Ambassador Gerwin Johnson was pale-white with purple blotches covering his chest, arms, and face. Corey had removed his uniform jacket and opened the white shirt he was wearing underneath to be able to assess the changes in his condition in real-time.
Maray’s and Laura’s anxious expressions had faded the moment the steam from his mouth had stopped. Now, they were both standing beside the bed, examining her every move and growing impatient, judging by the amount of shifting and fiddling.
“You honestly don’t need to stay, Pia.” Maray dismissed her new handmaiden for the fifth or sixth time, but Pia persistently stayed by Maray’s side.
Corey was proud of her young friend. Not only had she ensured Corey had gotten to the Ambassador in time, but she had actually impressed Maray enough to become the handmaiden to the Princess of Allinan. Her life at court was ensured for as long as Maray lived, and knowing Maray, there was probably no better person to work for.
“Can I get you anything?” Pia asked in return. “Tea? Water?”
Corey felt Maray nod behind her. She must be devastated. First believing her father was actually dead, then learning that death didn’t have the same meaning in Allinan as in the world Maray grew up.
“I’ll get you something.” It was Heck who rushed from the room like a chocolate-eyed breeze.
The rest of them returned to silent waiting. The red stripes under the Ambassador’s chin had faded, and if it weren’t for the slow rising and falling of his chest, Corey would believe he was dead. But with the last whisper of steam from his mouth, his heart had gone out of arrest, and his lungs, cleansed of whatever the ‘kiss of death’ had become there, had expanded to fill with fresh air. Now it was only a matter of time until he would regain consciousness and scare the rest of the room with screams of pain.
“If I may,” Pia spoke in a cautious tone that made Corey think the girl was going to say something she shouldn’t. “This wasn’t an attack on Ambassador Johnson,” she said, and Corey wanted to tell her to shut up. Now was neither the time nor the place to start the guessing game. Maray and her mother were still comprehending. “This was an attack on Maray.”
Corey turned her head just in time to witness how Laura’s expression turned into stone, and without looking up from her husband’s ashen face, she said, “You may not, Pia Pordin.” Corey saw Pia’s eyes widen in surprise that her words were anything but welcome. “You have hardly started your duties in my daughter’s service, and you already think you know what is going on at court.”
“I apologize, Your Royal Highness,” Pia instantly said, eyes darting to Corey for help, but Corey had no idea what was appropriate on this occasion.
“No, Mom,” Maray interfered. “She is right.” Maray turned away from her father and to Pia, who seemed surprised by Maray’s outspokenness toward the current regent of Allinan—whether she was wearing a crown or not. “Pia got a message in her dumpling which was meant for me. Someone is going to great lengths to make my life miserable.”
Laura now looked up, too, a flash of fury crossing her eyes, but her features remained stone-like. “By ‘someone’, you mean your grandmother.”
“You really think it’s her?” Maray didn’t seem entirely convinced. “She is rotting in a cell without any communication to the outside world.”
“Except for all the people guarding her cell and all the people questioning her,” Laura added with a sour tone. “Never—” Laura stepped closer to Maray and laid her hand on her daughter’s arm, “—and I mean never—underestimate your grandmother’s creativity when it comes to pulling people to her side. She is like a snake.”
Corey felt a stab of pain at Laura’s words. How difficult it must be to have a mother like Rhia. Maybe being an orphan wasn’t so bad after all.
“Neelis would never be disloyal, Your Royal Highness,” Pia threw in. “The Yutu-pack is loyal to you and your family.
“Minus Rhia,” Heck reappeared in the door with a tray of mugs and a pot of hot tea. “She can rot down there for the rest of her immortal days, for all I care.” A twinkle was back in his eyes, and Corey saw the rebel son of a noble family that she’d grown up with a glimpse through the otherwise serious face.
“Mind your words, Hendrick,” Laura cautioned him. “She is still the Queen of Allinan.”
But Heck didn’t seem to be impressed by Laura’s reminder. “Still,” he agreed, and they shared a look that Corey had never seen before. It was as if they were talking about something completely different than Rhia’s status in the realm of Allinan.
“Heck is right,” Maray came to his aid. “She can rot in hell, and I’ll still gladly dance at that event of yours and smile.”
“How do you think she did it?” Corey joined the conversation now that it was being openly discussed.
“She must have had help,” Pia suggested. “But who…?”
“I’d rather know the ‘why’,” Heck interrupted. “If we don’t know why, we cannot prevent her from trying again. If she managed once, she’ll find another way. As long as we don’t know why…”
“Good thinking, Hendrick,” Laura praised him, much to Corey’s surprise, and judging by the look on Maray’s face, also much to hers.
A groan stopped all of them dead, and Corey turned back to the bed to find the Ambassador’s eyes open and searching.
“Dad?” Maray reacted first, but the Ambassador didn’t seem to hear her.
“Ambassador Johnson,” Corey asked, using the tone Feris had always used with his patients. “Can you hear me?”
His eyes stopped, dark and layered with the brownish juice from the antidote, and looked right into hers. Corey took it as a sign he had heard her.
