Thirty Six #2
“Yes, and he is looking for the culprit. He will return when he has apprehended him or her.”
My head throbbed, but I pushed past the ache and pried my lashes apart. I stared at the decorative ceiling in my bedroom at Claiborne Palace. What was I doing here? I tried to ask the question aloud, but no sound escaped my dry throat.
“She’s awake! Thank the Stars!” my mother exclaimed, rushing to my side. “How are you feeling? Do you need anything?”
“Water,” I managed to get out.
My father was one step ahead, already reaching for the carafe and glass sitting on the bedside table. “Here.” He gently cradled the back of my neck to help me lift my head off the pillow. Wincing through the pain, I took a few sips. “Don’t drink too much too fast.”
Heeding his warning, I took one more sip before I lay my head back down and closed my eyes, bracing myself to sit up. When I reopened my eyes and lifted off the mattress, my parents helped me to prop myself against the pillows. I was no longer in my banquet dress, wearing a loose nightgown instead.
“How are you feeling?” my father repeated my mother’s earlier question.
“Weak and queasy.”
“Lady May said that’s to be expected,” my mother chimed in. “She and Thea are here at the palace. They’ve been waiting for you to wake up. Along with Sebastian, Miri, Lorraine, and Luna.”
“Is Adrian here?”
“No, he went back to Tardor to hunt down the one who laced your wine.”
My hand flew up to my chest, the memories of what had transpired rushing back in. “How long have I been asleep?”
“All day. Adrian brought you here last night, and now a new evening is upon us,” my mother said gently. “He wanted to stay by your side, but to catch the one who had poisoned you, he had to act quickly.”
My father’s face contorted in rage. “I do hope that he returns with the name of the one who did it soon. If he doesn’t, I will ask Lady May to glimmer me to Tardor so I can help look for the bastard myself.”
“I’m sure Adrian will be back soon. Why don’t you go ease everyone else’s worry about Emelin?
” A reassuring smile followed my mother’s calm words.
After the king had walked out, she started fussing over me.
“Are you sure you’re all right? I’d never been so terrified in my life.
When I thought we might have lost you—” Her voice caught as tears filled her eyes.
“I’m all right, I promise.” I took her hands in mine. “Can you tell me what happened? The last thing I remember is Adrian calling out to Lady May that I’d been poisoned.” My throat closed up as the realization about how close I had come to dying settled over me.
“He glimmered you to your chambers, with Lady May following close behind. By the time your father and I made it upstairs, the Sorceress had performed a spell to negate the poison you had ingested. She saved your life but said that you would be unconscious for a while. Adrian asked if he could bring you here and leave you in our care while he looked for the one who laced the wine.”
“And that was last night?” I asked to confirm. My mother nodded. “Did Father or Sebastian siphon Silberium from him before he left? I was supposed to do it after the banquet.”
“They didn’t. Adrian was in a rush to leave.”
“I need to return to Tardor to relieve him of the ancient magic. The level of Silberium in his blood must be reaching its peak.”
Fighting the pull of bone-deep exhaustion on my limbs, I tried to get out of bed, but she stopped me. “Allow Lady May to examine you first. In the meantime, we can ask Thea to glimmer to Tardor to get Adrian.”
“All right,” I conceded, glad to remain in bed.
Thea walked into the room a moment later. She halted by the foot of the bed, unable to contain soft tears when her gaze fell on me. “Thank the Stars! Emelin, I can’t believe what happened. It all seemed like a bad dream— a nightmare.”
“A nightmare it was not. Someone made an attempt on the queen’s life,” Lady May cut her off as she strode in.
“A bold and foolish move. Extremely foolish. We will find the one responsible, and they will pay. Mark my words.” She approached my bedside and reached for my face, turning it from side to side to inspect it closely.
“No swelling or discoloration, which is a good sign.”
“I feel fine,” I assured her, lowering her hands from my cheeks. “Has anyone checked on Adrian?”
“Not in a few hours,” said Thea. “But Tom is with him.”
“He’s not at the moment,” Sebastian’s voice sounded as he walked in. “He’s here, Em, if you’re up for more visitors?”
“I am.”
Tom and Miri stepped into the room next, and Thea immediately ran into Tom’s arms and buried her head against his chest.
