Page 71 of The Study of Poisons
“No. Use the change of the Commander’s successor. It’s already floating around as a rumor, so you’ll just confirm it.” Happy that he had a plan to test the Criollo, Valek strode from the room.
A part of him didn’t like not telling Yelena that the substance might be addictive or make a person susceptible to suggestions, but he wouldn’t get an honest reaction from her if she suspected or fought the effects. On the other hand, telling her about it afterwards would ruin any progress he might have made on earning her trust. He needed to think of a better solution.
He returned to his office. Soon after, Kenda arrived.
“I put a box of that Criollo you wanted in your suite,” she said.
“Was Hildred busy?”
“No.” She shrugged. “I thought it’d be easier to steal it than explain what I needed to Hildred. It wasn’t.”
“You should have waited for the dinner rush.”
“That wasn’t it. The stuff was locked in Rand’s rooms. Seems the recipe was either wrong or the chef couldn’t get it to work and what’s left of the Criollo is considered valuable.”
Smart of Brazell to send a fake recipe. That would put the blame on Rand, and Brazell would be able to continue supplying it to the Commander.
The door to his office flew open. One of the medical staff rushed in. Valek jumped to his feet. “What’s wrong?”
“Medic Channa…” she puffed. “Sent me… Yelena…”
His world slowed to a stop.
“Yelena’s…been injured.”
CHAPTER14
The world snapped into motion. Valek raced to the infirmary while his thoughts spiraled with a litany of dire injuries. Half convinced she was near death, Valek burst through the doors. Yelena lay on an examination table, but she was conscious. Thank fate!
“What happened?” Valek demanded when he arrived at her side.
Yelena frowned at Channa. The medic took Yelena’s right hand. Blood dripped from a deep cut across her palm. A similar wound bled from her left hand. Both defensive injuries. Valek bit back a curse as he scanned her body for other gashes.
Channa said, “Broken glass leaves jagged lacerations. These clean slices are obviously from a knife. I’m required to report it.”
True. Valek wished to be informed about any knife fights.
Yelena turned her attention to him. “I was attacked.”
“By who?” He’d kill them.
She glanced at the medic, signaling a need for privacy.
“Could you excuse us for a minute?” he asked Channa.
Clearly unhappy about his request, she hesitated. “Five minutes,” she ordered, and walked to her desk.
“Who?” Valek repeated.
“Nix, a guard in Parffet’s unit. Said he worked for Brazell and warned me to stop training.”
“I’ll kill him.”
“No, you won’t,” she said as if scolding a toddler. “You’ll use him. He’s a link to Brazell.”
He met her gaze. She was right, using Nix was a smart idea. Yet the fire in his veins demanded the man pay for hurting her. He tamped down the bloodlust; he could always kill Nix later. “Where did he attack you?”
“A storeroom about four or five doors up from our training room.”
