Page 47 of Poisoned Kingdom
As soon as I was done, my mind drifted again, and I caught myself staring through the window, wondering if she was asleep.
‘I give up.’ I sighed, banging my head on the desk before calling the guards.
‘Bring the arch healer,’ I said, waiting impatiently, even as guilt crept in. It was almost midnight, but I needed an answer, or at least a theory.
An hour later, Ciesko walked in, concern etched in the weathered lines of his face.
‘Is the poison troubling you again, sire?’
He came closer, but when he tried to place a hand on my injured face, I stopped him.
‘Not the poison—a Viper. I have the assassin in my custody, but the situation is complicated.’
‘Oh?’ Eagerness flashed in his eyes. ‘Did she talk? If not, I’ll coax the antidote out of her. If that doesn’t help, I’m sure Riordan has his ways.’
‘No,’ I said, my answer startling him. ‘I want Riordan interrogating her, but only when I’m certain she won’t cause further damage will I take any potion of her design.’
Ciesko pulled up a chair and sat next to me with the professional, benevolent patience that many healers adopted in conversations with lost causes or total idiots.
‘If that’s your decision, then what is it that is troubling you now, sire?’ he asked, taking my hand, and for the first time in my life, I felt utterly defeated.
‘I can’t get her out of my head. I react unnaturally . . .’ I paused, struggling to admit my feelings. ‘I can’t control myself around her.’
‘And how can I help with that? Do you need a calming draught?’
‘No, I want you to examine her. Something happened between us in the forest, right before she struck me . . . I need to know if it’s her magic or something in her body that’s making a fool of me. I’ll take any explanation, whatever it is.’
‘I can examine her, sire, but you likely know the answer already. I’m not sure, however, if you’re ready to admit it.’
‘Stop talking in riddles, Ciesko.’
Like it or not, I had to know. I couldn’t be tethered to the whims of a woman, especially a shadow of the Brotherhood. Mydetermination must have been apparent on my face, because Ciesko sighed before continuing.
‘I treated your wounds during the Battle of the Rift, and I can recognise your aether signature in a room full of people,’ he said, confusing me because I thought we were talking about Roksana. He smiled. ‘But since the accident, your signature has changed. The pattern has become more chaotic and much stronger, closely resembling your brother’s.’
‘Oh, please don’t tell me that at the ripe old age of thirty-five I’m destined to become a dragon rider?’
I laughed it off, but he remained serious.
‘I don’t think you’ll be able to bond with a dragon, no, but the wild magic within you has grown stronger. If not for the stasis spell Riordan put you in, I’m afraid you would have lost your sanity to the power that kept you alive.’
‘How the fuck did that happen?’ I shot up from the chair and walked to the window where I’d previously stood watching a man escape from Sana’s balcony.
‘Hard to say. Wild magic is called that for a reason. No one can predict what it will do. All we know is that your bloodline has a strong affinity for its chaos, creating at least one dragon rider a generation, while those who do not become riders are seeded with the berserker’s rage. There have even been cases where near-death experiences have awakened the power.’
‘So you don’t think she hexed me . . . but how does that explain this obsession? Especially with her scent. Why do I feel like this? I should despise her for what she did,’ I said, drumming my fingers on the desk’s surface with such force that Ciesko shifted in his chair, fear flashing in his eyes.
I was afraid of losing control. I saw what wild magic had done to my brother. He was barely eight years old when he almost killed a man and I’d had to witness him being dragged away to the Cave of Choosing. My mother wailed, clawing at my father’sarm when they took him, and I promised I would never let that happen ever again.
‘Sire, if I may? I heard the young lady is attractive. Wild magic can react strangely when emotions are enflamed . . . I can promise you one thing, though—if you’d despise her as you claim you should, with the wild magic in control . . .’ He paused, muttering, ‘How to put this gently?’ to himself. ‘Your guest wouldn’t be sleeping peacefully in her room, and I would be by her side, healing what was left of her.’
‘You mean I’d have violated her.’ I stated it emotionlessly, but my entire soul recoiled at such a thought. The wave of protectiveness that washed over me left me confused, but despite the violence of our first meeting, I couldn’t hate my bewitching Viper.
‘Is there any way I can weaken these feelings?’ I asked. If there was the slightest chance I could be cured of this peculiar affliction, I’d take it.
‘Time and distance, possibly? Right now, your senses are heightened and every reaction exaggerated. You could ask your brother. I heard he had a similar reaction to his mate. Or if you know someone you’re drawn to in a similar way, try spending more time with them?’ Ciesko smiled, patting my shoulder. ‘Wild magic works in mysterious ways, but we are not animals, sire. Our actions are our own.’
I nodded, unconvinced by the old healer’s words. He hadn’t felt the maelstrom in my soul when I held her in my arms.