“You are in your bedroom. Heck and Pia brought you up here. You were poisoned at the choosing ceremony.” As she listened to herself, Corey found it hard to believe her own words. Heck was right. The ‘why’ was more important than anything. Ambassador Johnson had never harmed a hair on anyone in Allinan—except for the Crown Princess’ reputation… But then, the message had clearly been for Maray, and the use of the same poison that had killed King Almein meant that whoever was behind the attack had assassinated the King of Allinan.
Gerwin mustered something like a ‘Thank you,’ but as he tried to sit up, it was stifled in a curse as the pain set in.
Maray and Laura both twitched beside her, not yet comprehending that this was only the beginning. It was time…
“I apologize, Ambassador,” she started, making her voice sound as clear and unconcerned as she could. She had seen that with Feris, and people’s responses were usually better if the warlock appeared to be in control of the situation—which she was, just scared. “The next couple of hours will be crucial for your recovery, and there is nothing anyone can do about the pain.”
Corey saw the understanding and the fear in the Ambassador’s eyes as the purple blotches disappeared completely in the familiar red of strain. It wouldn’t be long before the screaming would start.
She turned to inform the rest of the room. “You might want to wait outside. This is going to be ugly.” But Maray and Laura shook their heads, for the first time, looking so much alike in their worry that Corey saw mother and daughter, not an other-worldly girl and grey-haired Cornay Princess.
“You leave,” Laura ordered Pia and Heck, and her tone made clear she wouldn’t allow any objections.
While Pia slipped out of the room with a curtsey which, despite all expectations, was perfect, Heck poured three mugs of tea and picked up one of them. “Here,” he handed it to Maray, who eyed him with an unreadable face but didn’t take the mug from him. “You’ll need something warm in you. Trust me to know Corey well enough that if she says it’s going to be ugly, it is going to be ugly.” He pulled the corner of his lips up on one side. “If you need me to stay, I will,” he added, his face again the new Heck Corey had noticed before. How had she never seen that side of him? Was he really that good of an actor? Or was it just Maray bringing out
sides in people they normally buried, like Jemin’s fabulous smile and Heck’s seriousness?
Maray shook her head an inch, just enough to make clear she didn’t want Heck there, and took the tea mug with a grateful expression.
“I’ll be waiting outside, then.” Heck turned around and walked to the entrance. “I’ll be right behind that door if you change your mind.”
“Thank you, Hendrick,” Laura answered for Maray, and there, again, was the look that Corey didn’t understand. Was she pleased with Heck’s behavior?
Heck inclined his head at the Crown Princess and disappeared from the room.
Before Maray could even take a sip of tea, Gerwin’s face twisted, and he let out a scream that scared even Corey, knowing what to expect and having seen it before.
“Will he be all right?” Laura asked, her royal facade all crumbled for once. All that was left there was the concern of a loving wife for her husband.
Corey nodded. “The next hours will be hell for him, and after that—” She was interrupted by another scream, and the Ambassador rolled to the side, clutching his chest. Corey placed one hand on his shoulder and imagined she could help him with her magic. She knew she couldn’t. This was the pain of the remains of the magic burning off in his tissues, and no magic—not even her devil-child-powers—could help with that. Gerwin gave her a look of gratitude. He understood her gesture more as a consolation rather than the act of trying to ease the pain. “After that,” she continued, “he should be fine… after a while.”
Laura’s look of horror told her that the Crown Princess had no idea what a while meant, how long this could possibly last.
“We’re here, Dad,” Maray let him know. “We won’t leave your side until you’re better.”
Gerwin nodded at her words and gritted his teeth.
The glaze of brown was retreating from his eyes after a couple of minutes, leaving him with free sight on his family, and he asked in between two gasps of agony, “Who did this to me?”
Corey wanted to say that they didn’t know, but Laura was first. “My mother—as always when someone is attempting to destroy our lives.”
The Ambassador rolled his eyes, not from the pain this time. “She just can’t let it go, can she?”
No one answered as he was shaken by another wave of pain. It took an hour before it slowly ebbed away, and he gazed up at his wife with a look Corey identified as dark amusement. “I guess that’s what it was like for you to give birth to our little one.”
When his skin tone had returned to normal, and everyone was able to breathe, the Ambassador rested his back against the headboard and gave Corey a long look. “Thank you, Corey,” he said with a tired smile. “You saved my life—and my family.”
Corey nodded and decided it was time for her to pack her things up and give the royal family some privacy.
“I’ll be back to check on you in a couple of hours.” She picked up her bag. “Get some rest. You almost died today. It will take days, if not weeks before you’re back on your feet.”
Maray gave her a hug before she let her leave. “Thanks, Corey.”
Over Maray’s shoulder, Laura nodded at her, adding her own gratitude in a more silent way. It was obvious that her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Rhia, judging by how lines of anger returned to her face when she looked at her husband. And Corey knew that the first thing she had to do was find Commander Scott and figure out if Rhia really was the only suspect or if there was something else they were missing.
When she closed the door behind her, Heck eyed her from the side. “You’re their new hero,” he commented and winked, but his mouth didn’t twitch the way it would normally do.
