Chapter 22
Sabine forced herself to maintain a smile as she faced the woman responsible for her sister’s death. Her entire body shook as she tried to grasp the fact that Lottie had hired an assassin to kill Alina. Questions swirled in her mind as to how and why. Then she remembered learning that Lottie was next in line for the throne. She had to find Rainer and tell him his sister was trying to overthrow him. And then another unwelcome realization hit her. Rainer already knew it was Lottie. That was why he’d secretly married Sabine. It felt as if her world tilted to the side.
“Are you all right?” Lottie asked.
“I’m perfectly fine,” she lied.
A couple exited the throne room, arms linked together, laughing. “Princess Lottie!” the woman cooed.
Sabine used the distraction to step past them. She entered the throne room, scanning the sea of faces. Perfume, ale, and laughter filled the air. With everyone wearing a mask, she didn’t see anyone she recognized. If Rainer was searching the Avoni ship, he wouldn’t even be here. Panic filled her.
A man approached. “May I have this dance?” he asked.
“I must speak with King Rainer. It’s of the utmost importance. Have you seen him?”
He shook his head.
She walked out among the dancers, searching for Rainer.
People bumped into her, laughing, too drunk to apologize for touching someone of her rank.
She spotted Lottie on the other side of the room, talking to someone and laughing as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Their eyes locked and Sabine had to look away.
The music seemed too loud; the room too hot.
“Princess, a dance?” another person asked.
She ignored him, pushing past people to find the king.
The man she’d seen before, the one dressed all in black with a cape, stood ten feet away. A couple spun before her, and she lost sight of him. Standing still, she turned in a slow circle, looking for Rainer while keeping an eye out for the mysterious man. The assassin she’d seen in the guest suite hadn’t had a cape on, so she didn’t think it was the same person. However, she couldn’t be certain at this point.
She never would have suspected Lottie would be behind her sister’s death.
Now that she was looking at those around her, she realized no one from Avoni was here. They must have all left. Not finding the king, she headed to the other side of the room. Perhaps he was out on the balcony. At the edge of the dance floor, she glanced at the balcony, finding it empty.
“Princess,” a deep voice said from right next to her left shoulder. Something was shoved against her mouth and nose for a brief second and then it was removed.
Shocked, she spun to face the person, just as a potent smell hit her—one she recognized immediately.
Images of back home flashed before her eyes. Sitting at the dining table with her mother, several bowls before them. Queen Elsa instructed Sabine on how to memorize the various poisons by associating their smell with something. The one bowl contained a most dangerous poison.
“Giplig,” she whispered as she looked up into a masked face. It was the man in black. The one with the cape.
He lowered his hand, which had a black handkerchief against his palm. “Yes,” he whispered, seemingly surprised.
Her senses started to dull. She tried speaking, but no words came out. She knew she had less than a minute until she blacked out.
The man held her as if dancing. He glided them closer to the edge of the room and then out onto the balcony.
She hoped he didn’t toss her over the side, letting her plummet to her death. Although, it would be a fitting death considering how stupid she’d been. She knew her sister’s killer, she knew about the poison giplig, and yet here she was. She reached down, fumbling through the fabric of her dress until she found her dagger. She withdrew it, and it fell from her limp fingers, clinking onto the stone floor.
Her world went black.
Sabine felt as if her body were swaying up and down in a gentle rocking motion. Was she falling to her death? No, she didn’t think so. She’d be dead by now if that were the case. Breathing in, she smelled salt and wood. A strange combination.
She peeled her eyelids open. Everything was blurry. She blinked several times, clearing the haze from her eyes. A low wooden ceiling was above her, and she was lying on a narrow bed.
“You’re awake,” a male voice said.
She turned her head to the side, toward the voice, and saw a man dressed all in black. He’d removed his mask revealing a face she recognized. “You’re the man from my balcony.” The one with red hair.
“Yes,” he said.
“You’re from Avoni.” He was the youngest in the delegation. Sabine guessed his age to be close to hers.
“I am.” He was sitting on a chair next to the bed, his elbows resting on his thighs with his hands clasped together.
It dawned on her that he was the one who’d drugged her. “Have you…kidnapped me?” she asked in disbelief.
“Yes.”
The word sounded loud in the small room.
Terror gripped her. “Where are we?” she demanded, pushing herself to a sitting position in order to better observe her surroundings. She didn’t see a weapon anywhere.
“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t let the marriage happen.”
Her mind continued to clear. Now that she was sitting, she could feel the rocking motion. “We’re on a boat.”
He nodded.
“Where are you taking me?”
He obviously hadn’t killed her yet for a reason. Which meant he not only wanted to prevent the marriage, but he wanted her alive for something. She did not want to be held hostage for ransom or used as a bargaining chip. Her mother had told her being kidnapped was a fate worse than death.
“The League of Rulers did not sanction your marriage to the king of Lynk.”
“They sanctioned my sister’s.”
“And you are not your sister.”
“No.” Because she was dead. The memories of her last moments before being drugged bombarded her. She dropped her face into her hands. Rainer’s own sister had killed hers. She rubbed her temples, her head starting to pound.
“Here.” The young man reached for a cup of water and handed it to her. “It’ll help clear the poison out of your system.”
The poison he’d given her. She eyed the water, wondering if it contained another poison. However, she knew if he’d wanted her dead, she’d be dead. She took the cup and drank it all.
“I’m really sorry about this,” he said. “If you married King Rainer, it would have given him too much power. I had to stop it from happening.”
“You had to stop it from happening? Or the League had to stop it? Or Avoni?” Who was he and who was he working for?
“All three.”
She set the cup down. “It’s a shame you’re too late.”
“Too late?” His brows drew together. “What do you mean?”
“I already married the king, and I wear the queen’s crown.”