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I nodded at her; my eyes still focused on the strange staff member as they began to pour tea into the mugs. I was determined not to let anything slip by me, but a rumble of thunder outside the window made me jump, and my eyes darted away from them for no more than a second. By the time I looked back, they had already left the mug on the table and dashed out the door.
40
Cyrus
The old man was sitting in my office.
It had been almost a full day since his unexpected arrival at the castle doors, and while most of the castle were ecstatic to finally be meeting Leo’s father, I had been wary. Once Kira had disappeared to her bedroom, woozy and uncoordinated, I had found Alexandre on my own, cornering him in a hallway and questioning him until the truth came to light.
I let the door swing closed behind me, eyeing the back of Alexandre’s head as he sat in front of my desk, his arms resting on the edge of the chair and one leg crossed over the other. I crossed the room, letting my footsteps announce my arrival, and Alexandre’s head turned, an almost evil grin on his face.
It was incredibly unnerving how much he really looked like him.
I slipped into my chair behind my desk, still eyeing Alexandre closely to try and see if there was anything off about how he was presenting himself, but from everything I had heard about the old man from both Kira and Leo, he was spot on. Except for the eyes. They were too sharp to be anyone else.
“You’re a bit too good at pretending to be other people,” I snorted, reaching to take some papers from the stack that had been delivered to my desk earlier in the day. They had been Kira’s to deal with, but as she had slept until well after noon, I had them brought to me instead.
“You would know, wouldn’t you.” My aunt Saffron’s voice came from Alexandre’s body, and I lifted my head, my eyebrows raised.
Alexandre smiled at me, and slowly, slowly, he began to shimmer around the edges. His skin started to bubble and warp, and suddenly, his clothes seemed too big for him.
I watched, mesmerized, as his long, white hair turned into a deep shade of black. His beard shrunk until it disappeared into a sharp jawline, and his wrinkles smoothed into nothingness. His posture straightened up and his shoulders melted away inside his broad cloak, leaving it sagging, far too big for the small woman that now sat in his chair.
Saffron grinned at me, the last remains of Alexandre melting away from her as she did so. Her grin was feral, her eyes completely wild and her now blood red nails began to drum against the arms of the chair.
“Do you want to know what I learned?” She asked, scooting herself forward and resting her arms on my desk. I looked back down at the papers in front of me, the words on them seeming utterly unimportant compared to the situation at hand and pushed them to the side.
“Obviously.” I sighed, cocking my head to the side, “Did Kira drink the tea?”
“She did, all of it.” Saffron smiled, “I think the lemon covered up the mercury, she would not have noticed the taste of it until she had finished it all.”
I nodded my head, a sick relief spreading through me at the thought of poisoning my wife.
If she really was planning to kill me, she was going to have to be quick about it.
Our wedding reception was in three days’ time, having been moved forward from next week because one of the performers I wanted would not be able to make it on the original date we had chosen. It had been a nightmare trying to get everything moved and reorganized, but it got done in the end. The problem now was that I was constantly on edge, watching every move Kira made and questioning every decision she presented me with.
Poisoning her had been a last option, but unless I caught her in the act of trying to end my life, I did not see any other way to get her out of my hair.
“Alright, good. Make sure it is in every drink she has between now and the reception.” I folded my arms across my chest, sitting back in my chair and letting the comforting sound of the fire wood crackling ease my tense shoulders. “What did you learn?”
“Her friend, Gracie, has been sending letters back to Earth. We managed to catch the bird as it returned with a new letter this afternoon and it is being read as we speak, but we unfortunately missed the last one she sent.”
A muscle twitched in my jaw as I ground my teeth together, nodding my head.
“What else?”
“The Queen’s magic is much stronger than anything even Leo has seen,”
“We knew that.” I sighed, shaking my head.
“I know, but even he is worried about it. He has not found anyone even in the history books that have matched her powers, in strength or in suddenness.”
I frowned, running a hand along my jaw, and letting out a heavy breath. I had known she would be powerful from the moment she had been gifted her magic, but to know that no one in history had ever matched her. I had to becareful.
“Alright,” I nodded, “We can deal with that, surely. Will the mercury help?”
“I assume so. She began to glow when she was drinking the tea, but it was very dull compared to what I have seen of it previously.”
