Web of Lies: Trueborn Heirs Series Book 2

by Nyna Queen

  “I’m not so sure about that.” Alex massaged her temples, trying to concentrate despite her growing headache. “My body reacts differently to poisons than that of a normal human. As I said, for us it's more of an allergic reaction of sorts. If my system detects an intruding agent, it immediately tackles the problem head-on. The poison is rapidly absorbed and fought off—like a systemic emergency flush out.” She had a vague memory of Rachel sitting beside her bed and explaining all this to her with the same words. And then she’d held Alex’s hair, while Alex had vomited her heart out. Oh, Rachel, what would you say if you could see me now? Probably the same things as Darken had said.

  Alex grimaced and forced herself to concentrate on the here and now. “If the poison is strong, my body will draw all available resources into the fight and reduce everything that is not necessary for survival, like, you know, consciousness and stuff.” She hiked her shoulders. “A normal human body wouldn’t necessarily be affected in the same way. The drink could only have contained a very small dose of poison, and even if the poison was strong, I suspect that it would have taken much longer for it to inflict its devastating effects on a human body. Maybe hours.” She faced Stephane. “You might have felt a bit unwell to begin with but you probably wouldn’t have thought much of it. The real impact would have hit sometime during the night and the symptoms would likely have resembled that of a heart attack. People would probably have attributed your death to all the stress or something.” While she spoke a few of the puzzle pieces clicked into place. “A doctor would probably not have seen the need for further examinations and even if they had done a post-mortem, I doubt that they would have found anything.” Alex paused, gathering her thoughts for the conclusion she’d drawn. “My body couldn’t identify the poison but from my reaction, I would surmise that it was shaper poison.”

  Edalyne and Josy both sucked in a sharp breath. Stephane’s knuckles turned a stark white. A blood-red sheen rolled over Darken’s irises.

  “Shaper poison?” Edalyne whispered, her face ashen.

  Alex saw the question gleaming in Darken’s eyes and slightly shook her head. Her own venom wouldn’t have triggered her body’s defense mechanisms. No, this wasn’t a batch from her “donation” to the Duke. This was something else.

  “This would also answer the question of how it could have been brought into the palace,” Alex added. “Shaper poison doesn’t trigger the magic scanners, I think we established that when I walked through the entrance controls without causing any alarms to go off.”

  “There is another possibility that we haven’t considered yet,” Josy said quietly. “The poison could have been extracted after entering the palace.” She knotted her fingers together in front of her chest. “There could be another shaper in the palace.”

  Stephane opened his mouth. “That’s—”

  “Impossible?” Alex asked. “As impossible as my being here?” She laughed without any humor and shook her head. “At this point, I don’t think we can rule out any possibility.”

  Ignoring her revolting stomach, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed, without considering what she might or might not be wearing below her waist. Turned out she was wearing a gray satin nighty that reached down to her knees. No one commented. Apparently, they had reached a point where nobody thought it strange to be stuck together in a room while she was wearing nightwear. What she also noted was her own unpleasant smell. Getting rid of the poison, she must have sweated the hell out of her body last night. She wondered if she could discreetly suggest that someone open a window. Then again, there were more pressing issues at hand.

  Alex shoved a strand of hair behind her ear. “So, what’s going on right now?”

  Darken leaned against the bedpost. “It’s just past ten. A breakfast buffet is being served on the terrace. Our mother is flying the family flag and keeping Tyler in line. When people asked last night, we told them that you were feeling unwell and had retired early.”

  Alex nodded. “That’s good. But I should make an appearance as soon as possible.”

  “Wait a minute!” Edalyne pushed to the front, looking between them. “You can’t be serious about going on with this scheme?” She swiveled around to her husband. “Someone tried to murder you, darling!”

  “We have to,” Alex said although all she wanted was to close her eyes and sleep for a week straight. “If we don’t, whoever is behind this will likely figure out that we know about the poison and they will wonder how in the Jester’s name that is possible. If they make inquiries it’s only a question of time before they realize that I am the odd one out in this equation and then our goose will be as good as cooked. But if we carry on as if nothing has happened, they will hopefully assume that something went wrong with their assault. My being unwell for the evening might not strike anybody as odd, but if I remain ‘ill’ they might suspect that it was I who drank the poison. And if I do not die soon after …”

  “I hate to say it, but Alex is right,” Stephane cut in. “If we don’t want to risk giving ourselves away, we must keep the ball rolling. Plus, we won’t get another opportunity like this.” He took his wife’s hands in his, rubbing his thumbs over her slender fingers. “This wasn’t the first attempt on my life, darling, and it won’t be the last. It’s part of the job. We can’t let Alex’s sacrifice be in vain. And that means we all have to go out there and smile and pretend that nothing has happened.”

  Edalyne huffed but it was Josy who fiercely shook her head. “No, Alex can’t go out there. She’s just recovering from severe poisoning. She needs bed rest and—”

  “I’m okay,” Alex interrupted. “What I really need is a big hangover breakfast. It will get me back on my feet faster than anything else.”

  The girl stubbornly clenched her jaw. “What if there truly is another shaper out there?”

  “Then it’s all the more reason for me to be there, too. I’m the one who is most likely to identify that person.”

  Edalyne wrapped her hands around Stephane’s arm. “This is madness, darling, you hear me? What about our daughter? We need to get her out of here, at the very least. I cannot bear her being in danger …”

  “But, Mom—!”

  “Shush! I won’t hear any of it, Josepha!”

