Page 78 of The Study of Poisons
“No, but he wanted to hire her to cause trouble with the delegation.”
This kept getting better and better. “What kind of trouble?”
“Big enough to ruin a relationship between Ixia and Sitia. Big enough to stop any peace treaties or trading agreements. He told her to use her imagination.”
Valek cursed.
“Yeah,” Inrick agreed. “Star said she had just the thing. Except she never explained what the thing is to him or anyone else, and I’ve been listening for hours.”
“Did you update your replacement?”
“Yeah, Hildred knows what’s going on.”
Hopefully they would discover Star’s plans before the delegation arrived. “I want eyes on Star’s front and back doors around the clock. Keep track of everyone who comes and goes. Follow anyone new or suspicious and find out who they are.”
“Yes, sir.” Inrick snapped a salute and left.
Valek sat behind his desk and rubbed his face. If they didn’t discover what Star planned, he’d have to prepare for every single contingency. Considering he could think of a large number of ways to disrupt the meeting, Valek would need to bring in all his agents in order to stop the trouble before it began. However, that was his next problem to solve. Right now, the generals were his priority.
Rummaging through the boxes underneath the conference table, Valek located the one containing eight bottles of brandy. Each general brought a bottle of their signature brandy to the meeting to share. A tradition, and one that Yelena was unfamiliar with. She would need to taste the Commander’s pour—all eight of them—for poisons.
Strong alcohol made it difficult for a food taster to pick up other flavors unless they were accustomed to the taste of the liquor. Yelena needed to become familiar with each brandy.
Valek hefted the box. Darkness pressed against the windows, indicating he’d missed dinner. Before he reached the door, it opened, and Kenda poked her head in. Her sour expression meant more bad news.
“Trouble?” he asked.
“Not sure. Some of Brazell’s soldiers are boasting about a bounty being offered for the person who, and I quote, ‘bags the food taster.’”
That would explain the extra soldiers in the castle. Worry for Yelena swirled, but he kept it in check. “Drunk boasting?”
“Mostly. But there are a few serious ones. Enough that she needs to be extra careful. I could also assign a few agents to watch her.”
Except Kenda didn’t sound enthusiastic about the suggestion. No surprise, as they needed all their agents for other tasks.
“No need. I’ll warn her and I’ll keep an eye out. She’s already been laying low.”
“Good. I’ll let you know if there’s an imminent threat.”
“Thanks.”
She held the door open for him and spotted the brandy bottles as he walked past. “Rough day?” she teased.
“You’ve no idea.”
“Oh? Something up?”
He explained about Star as they walked through the castle.
“Couldn’t we just arrest her now?” Kenda asked in exasperation.
“We could, but then the rest of her network disappears and her client hires someone else to disrupt the Sitian’s visit. This way, we might find out who he is and what they’re planning beforehand.”
“And if we don’t?”
“Then we’ll just have to be smarter than they are.”
“Easier said than done.” She waved goodbye as she headed toward her office.
