“I am no fool. Callum will not return to my bed when his heart belongs to another.”
“What . . . ?”
A knock on the door interrupted the conversation. Followed by a deep voice. “My queen, we must speak.”
“Enter,” she said, sipping her wine and glancing at the door with a smirk.
The general entered; his eyes widened at the sight of me. “I’m sorry, your majesty, I didn’t know you had company. I can return later.”
