Chapter 7
Chapter
Seven
Meri’s hands hovered over Theron’s chest, her fingers trembling slightly as light gathered between her palms—warm, golden, and pulsing like a heartbeat. The glow spread slowly over his skin, curling down his neck, across his arms. It shimmered along the veins in his throat like sunlight on water.
I felt it. The hum of her healing magic brushing against the edge of my own power, drawing something ancient from the surrounding air. It was softer than Kaelith’s fire, more focused than mine. Watching her work was like watching a song being sung directly into the bones.
And it soothed me.
My breath slowed. My nerves quieted. I hadn’t realized how tight my chest had been until that moment, until the magic began to do what it was meant to do. Heal.
Zander stood silent beside me, arms crossed but tense, his gaze locked on his brother’s still face.
Minutes passed. Meri’s power flared again, brighter this time, sweat breaking across her brow. She swayed slightly, but didn’t stop. Not until she was forced to.
Finally, with a soft gasp, she slumped back on her heels. Her face pale, lips tight with exhaustion.
“That’s all I can do for now,” she murmured. “He’ll live… but he’ll tire easily. The poison lingers in his blood.”
As if on cue, Theron stirred.
His chest hitched. Then, a ragged, wheezing sound escaped his throat.
His eyes opened. They were bloodshot, watery, and locked onto Zander. His lips barely moved, but the word came out, anyway.
“Traitor.”
Zander didn’t flinch. “Who did this?” he asked coldly. “Who poisoned you?”
Theron’s gaze shifted to me, then back to his brother. I saw it then, just a flicker, but it was there.
Fear.
Zander took a step forward. “Your bid for power has failed,” he said, voice steady and cutting. “No one will follow you now. The crown belongs to Dorian.”
He crouched beside the bed, his expression harder than I’d seen it in weeks.
“Now tell me,” Zander said, each word forceful. “Who poisoned you? Who were you working with?”
Theron’s cracked lips parted.
“I demand royal immunity,” he rasped.
Zander’s jaw ticked, his body so still it made the air feel heavier.
He didn’t look at me, didn’t blink. But his voice, when it came, was as smooth as glass drawn over a blade.
“I will guarantee you don’t spend any time in a dungeon,” he said, leaning slightly closer to his brother. “You’ll live in the luxury you deserve.”
Theron gave a weak nod, the flicker of pride still buried somewhere in his battered expression. “It was Inderia,” he rasped.
I stiffened.
“She asked me to meet her here,” Theron continued, each word a breathless struggle. “She… inferred we were to practice for our wedding night. But she fed me wine. Grapes. Sweet words. I thought—” He coughed, a wet, ragged sound. “I thought she was choosing me.”
Zander’s face paled. “Inderia?”
“She expected me to die quickly,” Theron croaked. “She told me she’s been conspiring with a Blood Fae leader. One who would grant her power beyond anything I could ever imagine.”
Zander glanced at me, horror etched in his eyes. I could feel Kaelith’s rage rising like a storm cloud in the back of my mind.
“Do you know who it was?” I asked softly.
Theron shook his head. “No. She didn’t say anything. But she spoke as if she already had power. Like she wasn’t afraid of the consequences.”
Meri stepped forward, still pale, but composed. “How did you survive?”
Theron’s gaze snapped to her, and for a moment, something cunning flickered there. “I take many antidotes on a regular basis. In case of courtly treachery. They weren’t completely effective, but…” He took a breath, deeper this time. “It seems they kept me alive long enough for you to find me.”
Zander crossed his arms. “What else did she tell you?”
Theron’s face twisted, and for the first time, I saw true grief beneath the arrogance. His throat worked as he swallowed hard.
“She killed Lady Belana.”
The silence in the room turned deafening.
“I wanted the crown,” Theron whispered, staring at nothing. “But I would never have killed my Belana. She was the most beautiful woman on the continent.”
His voice broke on the last word.
And in that moment, whatever bitterness I still carried for Theron dulled, just a fraction.
Because grief… genuine grief… didn’t lie.
Zander straightened, his shadows wrapping tight around him like a second skin. His voice was calm, too calm. “Theron is to remain in this room. Confined. No one is to know he’s still alive.”
