Page 91 of Poisoned Empire

“He has his uses,” Amethyst replied, cryptic as ever.

Selene worried she might not catch the master of this conspiracy. If she failed to do that much, would Belisarius toss her aside? Once they left the room, it was going to be impossible to take them all down in one fell swoop. Then again, if the poison she was leaking out into the room didn’t work quickly enough, her father would shove a lightning bolt into her eye before he hit the ground. Was Alexandra speaking to the prince yet? Glaring cracks were beginning to present themselves in her master plan, and she wondered if she hadn’t just stepped into a dragon’s lair. She let bravado cover her nervousness.

“I guess being spineless makes it easy to squeeze through all the cracks in this place.”

The Diamond heir had reached his limit. Dominus Philip Diamond slapped her face with his bare hand, leaving her ears ringing and her eyes stinging. Man had some heft in his swing. Selene smiled through the pain. One lowlife down. Magister Amethyst sighed.

“That was foolish, Philip. I told you not to touch her bare skin,” Amethyst said.

“She has the collar on,” Philip retorted, still full of vinegar.

“That means she can’t producenewpoison. The poison she’d already made before the collar went on is still effective. She might be a bastard, but she’s still my blood,” Amethyst replied.

“I really like this one. I call it ‘Silence is Golden.’ Top seller,” Selene said.

Horrified, the Diamond dominus wiped his hand on his robe. When next he tried to speak, nothing emerged from his lips, only a harsh breath. Panic suffused his features. The more Philip flailed, the faster the poison raced through his system. His eyes began bulging from his face, his affected hand had swollen to three times its original size, and his lips took on a tinge of blue. The others in the room avoided him like he was plague incarnate. Philip collapsed to his knees, his face distorting into a silent scream as the tortuous final note of the poison did its work. He collapsed on the floor, very, definitively, dead.

“Philip! No! Dear gods, he wasn’t supposed to die! Grigori! I demand recompense! I want her dead!” Miroslav Diamond roared.

“Don’t! Even dead, she’s lethal,” Amethyst replied, holding out a cautioning hand. When he looked back at her, she swore she almost saw…admiration? Gods below, her family was deranged.

“You really did do your research, Daddy,” Selene sighed.

“Did you truly set traps throughout my estate?” Grigori asked, curious now.

Selene nodded.

“Even after we agreed to our deal?”

“Ha! You were going to kill me sooner or later. I’d have to be as stupid as Philip to believe you’d keep your word.”

At that, her father smiled, beaming as if she’d just told his favourite joke.

“She doesn’t need her eyesight, Amethyst. Blind is still good enough, isn’t it?” Magister Diamond asked, bloodlust in his gaze.

“It might be prudent,” Magister Sapphire added, giving her space he hadn’t before.

Before they could discuss her potential maiming further, a mage crawled up from the shadow under the table. He, too, wore the uniform of Nicephorus’ spies. The praetor was going to have a lot of housecleaning to do when this was over.

“It’s time,” the shadow mage said.

“Gods, I’ll be glad to be out of this dank place,” Leo Sapphire sighed gratefully.

“How do you propose we transport her?” Magister Sapphire asked.

“With a long blade at her back, and my son aiming a bolt at her knees,” Amethyst answered, ever cautious.

Dominus Leo Sapphire produced a fount of water from his hand which chilled into a sharp-ended pole of ice. He manoeuvred behind Selene, the compelled shadow mage beside him and Magister Diamond in the rear. Dimitri took up his post with his eyes on her. The Sapphire and Amethyst magistri took up the front. Her first poison had failed to affect enough of the room’s air, the first gaping hole in her plan. Once they touched the handle of the door, it could spell the end of her gambit. She’d rubbed poison all over it on her way in.

“After you, Aristeo.” Magister Amethyst motioned to the door.

Magister Sapphire grabbed the handle with his bare hand and froze.

“What’s the matter, Father? Do you hear something?” Leo asked.

“Kill her,” Sapphire choked, his voice wet and gurgling. When he turned his head, thick, frothy blood poured from his lips. He collapsed on the ground, shaking violently, red spittle flying.

“You little bitch!” Sapphire’s heir heaved his lance back, ready to run her through.

---