Page 88 of Poisoned Empire

“Let me in now!”

The clash outside went silent at the young girl’s cries. The doors swung open. A girl with white hair, amber eyes and a harassed, terrified look stormed through the opening.

“You have to listen!”

Iliana felt the pull of her words, unable to do anything but obey. She sat still, a slave to the overwhelming impulse. The girl’s voice had been like that of a dark god. Had she been able, Iliana might have begged to hear more.

“Where is your knight? Your collar?!” Nicephorus asked, nearly hysterical.

“That doesn’t matter! If you don’t hurry, Selene is going to die!”

Selene lounged across from a young girl with striking amber eyes, pure white hair and light brown skin with an unhealthy pallor. A metal collar around her neck announced her as either a terribly powerful criminal, or a silver-tongue mage. A burly young man with a fighter’s stance stood behind her, his eyes watchful. One of the Unhearing Knights, no doubt. Shadow stood near the door in her line of sight, his posture relaxed but officious. She kept careful note of his hands and breathed a little something into the air.

“I’ve been asked to assist with the investigation. What can you tell me?” Selene asked, hedging. There was plenty she knew, but also plenty she assumed she didn’t. The silver-tongue would have been the first to ask questions of her father. If she had failed, then what exactly had Shadow brought Selene down to the dungeons for? She might have come willingly, but that didn’t mean she trusted him. Her instincts had been right.

The young mage shot her an aggrieved glare mastered by generations of put-upon adolescents.

“A shitload of nothing. They’d already been compelled not to speak about any important details or names by someone stronger than me. What in the hells is some fancy bitch supposed to change about that?”

Oh! She liked this girl already. And what an interesting development. Shadow began looking cagey. Selene sighed dramatically, pulled herself up off the couch and walked towards her escort.

“It seems she has nothing of import to tell me. Shall we?”

He relaxed once more and nodded. Between one breath and the next she grabbed him by his tunic and pulled his lips down to meet hers. He froze before his eyes rolled back and he collapsed beside her.

“He really should have known better by now, you know?” Selene smiled at the baffled young girl and wary guard. She sat across from the girl once more.

“I’m Selene, by the way, strongest poison mage in Lethe.”

“A-Alexandra. Silver-tongue.”

“I believe I’ve been brought here as some sort of trap. You say the magistri can’t speak of what they’ve done or who was in on it with them?”

“Yes. Um, so… is he dead?”

“Him? No. Blacked out from the pain, but still alive. For now.”

Alexandra signed the situation to the knight, whose hand never strayed from the hilt of his sword. Smart man. Selene paused to think her situation through. Why bring her to the dungeons if he wasn’t planning to imprison her, and if the magistri couldn’t say anything anyway? She got up, her hosts tensing in readiness. She rolled her eyes and began searching the robes of the spy. She pulled out a metal collar from a concealed pocket. So was she meant to be captured? Selene peered over at the silver-tongue and her knight. The knight would be a problem. He looked like the type with a stick up his ass. But the silver-tongue? She could be useful.

“How would you like to help me, Alexandra?”

“Sure?”

“First, we’ll need to do something about your collar.”

“Good luck with that.”

“No need for luck when you have poison,” Selene smiled.

Alexandra’s eyes were already drooping. Her knight’s posture had gone lax, his hand slipping off the hilt of his sword. Soon enough, they were both asleep. Selene had been breathing out the sedative since she’d decided she would need the silver-tongue, and the cell was quite small. She waited a few minutes for the poison to settle before she placed a hand on Alexandra’s cheek, pulling the poison from her system. The girl awoke with a pained gasp and wide eyes.

“How do I take the collar off?”

“What happened? What did you do to me?”

“I put you to sleep and then woke you up. I needed your knight out of the way. I’m about to walk into a trap, and I’m going to need your help to pull this off. Understand?”

The girl nodded.

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