AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Rin,” Alaric said, drawing my attention back to the boy who clutched a spoon in his claw-like grip. A drop of golden jam dropped to the floor from its tip. Rin’s eyes rolled into the back of his head, and my skin chilled. His head twitched back and forth violently. He lost balance and fell—Alaric catching him before he could hit the ground. As quickly as the poison took him, it released him, and I watched his body grow limp in Alaric’s arms.
Rushing over, I called for a servant to fetch help and dropped to my knees in front of Alaric. He pressed two fingers to the boy’s throat and listened at his mouth for breathing. “He’s still alive,” he said.
“Thana!” I exclaimed, “She ate it too.”
“I’ll find her,” Tiernan said, his face drained of all color, and made for the door.
I jumped to my feet, “I’m going with you.”
“No, you are not!” Alaric shouted, laying the boy down on the rug, “Wake Kade and Finn,” he ordered the emissary, and then with a growl, “And bring me the taster. Shewillanswer for this.”
Of course. How could I not have realized… Selbi wasn’t poisoned, which had to mean she was the one who poisoned the pot of jam. How did I not see her do it?Whenhad she done it? I sent a silent prayer to the Gods that it was after Thana had already taken a bite.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The boy was still unconscious—his breathing shallow. The healer worked to ebb the poison’s hold on him, and the apothecary worked to discern the type of poison used.
“It isn’t verbane,” the apothecary said, biting the inside of his cheek, “It’s hawthorn ash, and not enough to kill—only enough to incapacitate.”
The healer removed her hands from Rin at the words, “If it’s hawthorn there’s not much I can do. He’ll awaken on his own when the effects wear off.”
Hawthorn was toxic to Fae, and there weren’t many of the trees left on the continent because of it. Even to a Fae-born mortal, the tree could cause harm.
“Thank you,” I nodded to them both, “You may go. And please, tell no one of what you’ve seen here.”
“Yes, majesty.”
“Of course.”
Once they were out of the room, Alaric, who was staring intently out into the day with a hand curled around the hilt of his sword turned to me, “See,” he said, “Thana will be fine. Nothing to worry your pretty head about.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, staring down at the paled and vacant face of Rin, “She had better be.”
Moments later, Tiernan re-entered the room. Kade and Finn followed with a trembling Selbi in tow. Finn released her, and Kade shoved her into a chair, sniveling. My warriors came to me, Finn took my face into his hands, and Kade laid an uncharacteristically gentle hand on my shoulder.
“Are you hurt?” Finn asked me, releasing me when I shook my head.
I turned to Tiernan, who had busied himself inspecting the pot of jam, “Thana?”
He shook his head, “I’m sorry, Liana, I couldn’t find her. The servants said they saw her recently, though, and told her what happened, so I’d expect she’ll be on her way soon.”
I nodded my thanks to Tiernan. At least Thana was alright, which meant Selbi hadn’t dropped the hawthorn ash into the pot until after Thana had already eaten it.
“Is he dead?” Kade asked Alaric, gesturing to Rin, who was still lying on the floor.
Selbi sobbed quietly from her chair, her head in her hands.
Alaric left his post at the window, moving through the room with steady strides, “No, he will live. It was hawthorn, only enough to incapacitate.” He stopped in front of Selbi and the taster flinched at his proximity.
“Where did you get the poison?” he asked her, and the calm with which he spoke was worse than if he had yelled.
Selbi raised her head, her shoulder-length hair parting like a curtain to reveal the fear in her deep brown eyes, “I—I didn’t do this,” she pleaded.
Alaric bent over, bracing his hands on his knees to get himself to eye-level with my taster, “I will ask once more, and if you lie to me again, there will be consequences. Now, where did you get the poison? Who gave it to you?”
“I said I didn’t do this!” She shouted, her voice breaking near the end.
Alaric straightened to his full height, “Finn, take Liana to her chambers, she doesn’t need to see this.”
