Page 70 of The Study of Poisons
“How do you know?”
“He sent me an update about the factory. Those beans help the cows produce more milk and increase a steer’s weight.”
“No matter how they’re obtained, the beans are still illegal,” Valek said because it appeared the Commander had lost all reason.
“In this case, he has my approval.”
Valek had no response. Getting angry or questioning the Commander’s decision would be pointless. “Yes, sir.”
“Good, because you’re going to be busy over the next couple weeks. The generals will be here for the annual brandy meeting, and a Sitian delegation is coming to visit us.”
Valek laughed, but no humor touched the Commander’s gaze. “You’re serious?”
“Yes.” He indicated a piece of parchment on his desk. “The Sitian Council has requested a meeting and I’ve agreed.”
It took every bit of Valek’s willpower not to react. “When are they coming?”
“In a week. I expect them to be treated as guests and not enemies. Understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
Valek left the office in a daze. As soon as he entered a deserted hallway, he leaned against the wall. His thoughts spun. The Commander was not himself. That was now a fact.
Considering the typical reasons for a person acting strangely, Valek ruled out blackmail and love right away. That left magic and addiction. Valek would have sensed if magic was in use, but he wasn’t with the Commander all day. As for addiction, that fit the facts better. Up until recently, the only source of Criollo was from Brazell. The general could have found out about Valek’s investigation of his factory and implied he’d stop sending the dessert if Valek didn’t stop. Then why send the recipe? Brazell would lose his advantage. Unless…Criollo somehow made a person more open to suggestions? Perhaps Brazell had an aide or adviser in the castle who had been talking to the Commander.
Valek needed to figure out just how the Criollo worked. After stopping by Kenda’s office to arrange for one of his agents to steal some Criollo from the kitchen, he headed to the training room. Yelena and the others should be just finishing their workout for the day. Sure enough, when he entered, they sat on the bench chatting.
Maren took one look at his expression and jumped to her feet. But she wasn’t who he needed to talk to, and he asked her and the power twins to leave. Once they were gone, he paced, trying to find the right words to explain without sounding like an idiot.
“What’s wrong?” Yelena asked. “Is it about tonight?”
“No,” he rushed to assure her. “We’re all set for tonight. This is about the Commander.” He paused.
“What about him?”
“Has he been meeting with anyone strange this week?”
“Strange?”
“Someone you don’t know or an adviser from another Military District?”
“Not that I’ve seen. Why?”
Valek paused again, not sure how to describe what’d been going on. “Commander Ambrose has agreed to admit a Sitian delegation.”
“That’s bad?” she asked, confused.
Unable to hold in his emotions any longer, he said, “He hates southerners! They’ve requested a meeting with him every year since the takeover. And for the last fifteen years, the Commander has replied with a single word: no. Now they’re due to arrive in a week.” Valek’s pacing increased. “Ever since you became the food taster and that Criollo showed up, the Commander has been acting different. I couldn’t put my finger on it before, it was just a nagging feeling, but now I have two particular incidents.”
“The change in his successor and now the southern delegation?”
“Exactly.” He took a deep breath. “I’ve misdirected some Criollo to our suite. I want you to eat a piece whenever he does. But you’re not to tell anyone, not even the Commander. That’s an order.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Keep your meeting with Margg tonight. I’ll be there.”
“Should I tell Margg’s contact about the southern delegation?”
