Page 76 of The Study of Poisons
“Haven’t you figured it out by now? You’ll never pay off your debt. As soon as you get close, you always gamble yourself right down another hole. You’re too weak, Rand. Too swayed by your own emotions. Easily addicted and lacking in willpower.”
“Oh, that’s right. You claim to be a magician. Have you read my mind, Captain? ‘Captain Star’—what a laugh! If you really had magic, Valek would have taken care of you long ago. I know you’re not as smart as you claim.” Rand’s uneven gait rasped on the floorboards.
If the woman had magic, Valek hadn’t detected it. Then again, he hadn’t spent any time in her company. And he wasn’t sure if he could sense magic through a wall.
“I don’t need to read your mind,” Star called. “All I have to do is review your history, Rand. It’s all there.”
Valek waited a few heartbeats before he stood and helped Yelena to her feet. Not that she needed help, but she held her body as if afraid she’d break.
Inrick returned and Valek gave him the notebook. Then led Yelena down the stairs and through the quiet streets. He kept to the shadows, but once they left the city, he relaxed and walked next to her.
“I’m sorry,” Valek said, breaking the silence. “I know Rand was your friend.”
“How long have you known?” she asked.
“I’ve suspected for the last three months, but only procured the hard evidence this month.”
“What tipped you off?”
“Rand and his staff helped me with that poison test I gave you. He stayed while I laced the food with poison. I left that goblet of peach juice on my desk to keep it clean. Itwasa fair test. Blackberry poison was in that cup, but I didn’t put it there.” Valek paused, letting the information sink in.
When she didn’t react, he continued. “An interesting property of blackberries is that only when they’re prepared in a special solution of grain alcohol and yeast and cooked with extreme care to the proper temperature are they poisonous. Most cooks, and certainly not their assistants, don’t possess the skills or the knowledge to achieve that result.”
She stumbled as the realization hit her that Rand had tried to kill her. Yelena dashed to the side of the road and vomited. Valek followed and supported her while her body convulsed, wishing he had a cool rag for her forehead.
“Thanks,” she said, grabbing some leaves to wipe her mouth.
Her legs were trembling, so Valek kept an arm around her as they headed through the south gate and toward the castle. Yelena pressed against him, fitting in so perfectly that he wanted to savor the moment. Yet the circumstances were far from ideal.
“There’s more. Do you want to hear it?” Valek asked.
“No.”
They continued without speaking.
“Did Rand set me up at the fire festival?” she asked.
“In a way.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“The goons that nabbed you waited for you near the baking tent, so I suspected that Rand had told Star you would be there. But then he wouldn’t let you out of his sight. It was as if he was protecting you. Remember how upset he was when he couldn’t find you? How relieved he was when he spotted you alive and whole?”
“I thought he was drunk,” she said.
“I suspect Rand is an unwilling participant. At the time of the poison test, he hardly knew you, but as your friendship grew, I imagine he finds himself in a difficult situation. He doesn’t want to hurt you, but he needs to pay off his gambling debt. Star has an extensive organization, with plenty more thugs to replace the ones I took care of, thugs who would be willing to break a few bones for their boss. Does that make you feel any better?”
“No.”
Valek had tried, but she’d taken the news hard. He wasn’t sure what else he could say. He was more a man of action. Would she feel better if he offered to assassinate Rand? Or to arrest him? Probably not.
When they reached the castle’s entrance, she stopped. “Anything else you want to tell me?” she asked. “Did Ari and Janco set me up for Nix’s attack? Do you have another test of loyalty for me up your sleeve? Maybe the next time, I’ll actually fail. A prospect that seems appealing!” Yelena pushed away his arm. “When you warned me that you would test me from time to time, I thought you meant spiking my food. But it seems there is more than one way to poison a person’s heart, and it doesn’t even require a meal.”
Did she blame him for Rand’s deceptions? Or was she just upset that he had hidden the betrayal from her? While Rand’s actions were bad, being deceived certainly wasn’t the worst thing a person had to deal with in life.
“Everyone makes choices in life. Some bad, some good. It’s called living, and if you want to bow out, then go right ahead. But don’t do it halfway. Don’t linger in whiner’s limbo,” Valek said, his voice gruff. “I don’t know what horrors you faced prior to your arrival in our dungeon. If I had to guess, I would think they were worse than what you have discovered tonight. Perhaps that will put things into perspective.” Without waiting for an answer, he strode into the castle.
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