Page 170 of Queen of the Crimson Throne

I nodded. “Is there anything more you can tell us about them?” Luka asked.

“The three of them were ready to talk their way out of here this morning, they claim they were sent here by some group, but meant no harm, they were only sent to spy.”

I shared a look with Luka. If they were sent by the Vanir, we’d easily be able to confirm such by searching them for the mark. But I had a hard time believing they were sent here only to spy.

“After we detained the female we found this on her.” Caio handed me the empty vile. It was miniscule. I was almost surprised they didn’t miss it, it was only slightly bigger than my fingernail.

“You think she’s the one who tried to poison us?” Isurveyed the bottle.

Caio shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s above my pay grade.”

“Let me see it.” Gently, Luce uncorked the top, brought the vial to her nose and sniffed. Her face scrunched at the smell. “That’s it, that’s the poison that was in your drinks.”

“Now we need to figure out who she’s working for.” She had to be with the Vanir, we needed to get her to admit it.

“Declan and Luce, why don’t you two go see what you can get out of the other prisoners.” I dipped my head toward the cell behind me. “Luka and I will deal with this one.”

Without another word, we separated. The door to the cell creaked open as Luka and I made our way in. I blocked out the musty smell that invaded my nostrils, instead focusing on the female in front of me. She lay on the straw cot. Her hands were bound together by the magic-enhanced cuffs, which were chained to the wall. She must have put up a good fight last night if they thought it necessary to keep her chained to the wall.

She was a tiny thing, barely taking up any space in the small cell. Her hair was dark, shaved on one side and fell in a long straight curtain on the other side. She was dressed elegantly, her dress was a deep blue with a high neckline and long sleeves with silver embroidering. The fabric pooled around her waist slipping around her thighs as she sat with her knees bent. Had she been a wedding guest? I didn’t recognize her but that didn’t mean she hadn’t been a guest. Or she had poised as a guest to make her way into the palace—the perfect cover. Slip in, poison us, and slip out. She would have done it if it weren’t for the Dhampir attack.

It looked like she had gotten into it with whoever detained her—whoever found her trying to slip from the palace. Her lip had been split, it was already healing, as well as the black eye she was sporting.

“I was told I might get to see the queen,” she rasped, “but I didn’t expect I’d get a personal visit from Her Royal Majesty herself. And her consort.” She looked at Luka. “What an honor.”

“You did try to sneak away from the wedding celebrations without saying hello.”

She laughed, the sound gravely in her throat. “Is that what you called that blood bath? A wedding celebration? Maybe you are as bloodthirsty as they say you are. We know your husband is.” The way she sneered at the word husband made me want to slash my sword across her throat.

Luka’s fingers brushed over the small of my back.Not now.They seemed to say.

“Who sent you?” I asked.

Her dark eyes fixed on me. “I think you know.”

Luka cursed.

“Prove it,” I demanded.

She brushed her long hair behind her ear and turned her head towards the light. “See for yourself.”

I took a step forward, my hand on my sword as I bent to examine her closer. Sure enough, inked behind her rounded ear was the symbol of the Vanir in white ink.

“Our people will not rest until the crown rests on one of our heads.” Her words lacked conviction.

“Your people?” Luka questioned. “You are nothing but a disgruntled band of outlaws working towards an impossible goal.”

“I would have been successful if it weren’t for the witch bitch!” She spat, struggling against her chains as she attempted to stand. “No one should have been able to detect the poison before it was too late.”

I silently thanked Luce for her constant thirst for knowledge.

“Why do you want me dead?”

The female contemplated for a minute before speaking again.“If I tell you what you want to hear, will you promise to make my death quick?”

I reared back at her words. “What?”

She crossed one ankle over the other. “If I did manage to escape and get back to my people, I’m dead anyhow for comingback a failure. I’ll tell you everything you want if you make my death swift. How you choose to go about it is up to you, but I want a quick end.”

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