Instead of giving him any response, Corey studied the angles of his olive face. Something was different, and it wasn’t just that he wasn’t grinning. There was a vulnerability about him that Corey had never noticed before.
“How is she?” he asked, voice hoarse, and pushed away from the windowsill next to the door.
“Who?” Corey asked, cautious not to make assumptions.
“Maray,” Heck said breathily. His chocolate eyes were full of concern—deep, honest worry for his Princess… or for the girl.
“She’ll pull through,” Corey found herself snapping at him. What was it about Maray that changed people? What?
Exhausted, she threw her free hand up as if she was shrugging with it. Then she slouched past a confused Heck, feet dragging heavier than she’d expected. It had been a long night, and she had work to do. With another occurrence of the ‘kiss of death’, she had to revisit Feris’ library and find out everything she could about that particular poison. How long did it take to brew it? Who sold the ingredients? Who had used it before?
She passed by the guards along the hallway, each of whom nodded at her. They knew that she had done it, that she had saved the Ambassador. And for the first time she could remembered, there was something more to their looks than the judgmental recognition of a devil-child. There was respect.
Maray
Snow had fallen and covered the ground, making the gravel in the yard look like a rough, frozen lake. Maray stared out the window, eyes lazily crossing back and forth between the main gate and the servant quarters.
“Ready?” Pia asked from the bathroom door, and Maray let the curtain fall back in front of the slightly uneven glass to cover the ice-crystals that were settling in the corners.
“Do I have a choice?”
Maray was well aware that she had been dying to face Rhia, not only to ask her to her face if she had attempted to murder her father, but to get the full story about the Shalleyn. But now that it was time to actually go down there and get answers, she wasn’t ready. One of the many reasons was that Jemin hadn’t returned from his hunt.
“He’ll be back soon,” Pia consoled her. The girl had learned to read her moods in just a couple of days of service, and she was surprisingly blunt about anything she noticed. Maray didn’t mind. She was glad to have someone at her side who was there because she wanted to be and who didn’t treat her like a porcelain doll. “Neelis and Seri will make sure of it.”
“Wait.” Maray studied Pia’s face, hoping to see more than just her freckled cheeks. “Seri is there?” Something whirled around in her stomach, and it wasn’t a comfortable sensation. “Why hasn’t anyone mentioned that to me?”
Pia’s cheeks now blushed, assuming a similar color to her hair. “I thought you knew…”
“Apparently everyone else seemed to think it was a good idea to leave it out.” Maray didn’t even know what she was so upset about. Maybe the fact that Seri was one of the most beautiful women Maray had ever seen. And she was out there with Jemin—someone Maray had seen her stare at when he hadn’t been looking. She swallowed as she found a name to her emotions. She was actually jealous. But there was more to it than that. She was frightened for Jemin. They hadn’t returned since the day of the choosing ceremony, and it had been almost a week.
“Neelis won’t let anything happen to them,” Pia said matter-of-factly and entered the bathroom. “You coming?”
Maray sighed and followed Pia into the bathroom, where she sat on the small chair and observed the carvings around the mirror.
“Up in a ponytail?” Pia asked innocently and grabbed the hairbrush.
Maray nodded. “Out of my face and out of the way in case we need to fight.” It had been strange in the beginning to let someone else do her hair, especially a girl even younger than herself, but Pia was good company. She had maintained her promise to let Maray wear her jeans and sweaters from the other world, and she didn’t expect Maray to get all excited about jewels or dresses. Maray could be herself—even now with her grumpy mood from Jemin’s joined absence with Seri and the constant worrying about whether or not there would be another attack on anyone she loved… Plus, being a shifter-girl, Pia was probably the best bodyguard anyone could wish for her. Even Jemin would agree—once he was back in one piece.
Maray f
rowned at the mirror as Pia pulled her hair into a tight ponytail then braided it down to her shoulders. “I used to wear my hair like that before I cut it off after I transformed,” Pia informed her.
Maray checked Pia’s expression in the mirror and found a relaxed face, nothing that would suggest she had better not ask about details.
“What was it like?” Maray asked. “Transforming into a Yutu. Does it hurt?”
“The price of freedom,” Pia whispered knowingly and dropped the braid between Maray’s shoulders before she rushed out the door to get a stack of clothes. “You’ll be grateful you let me choose your attire for the occasion,” Pia let Maray know.
Maray raised an eyebrow and took the stack with cautious hands.
“See you in a minute.” Pia was gone again and closed the door, leaving Maray to herself to change.
She unfolded the silken fabric in her arms and was pleased to find a pair of pants and a shirt that reminded her of Jemin’s and Heck’s armor shirts but was tailored more to her figure—Thaotine. She slipped out of her hoodie and jeans and into the most amazing material either of the two worlds had to offer before she took a look at herself in the mirror. She looked fierce, ready to go on patrol with the boys, but her path was a different one today.
When Maray stepped back into her bedroom, Pia had laid out the Cornay dagger and a cloak. Maray picked them up and slipped her braided weapons belt around her waist before she pulled her cloak around her.
“You look kick-ass,” Pia noted and grinned.
“I couldn’t agree more.” Someone said from the window.
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