Page 78 of Poisoned Kingdom
An image of a scarred face with its single steel-grey eye flashed through my mind. Reynard would understand, even if he'd scold me for taking risks.
I don’t know why I thought of him, why telling him I’d outsmarted Jagon felt more important than telling Lily or Tova. I shook my head, regretting it when a wave of dizziness swept over me, a reminder that there were more important things to think about than his opinion.
‘Keep it together, Sana. He’s the king, and you’re a commoner with a shady past. No matter how good you smell to him, the most you'll ever be is allies,’ I muttered to myself. Our paths couldn’t be more different—I was going to help Boyan keep theBrotherhood together and train with Ciesko, while he had a country to rule and enemies far greater than I could imagine to contend with.
Just as I thought I’d finally recovered, my transport pulled up in front of the House of Lilies, and the sudden stop filled my mouth with a sour taste. I fell through the door, latching onto a lawn ornament to steady myself while my stomach emptied itself on the stone pavers. I was still heaving when the door to the house opened.
‘Sana? How much did you drink? Now I know why you didn’t want to take me to this feast.’
The amusement in Tova’s voice grated on my last nerve, but his help was godsent. The dwarf slipped an arm around my waist, holding me upright while he guided me back to my room.
‘You look worse than a necromancer after a graveyard shift. If I knew you were going to binge, I would have insisted on joining you,’ he said, laying me on the bed and placing an empty basin beside me.
‘I’m not drunk,’ I croaked when he put a wet cloth on my forehead. I grimaced at the burning in my throat. ‘I purged some poison.’
Tova dropped down to look me in the eye, grasping my hand in alarm. ‘How can I help? Talk to me, girl. Should I call Lily . . . or the healer?’ He squeezed my hand so hard I winced. ‘Fuck Sana, you aren’t dying, are you? Who did this to you? I’ll make lute strings out of his guts.’
‘I’ll be fine,’ I said, pressing the wet, cold cloth to my skin, sighing with relief at how much it helped. ‘I forgot how much it hurts. How was your evening?’
‘Sana, stop changing the subject. What happened? Who did this?’
‘I did it to myself. Jagon was killing his apprentice to teach me a lesson. I just took the hit. But it was worth it, as I learneda few interesting things, and it brought back some sweet, old memories.’
‘Of all the stupid, unreasonable things . . .’ he said, standing up to jam his fists on his hips and glare at me.
‘Tova, remember how much you moaned the day after you won the moonshine drinking competition?’ I asked, halting his tirade.
‘Yeah, so?’
‘So, shut up, you’re giving me a headache,’ I responded.
Tova sighed, sitting heavily on the bed, stroking my back as I dry heaved.
‘Fine, but this conversation isn’t over. At least you learned something—we didn’t have quite as much luck. The merchants didn’t even get drunk, let alone talk to me or Lily's entertainers. Theywerefrom Wiosna, but one of them remembered buying some of my trinkets, so they clammed up after that. The only thing I learned was that Mlot has issued arrest warrants for us, and one of Lily’s girls heard they were heading south soon.’
‘Would you recognise them if you saw them again?’ I asked, unwilling to open my eyes. ‘Can you sneak a look at their wagon? It would be helpful to know what goods they’re transporting—even better if we could steal a sample, especially since Mlot already considers us criminals.’
‘I’d recognise them easily. We can have a look tomorrow after viewing the house I told you about. Oh! Two letters came after you left. One, from the arch healer, was more of a note, saying he wanted to see you tomorrow. The other was sealed and stamped with wolf’s head, whatever the fuck that means.’
‘Read it for me, please,’ I said with a sigh, already knowing who’d sent it. Reynard hadn’t wasted any time, and as much as I wanted to ignore it, the king’s missive might be urgent.
Tova nodded, bringing a fae light closer and cutting off the seal with a swipe of his dagger.
‘“You promised me gossip, Viper. Come to see me tomorrow at noon in the palace gardens.” There’s no signature,’ Tova said, inspecting the letter under the light and then heating it over the flame. ‘Nope, nothing hidden either.’
He folded the paper and passed it to me.
‘He doesn’t need one. Only one person calls me Viper and wears a wolf’s mask. I guess he seals his letters with a wolf’s head, too. It’s from the king,’ I said, draping an arm over my eyes. ‘Tova, call a maid. I need to undress and rest. The world can wait until tomorrow.’
‘Well, best recover quickly. We’re looking at that house first thing in the morning. I arranged an early viewing.’ Tova’s lips widened into a wicked grin. ‘If you feel anything like you did the day after the drinking contest, it’ll be a ghastly day.’
‘You’re a heartless bastard,’ I moaned as I heard him walk towards the door.
‘Yeah, but you still love me,’ he said with an evil chuckle.
An hour later, I’d washed and changed my clothes with the help of Lily’s maid, who promised to come check up on me later. I didn’t protest, so tired that my eyelids felt glued together, hoping that the world would leave me to sleep off my encounter with Jagon’s poison. Sweet oblivion beckoned, my senses lulled by the music downstairs while a draft made me shiver under the covers.
‘I’m fine, just close the window,’ I muttered, hearing footsteps approach. I appreciated her care, but this was too much, and irritation made me groan.
