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The king bites his lip in thought. “I heard Corrin mention something about apple fritters,” he says loudly.
A metal clatter sounds, followed by a thump, and then footfalls as someone runs along an aisle. Mika suddenly appears.
The king bellows with laughter. “I am glad to see you have your priorities right.”
“Mika, you know you aren’t allowed in here!” I admonish, beckoning him to come to me with my outreached arm.
“I was bored.” He wanders over sullenly. “Are there actually fritters?”
“You’ll need to ask the baker.” The king drops his voice to a mock whisper to add, “But I hope so. They’re my favorite.”
Mika’s eyes light up. “Mine too!”
“Anything sweet is your favorite, my dear child.” I push my hand through his brown mop of curls. Both of my older children inherited my unruly hair. It’s yet to be determined if Suri will be blessed or cursed with it too.
Mika reaches upward, aiming to stick a hand inside the sling to disturb the sleeping baby.
“Don’t you dare.” I grab hold of his little fingers before he has a chance. “Thank you for your help, Your Highness. I will try to keep Mika out of here.”
“Not on my account, I hope. I should be thanking him.” The intense gaze he levels me with makes my cheeks flush again.
“Well, surely, you have matters you must attend to, so we won’t keep you.”
Shaking his head as if snapping out of his thoughts, he says, “Books are meant to be read, not to collect dust on shelves. You are welcome to borrow one. Though I doubt you’ll find such stories as Hania’s.” He winks, then moves his focus to Mika, leaving me with my mouth hanging in shock over the generous offer. “And you, stop giving your mother such a hard time.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” Mika bows in response like Corrin has been trying to teach him, but with the exaggerated flourish of a court jester and the balance of a newborn foal.
With a chuckle, the king strolls away.
I watch his back until he’s gone, in a daze over this morning’s turn of events.
“Look what I found, Mama!” Mika whispers excitedly, stuffing a hand deep into his pocket.
“It had better not be another mouse.” He’s always bringing things back from his adventures. A feather, a rock. That day’s live loot was an unpleasant find.
“Do you think it’s a magic potion?” He peers up at me, holding out his hand. Inside his sweaty palm is a tiny glass vial with a dark liquid in it.
I gasp, snatching it from him. Doing a cursory glance around us to make sure no one is watching, I whisper, “Where did you find this?” It’s so small. I can see now why they were searching everyone so thoroughly.
Mika points behind him, his eyes wide at my reaction.
“Here, in the library?”
His head bobs. “Is it a magic potion?”
“No. Tell me exactly where you found it and do not dare lie to me.”
He’s not used to hearing my sharp tongue, despite the many times he’s earned the right to it. His bottom lip starts wobbling. “I heard someone comin’ so I hid. The lady put it behind the shiny books.”
The shiny books?
“Show me.” My stomach spasms with dread as he leads me down an aisle to the very far end, through an archway, to a smaller section where the tomes are all bound and encased in gold.
The books on the royal family.
The gold book in Lady Saoirse’s possession was exactly like these.
“What did this lady look like?”
Mika shrugs, studying his feet.
“You must tell me, son. The truth. It’s very important.”
“She had black hair.”
“Down to here?” I gesture to my shoulders.
Mika bobs his head.
“Dear fates.” I squeeze my eyes against the truth. “She did not see you hiding, did she?”
He shakes his head. “I was over there.” He points to the coat of arms standing sentry.
The vial burns within my palm. If I get caught with this in my possession, it’s an instant execution. The smart thing to do would be to set it back where Mika found it and mind my own business. There must be a reason for the future queen to have a vial of this poison in her possession.
But in the back of my mind, the answer is there. Her reason is to hurt people. That is the only reason.
What if she uses it to harm the king?
To kill him?
My fist clamps around it. “Come, Mika, we must go now. And you are never to speak of this again.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
ROMERIA
“The desire for blood is gone?” Kienen asks, doubtful.
“Within Ulysede, yes. There is no urge. Not even an ability,” Elisaf explains, as if this is a normal conversation between two old friends and not mortal enemies standing across a map in the castle war room.
“But once you step outside the walls, past the gates …” Kienen’s focus shifts to Jarek, who has played my shadow since we came back inside, no more than two feet from my side, his attention homed in on the Ybarisan. From this proximity, it’s impossible to miss his dark mood. It radiates from his massive frame as he waits for Kienen to react to my admitting I’m no longer loyal to Neilina.
