Chapter 11 #2
I rolled my eyes. Oh, I was sure he’d told the queen about the pain-in-his-ass witch he’d hunted for two years.
“He can find out what poison was used, so please, please hang on. We’ll solve this. I promise.” Glancing over his shoulder at me, he tilted his head toward his mother. “Mo?”
I inhaled deeply and held it. I knew Kason trusted me.
I knew he understood I would do his mother no harm, despite all the harm royals like her had done to people like me, those who were only trying to survive in a world that didn’t want them to.
But I also knew that if something went wrong here, he wouldn’t be able to protect me from the shitstorm that would result.
This relatively simple action he trusted me to take could very well be my downfall.
It didn’t matter. I had to do it anyway.
I stepped forward. Kason released his mother’s hand and moved back to allow me to take his place.
Dr. Orella moved to the other side of the bed, picking up Queen Daro’s wrist to check her pulse.
I waited for her to nod and place the queen’s hand back on the bed before touching the pulse point in her neck with one finger.
I rested the tips of two fingers on my other hand above her heart, and closed my eyes.
The survey spell was one of the most useful I’d learned.
It was brilliant in its simplicity, able to detect any magic used for anything, on anything—organic or inorganic, it didn’t matter.
It could tell me what protection spell was used to keep a door locked, what was causing a certain witch-hunter to weaken and grow ill, and even the sort of poison used in an attempt to assassinate a queen—because if a doctor had yet to be able to heal her, there had to be some magic imbued in whatever she’d been dosed with.
And when I got that answer, it was the one I’d feared.
I truly hoped the royals didn’t kill the messenger.
“Nikali’s Scourge.” The words tasted like ash on my tongue as I shared my findings moments later in the sitting room.
Telurin frowned, as did Desha, but otherwise neither looked as concerned as Kason and Dr. Orella.
“I’ve never heard of it,” Telurin stated.
Dr. Orella sank heavily into the chair we’d originally found her in. Her gray hair had nearly worked its way out of its bindings. “Gods’ blessings,” she breathed. “Are you sure?”
Kason’s jaw was tight, a muscle flexing in his cheek, but he said nothing.
“It’s got a unique signature.” I held Kason’s gaze. “I’m so sorry.”
“But you’ve identified it, finally,” Desha interjected. “Surely that means we can cure it.”
“Theoretically,” Dr. Orella said slowly. “But in practice…”
“What’s the problem?” Telurin demanded.
“The only known cure,” Kason said, his voice as tight as his jaw, “is to use time magic. A temporal witch has to revert the blood to what it was before the poison was introduced.”
“A…temporal witch?” Desha breathed. “But that’s?—”
“Forbidden, yes, I’m aware.” Kason winced at the sharpness in his tone. “I’m sorry.”
“That…that’s it then.” Telurin sank into the closest chair, all of the starch that had held his shoulders stiff and unyielding dissolving in an instant. “Mother will?—”
“Don’t you dare!” Desha snapped, rounding on her brother. “Don’t you dare speak those words.”
“Desha, love?—”
“No! Surely, in a city as big as this, there is a hidden forbidden witch.” Her eyes fell on me. “There has to be.”
I swallowed, feeling the weight of her regard double as Kason looked at me too, then triple with Dr. Orella’s gaze. Telurin was the only one not staring at me in that moment, and he was utterly defeated, his eyes on his slack hands in his lap.
“Do you know someone?” Kason asked gently.
I shifted nervously from foot to foot. “It’s been a long time since I was in Kardonan for anything,” I hedged.
“But surely, you have…” Desha waved a hand. “Contacts?”
I glanced from her to Kason, part of my brain screaming to keep my mouth shut, and part telling me to let go, to trust. I wasn’t sure which part was louder.
I knew which part I wanted to be louder—the trusting one.
Kason and I were bonded—by choice now—and I believed with all my heart he wouldn’t hurt me.
But that me was the key component of that belief.
He was still a witch-hunter and obligated to bring outlaw magic users to justice.
At my hesitation, Kason’s open, hopeful expression shuttered. “You have my word they will not be persecuted.”
Telurin’s head snapped up. “You can’t?—”
Kason raised a hand to stop his outburst. “I have discretionary authority over the matter of who I pursue, and I will certainly take into account their cooperation with the crown.”
Somehow, Kason’s words weren’t as reassuring as they should have been. Not that I didn’t trust he meant them. But I hadn’t seen the witch-hunter side of him for weeks, and seeing it now was…an unpleasant reminder of who he truly was.