Miri joined my brother’s side and said, “It’s such a relief to see you awake, Emelin. We all have been worried sick.”
“I’m sorry to have caused such heartache.”
“You have nothing to apologize for,” Tom said sternly as if he couldn’t believe that I had just done so. “Gray will be beyond himself with relief once I report back to him that you’ve come to. I swear he hasn’t taken a single breath since everything transpired.”
“He didn’t want to check on me himself?”
“Believe me, he did, but he’s currently preoccupied.”
“Has he found the one who did it?” Lady May demanded, her eyes flashing.
“We think he did. He has Finnian in confinement.”
“Finnian?” I asked, confused.
“The poison that was used to lace your wine is made out of a rare flower found only in the Riestral Province.”
My brow furrowed as I processed the information. For Finn to be the one responsible didn’t make any sense. If he had wanted me dead, he could have poisoned the potion he had given me to change my appearance.
“I know that you couldn’t think less of Finn, but don’t you agree that he’s more clever than that? Why would he use a poison made of a flower that would link it directly to him?”
“He might be clever, but he’s also arrogant. Maybe his ego sabotaged him. He probably wanted everyone to know it was he who killed you, should he succeed.”
I took another moment to think it over. “We have food testers. The poison wouldn’t have affected them as much as it did me because I’m human, but they should have been able to taste it. The threat must have come from inside the castle.”
“It certainly did, but Finnian could have bribed some of the help to aid him in carrying out his vile plan. We’re in the process of questioning all the servants and food testers.”
“I don’t think that Finn did it.”
“Well, by the time Adrian and Killian are through with him, we’ll know one way or another.”
“By the time they’re through with him? Are they torturing him?” I sat up straight in the bed.
“That’s nothing you need to concern yourself with. You should focus on regaining your strength.”
“No. I need to return to Tardor to put a stop to the madness. You’ve got the wrong man. It’s also high time I siphoned Silberium from Adrian.” I threw the covers off me and got out of bed.
When I swayed on my feet, Lady May grabbed my elbow to hold me up. “You’re still weak,” she observed.
“I’ll be fine. I can rest after I have relieved the strain of the ancient magic on Adrian. And saved Finn from torture.” I gave Tom a pointed look.
He only rolled his eyes. “Why don’t you wait for Gray to come to you? He brought you here for a reason—to keep you safe.”
“I need to keep him safe, too. He doesn’t seem to be thinking clearly at the moment. Or he would have realized that the level of Silberium in his veins is approaching life-threatening limits.”
“Let me go talk to him. I’m sure he’ll want to come here to let you siphon the magic from him instead of you returning to the castle before he deems it safe,” Tom demanded.
“You can go talk to him, but I’ll be returning home regardless. My place is by his side, even through the worst of circumstances. I know he fears for my life, but I refuse to be separated from him.”
“Spoken like a true queen.” Tom smiled before he glimmered out.
After everyone else had left the room, my mother and Thea helped me to freshen up and change into a simple emerald gown.
I moved slower than usual and felt utterly exhausted by the time I was ready to leave.
The thought of reuniting with Adrian gave me a burst of energy as the three of us exited my chambers and found my father, Sebastian, and Miri in the dining room.
“Lorraine and Luna wanted me to convey their regards. They visited earlier to check on you, but left after you came to,” my father said after I had embraced him goodbye.
“And where is Lady May?” I hugged my brother next.
“She glimmered back to Tardor shortly after Tom had left,” Miri replied. I hugged the girl and then my mother.
“I’m ready to go home.” I turned to Thea.
She looked uncertain. “If Lady May has glimmered back to Tardor, she’s probably going to convince Gray to come here, either to collect you or to ask you to stay. Are you sure you don’t want to wait for him?”
“I’m sure.” I had a feeling that he was delaying seeing me. Nearly losing her will haunt him for a while. My mother's words rushed to the forefront of my mind. Adrian must be blaming himself for my almost dying. I needed to go to him to assure him that it wasn’t his fault.
“As you wish,” Thea conceded as she reached for my hands.
A few seconds after she and I had appeared in front of the closed doors of Adrian’s quarters, they flew open, revealing Tom and Lady May on the other side. I could immediately tell by their ashen faces that something was terribly wrong.
“What is it?” I whispered.
The Sorceress and the adviser exchanged a look before the latter said, “Gray is missing.”