I blinked, turning to him. “You want to keep it a secret?”
Zander didn’t take his eyes off his brother. “Until we know who else is involved… yes.”
Theron pushed himself up on his elbows, face flushed despite his pallor. “You can’t hide me away like some disgraced secret, Zander,” he snapped. “I have rights. I still have supporters.”
Zander’s mouth twitched into something cold. “Supporters who would sell the realm to the highest bidder. You conspired with Inderia, who conspired with a Blood Fae. You poisoned your own court—”
“I didn’t poison anyone!” Theron barked. “That was Inderia!”
“But you would have stood beside her if it meant power,” Zander shot back, stepping forward. “Don’t pretend you didn’t know what she was. You just didn’t care. Not until it turned on you.”
Theron’s nostrils flared. “You’ve always been sanctimonious. Father coddled you because of your bond with Hein, because you smiled when they wanted you to. But I—I learned how this court really works.”
Zander’s fists clenched at his sides. “You learned how to manipulate, how to whisper, how to poison—literally and politically. That’s not leadership. That’s cowardice.”
“I would be a stronger king than Dorian!” Theron hissed. “He hides behind his honor. I would’ve secured the borders. I would’ve purged the traitors—”
“You are the traitor!” Zander roared, finally stepping in, until they were almost nose to nose. “You betrayed the realm, you betrayed the crown, and you betrayed her.”
Theron flinched.
He didn’t have to ask who she was. The princes only shared one parent.
The silence cracked between them like a fault line.
Zander drew back a fraction, his voice low. “You’ll stay in this room until I say otherwise. If your allies come looking for you, I want them thinking you’re dead. Because if they believe that—maybe they’ll make a mistake.”
“You can’t control everything,” Theron muttered, but the fight had drained from his voice.
Zander turned to the guards. “No one enters but Meri and me. Understood?”
They nodded.
And as Zander walked past me, I saw the weight settle over his shoulders. Heavy. Reluctant.
But unshakable.
We stepped out of the room, the heavy door shutting behind us with a solid thunk that echoed down the corridor like the closing of a tomb. The two guards Zander had assigned snapped to attention, their gazes forward, unreadable.
Good, they’d need to be. Because if even one word slipped…
I exhaled slowly. “Ferrula and the others are still searching for Dareth’s killer,” I murmured. “They’ll keep our secret. But how long can we keep that up?”
Zander’s expression was unreadable, but the tension in his jaw hadn’t eased since Theron spoke the name Inderia.
“One thing at a time,” he said.
I nodded, falling into step beside him as we started down the stone corridor, our footsteps soft on the worn rug.
“We need to put eyes on her,” I said quietly. “If Theron was telling the truth, if she really killed Lady Belana and is working with a Blood Fae, then she’s more dangerous than we thought. But I’m not sure if we should arrest her yet… or follow her.”
Zander’s brow furrowed, and I could feel the war inside him. He wanted justice. So did I, but too many secrets had slipped through our fingers already.
“If we arrest her too soon,” he said slowly, “she’ll refuse to talk, or her conspirators will kill her before she can. Especially if they are inside the castle.”
“But if we follow her…” I murmured, “we risk letting her hurt someone else.”
He looked at me. “What does your gut say?”
I hesitated, then spoke low. “We follow her. At least until we know who she’s working with. If it’s a Blood Fae, we can’t afford to let them escape.”
Zander nodded once. “Then we set a tail. Quiet. One of ours. No palace guards, no rotating schedules. Someone she won’t expect.”
I tilted my head. “Tae.”
Zander’s lips curved just slightly. “Smart. She likes him, and he is a notorious flirt.”
“And he can influence her if it comes to it. Briefly.”
“Then we have Cordelle assist him,” he added. “He can track her movements while using the guise of assisting his father with lorekeeper duties.”
I glanced at him. “You’re getting good at this.”
Zander arched a brow. “That’s what happens when everyone around you tries to kill you.”
We reached the stairwell, the castle quiet in that unnerving way it always was when secrets were thick in the air.
Inderia was still here.
And now we had a bigger question—Who was she working for?
Because this time, the game wasn’t just political.
It could decide the war.