Page 99 of The Queen's Crown
“I’m perfectly fine,” she lied.
A couple exited the throne room, arms linked together, laughing. “Princess Lottie!” the woman cooed.
Sabine used the distraction to step past them. She entered the throne room, scanning the sea of faces. Perfume, ale, and laughter filled the air. With everyone wearing a mask, she didn’t see anyone she recognized. If Rainer was searching the Avoni ship, he wouldn’t even be here. Panic filled her.
A man approached. “May I have this dance?” he asked.
“I must speak with King Rainer. It’s of the utmost importance. Have you seen him?”
He shook his head.
She walked out among the dancers, searching for Rainer.
People bumped into her, laughing, too drunk to apologize for touching someone of her rank.
She spotted Lottie on the other side of the room, talking to someone and laughing as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Their eyes locked and Sabine had to look away.
The music seemed too loud; the room too hot.
“Princess, a dance?” another person asked.
She ignored him, pushing past people to find the king.
The man she’d seen before, the one dressed all in black with a cape, stood ten feet away. A couple spun before her, and she lost sight of him. Standing still, she turned in a slow circle, looking for Rainer while keeping an eye out for the mysterious man. The assassin she’d seen in the guest suite hadn’t had a cape on, so she didn’t think it was the same person. However, she couldn’t be certain at this point.
She never would have suspected Lottie would be behind her sister’s death.
Now that she was looking at those around her, she realized no one from Avoni was here. They must have all left. Not finding the king, she headed to the other side of the room. Perhaps he was out on the balcony. At the edge of the dance floor, she glanced at the balcony, finding it empty.
“Princess,” a deep voice said from right next to her left shoulder. Something was shoved against her mouth and nose for a brief second and then it was removed.
Shocked, she spun to face the person, just as a potent smell hit her—one she recognized immediately.
Images of back home flashed before her eyes. Sitting at the dining table with her mother, several bowls before them. Queen Elsa instructed Sabine on how to memorize the various poisons by associating their smell with something. The one bowl contained a most dangerous poison.
“Giplig,” she whispered as she looked up into a masked face. It was the man in black. The one with the cape.
He lowered his hand, which had a black handkerchief against his palm. “Yes,” he whispered, seemingly surprised.
Her senses started to dull. She tried speaking, but no words came out. She knew she had less than a minute until she blacked out.
The man held her as if dancing. He glided them closer to the edge of the room and then out onto the balcony.
She hoped he didn’t toss her over the side, letting her plummet to her death. Although, it would be a fitting death considering how stupid she’d been. She knew her sister’s killer, she knew about the poison giplig, and yet here she was. She reached down, fumbling through the fabric of her dress until she found her dagger. She withdrew it, and it fell from her limp fingers, clinking onto the stone floor.
Her world went black.
Sabine felt as if her body were swaying up and down in a gentle rocking motion. Was she falling to her death? No, she didn’t think so. She’d be dead by now if that were the case. Breathing in, she smelled salt and wood. A strange combination.
She peeled her eyelids open. Everything was blurry. She blinked several times, clearing the haze from her eyes. A low wooden ceiling was above her, and she was lying on a narrow bed.
“You’re awake,” a male voice said.
She turned her head to the side, toward the voice, and saw a man dressed all in black. He’d removed his mask revealing a face she recognized. “You’re the man from my balcony.” The one with red hair.
“Yes,” he said.
“You’re from Avoni.” He was the youngest in the delegation. Sabine guessed his age to be close to hers.