Yes, we were bound, married by the gods, and yes, he’d all but admitted to being attracted to me since his pursuit of me began, but was our…
arrangement…only an interlude for him? Would he regret it once this crisis was over and want to return to the role he loved?
And what would I do if that were the case?
I mentally shook off those questions and refocused on the issue at hand. “I may be able to find someone who can help,” I finally said, my words slow and measured. “But I can’t promise anything.”
A fleeting smile graced Desha’s lips. “Of course. Any effort is better than none.”
Telurin didn’t echo his sister’s optimism, too busy contemplating his hands again. No doubt the idea of his mother dying, and therefore the crown coming to him, had to weigh heavily on his shoulders. Gods knew it wasn’t something I would ever want.
“I suppose I’ll…” I crooked a thumb at the door.
Dr. Orella rose and gestured for me to precede her. “I’ll see you out. We should give the siblings some time together, yes?”
“Wait.” Kason stepped in our path, digging into the inner pocket of his jacket.
He pulled something out, a small thing, and grabbed my left hand.
He placed the object in my palm—a ring, far too large for my tiny fingers, but with a crest I recognized.
It was his, a flame rising through a crown, with a sword and a traditional wand crossed at the base.
I’d always thought the crown was a representation of the work he did for the country, not the fact that he was a motherfucking prince .
“This will ensure your passage back into the castle.” Kason curled my fingers around the ring, pressing my hand closed oh-so-gently.
“Right. Of course.” I called myself three times a fool for the instant I thought he’d given it to me as a symbol of his…what, love? We barely knew each other. I knew he liked me, as I did him, but?—
Liar , a familiar voice whispered in my ear.
Internally, I rolled my eyes at Rhianough’s interjection. Hush. You know nothing .
Melodic, godly laughter rang through my brain. I know more than you, child .
Well, she was a goddess, so I decided not to argue the point.
Clutching Kason’s ring, I accompanied Dr. Orella out of the royal quarters and into the corridor.
We walked in silence past the guards protecting the entry into the wing until we reached an area that seemed to be much busier with servants and nobles alike.
There, Dr. Orella’s gentle hand on my arm stopped me.
“Do you truly care for him?” She didn’t have to specify who she was talking about.
I considered tossing out a sharp response because it was none of her business. But the softness in her eyes and expression told me she worried about all the siblings, as well as their royal mother.
“Yes,” I said instead. “It makes no sense, and yet…”
Dr. Orella chuckled. “Love rarely does.”
Unless you were Rhianough, the goddess of love and intellect. Her love was measured and calculated, cerebral rather than uncontrollably passionate. I wasn’t sure what I felt for Kason, but that sort of love—any sort of love—wasn’t it.
I could’ve done without the second bout of godly laughter in my mind.
She released my arm. “Be careful. And guard that.” She nodded pointedly at my fist still holding Kason’s ring. “To my knowledge, he’s never parted with that ring.”
Despite myself, my brows rose in surprise. “Never?”
“It was given to him by his father before he died fifteen years ago. He was the queen’s companion after she divorced her first husband, and she wanted him as her second husband, but he was too happy as a witch-hunter to become king.
He was so proud of Kason’s choice to follow his path and supported him in his endeavors despite the creeping sickness making him more ill each year.
In fact, I believe it was one of his last actions before he fell into his final coma—creating Kason’s crest, commissioning that ring, and giving it to Kason when he completed his witch-hunter training. ”
Warmth bloomed in my chest. “I had no idea it was so…”
“Important?” Dr. Orella’s lips quirked. “It’s not simply a means for you to get back into the castle, but of course, dearest Kason wouldn’t say that, would he?
” She bumped her shoulder gently against his, a gesture of camaraderie between two non-royals dealing with royals.
Sighing, her smile fell away. “Be careful,” she repeated.
“For all your reputation, I doubt many in your circles—your former circles—will appreciate your new company.”
I grimaced. That wasn’t an angle I’d considered, but she was absolutely right. “I will be. Thank you.”
“No, Mokido, thank you. If anyone can—” She broke off, mindful of the ears that surrounded them. “If anyone can help, I know it will be you.”
Dr. Orella walked away, blending into the crowds so quickly I couldn’t tell in which direction she turned. I wished I had the same confidence in my abilities. But I’d always been a stumble-through-life-hoping-for-the-best sort of person, and why should this be any different?
With a sigh, I headed into the city that had rejected me so many years ago.