Page 36 of The Fae Queen's Revenge

Chapter 18

Finding the Links

Ber squeezed his eyes closed and tried to steady his breathing. How deeply had the glass embedded itself in his back? Enough to cause a great deal of blood loss? In the moment, it hadn’t felt serious enough to halt his advance on the assassin, but instinct could override a lot during combat. No other reason for his dizziness seemed as likely, although the pain wasn’t nearly as bad as the times he’d been stabbed.

When Araxa spoke, Ber couldn’t gather the energy to open his eyes. “I apprenticed with a globemaker for a while. There are no harmful substances used in the making.”

Was that directed at him or one of the guards? He hadn’t heard the question that had prompted such a statement.

“This has the appearance of poison.” That from the bodyguard whose arm he gripped lest he topple over. Halueth. The man’s name was Halueth. “Can a mage detect that?”

“Only if it’s wrought by magic,” Araxa replied. Why was there so much worry in her tone? He’d sustained far worse injuries. “There are many types of spell remnants circling around, but none are related to poison as far as I can tell. And yet…something is very wrong here. These globes should not havefallen. I’ve accidently knocked into them many times while practicing my display.”

“Ask this one,” another voice interjected.

At the dull thud of a body hitting stone, Ber finally pried his gritty eyelids open. A thin, womanly frame wavered atop the path at his feet. Though it was no doubt his vision wavering, not her. “Who is this?” he demanded.

“The person we were tracking when the other bastard struck,” Halueth practically growled. “An accomplice, no doubt.”

Ber blinked down at the woman, whose head shot up at the accusation. A familiar fury burned in her eyes. Or maybe…maybe it was her face that was familiar. But where had he seen her before? She wasn’t one of the courtiers or dignitaries, not in such common garb, and he didn’t recognize her from amongst the servants. She looked more like one of the workers who inspected the grounds.

“I’m not here with anyone,” the woman said. “You’ve no cause to treat me like this.”

Her captor nudged her with his boot. “We caught you skulking around the hedges as the globes started to fall.”

“Do you have proof I did anything?” she countered. “I’m an artisan employed by the palace, and I was merely enjoying a glimpse of the entertainments after my work was done.”

Halueth snorted. “Then why did you run?”

“Who wouldn’t run with armed guards chasing them?”

Ber’s vision dimmed and flickered like a failing light globe, but his memories suddenly clarified. This was the artisan from the tavern, the one who’d edged toward treason with her words. Had she recognized him, then? His muscles tensed, adrenaline providing a boost to his focus. He had to find out what she knew without compromising his disguise to the guards.

But first, he had to discover what she’d used to try to kill him, for his muddled senseswerereminiscent of several poisons.

“You loosened the chains,” Ber stated, his voice quieting the others instantly. “What substance did you put on the light globes?”

The woman’s gaze slid down his body, lingering on the red staining the left side of his tunic. Fear replaced the defiance in her eyes. “There was nothing on the globes.”

Ber smiled grimly. “On the decorative branches, then?”

Her mouth dropped open for a heartbeat before she regained control of her expression. She hadn’t expected him to catch the nuances in her statement—but perhaps she hadn’t realized how her voice had lilted on “globes.” Too bad for her. His life had been built on reading those slight shifts in tone.

“Where is the healer?” someone behind him called. “Lord Orpem isn’t looking good.”

Ber glanced over his shoulder, the motion sending his head spinning once more. A trio of still and silent Orpems oscillated in his view. Yes, poison had likely been on the branches—which had pierced through the dignitary’s body in several locations, hastening the effects. Ber wouldn’t be sorry if the man died, but it could create complications for the kingdom.

“Carry a pair of healers here if you have to,” Ber said, turning back more slowly to stare down at the artisan. The lack of speed didn’t help his poor head. “Place this one in the dungeon in a private cell. I’ll interrogate her myself once I’ve seen the healer and had some rest.”

A crown prince’s command garnered immediate results. Between one blink and another, the artisan was hauled away by a trio of guards. The senior healer herself strode up the path—though admittedly not because of his order—and in the distance, he saw another healer being nudged into a run by a soldier.

Halueth assisted him to a bench on the other side of the central path, just out of view of Orpem and the gawking nobles who’d started to gather. “Something isn’t right, Your Highness,”the guard murmured as he straightened to attention beside the bench.

“Yes,” Ber concurred, though Halueth’s comment was unexpected. Was this treachery disguised as candor? Maybe it was the unrelenting burn searing his back or his spinning head distorting his good sense, but Ber took the chance anyway. “The artisan and the archer weren’t together.”

With the lead healer’s gaze focused on them as she approached, the bodyguard’s nod was barely perceptible. “There was more to the latter.”

Ber eyed the distance to the healer. She was too close to hearing range for comfort. “You will assist me to my room once I’ve been healed. There, you may give your report on the incident while I rest.”

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