  “If you send her home now, everybody will know that something is wrong,” Darken said matter-of-factly. “If we decide to keep going, she has to stay as well.”

  “I agree, unfortunately,” Stephane said, causing his wife to throw up her hands in disbelief. “We cannot send her away without evoking unpleasant questions. But, pumpkin”—he faced the girl—“from now on, you are not to leave your mother’s side. For any reason. You won’t go anywhere alone and you won’t eat or drink anything that she hasn’t explicitly approved. Ah”—he raised a finger when she perked up—“you promised!”

  Josy recognized that this was the wrong moment to argue. She inclined her head. “Yes, Daddy.”

  Her mother still looked less than happy. Stephane leaned forward and gently kissed Edalyne’s lips. “Darken and I will scout out the situation and go on with the show. Can you help Alex get ready for the day?”

  Edalyne sighed. “One day, you’ll be the death of me.”

  Stephane winked at her. “I love you, too.”

  When the two men were gone, Josy’s mother turned to Alex and surveyed her critically. “Well, dear, we’ll need quite a bit of makeup to cover up those dark circles.”

  “I’m all yours,” Alex said with a weak grin. “But first”—she sniffed herself and wrinkled her nose—“I need to take a shower.”

  LITTLE more than half an hour later, Alex stepped through the gold-veined glass doors that led to the terrace above the palace gardens. She was pleasantly clean, smelling faintly of citrus and ginger, rather than of sweat and sickness. Josy and Edalyne had coaxed her hair into a loose bun and—since she’d asked for an outfit that offered ample freedom of movement—put her in a light, layered summer dress, complete with flat san
dals that consisted of delicate silver ribbons.

  The day was as gorgeous as the previous one, with a crystal blue sky and only a couple of fluffy sheep clouds dotting the horizon.

  Beyond the huge terrace, the Royal Rose Gardens Alex had seen from above last night beckoned with emerald lawns and artfully arranged flower beds. Even the maze didn’t seem as threatening in daylight.

  A few people were already meandering down the paths, probably stretching their legs after indulging in the substantial buffet that was being served on the terrace.

  Alex let her eyes wander over the men and women gathered around the bar tables and in several shaded seating areas but, unsurprisingly, no one held up a sign saying “guilty” or, “I tried to poison Stephane Dubois-Léclaire,” nor did anyone flash a set of shaper teeth at her.

  Alex sighed inwardly. She seriously doubted that there was another shaper inside the palace—it was much more likely the poison had been purchased on the black market—yet if there was one, he or she hadn’t gotten in by being careless about their true skin.

  The buffet was a spectacle in itself. Beneath the shade of a huge pavilion equipped with giant glowing cooling sigils, a meal had been dished up that made the breakfasts served at the Dubois’ country mansion look like a beggar’s fare. Man-sized fruit sculptures, platters with lobsters, a champagne fountain, quail’s eggs with caviar … The sight made Alex dizzy.

  Before jumping into the agony of decision-making, Alex ordered a cup of coffee from one of the patrolling servants; but only after having watched him serve another guest from the same pot. Once bitten …

  “There you are, sleepyhead!” Bonny popped up at Alex’s side with a grin, carrying a plate with an assortment of cheese and grapes.

  Alex didn’t think she had ever met anyone with such irrepressible high spirits before.

  “A woman needs her beauty sleep,” she drawled. “Or do you want me to look like her?” She discreetly pointed to a wrinkled old lady in a red dress with puffy eye bags the size of mandarine slices.

  Bonny chuckled. “Alright, alright, you take your sweet time.” Then her forehead puckered. “Where did you suddenly disappear to last night? I didn’t see you after the toast.”

  Alex took a sip of her coffee. “Yeah, I felt a bit unwell last night. The excitement, the champagne, and then that elder-thingy … To be honest, I hadn’t eaten that much, either, and my stomach was a bit … upset.” It wasn’t even a lie.

  “Well, then you better get some breakfast before it’s all gone.”

  Surveying the mountains of food, Alex saw no risk of that happening. But she still nodded.

  “We’re standing over there, if you want to join.” Bonny left for a group of tables where some other young women were picking at their selections. Alex saw Cecile among them and scrunched up her nose. Definitely not enough coffee for a chat just yet.

  Alex approached the buffet. The only fault she could find with it was that she most definitely wouldn’t be able to try everything that was on display. Snatching a plate, she started to stack it with a couple of slices of medium rare steak, a piece of pickled herring, fried potatoes, scrambled eggs, and a few pieces of honeydew melon. Yum. Good hangover food.

  “I see you have a healthy appetite, milady.”

  Having felt his approach, Alex merely feigned surprise as she looked up at Senator Roukewood. In hindsight, she would have preferred to have bumped into Cecile.

  She arched an eyebrow. “Careful, my lord. It’s not wise for a man to talk about a woman’s eating habits. A lady could take offense.”

  Roukewood placed his hand on his chest. “It would never occur to me to offend you. I was merely curious. I heard you didn’t feel well last night.”

  Somebody’s been keeping tabs, huh?

  Alex brushed it away with one hand. “It’s nothing worth mentioning. Just a minor indisposition … of the female kind.”

  “Ah.” Count on a topic that no male would dive further into.

  “But I do feel much better this morning.” Alex plucked a grape from the decorations and tossed it into her mouth. Predictably, the senator’s attention went straight to her lips. Males! So easy!

  He seemed to be thinking the same thing because he quickly yanked his focus back to her eyes. Alex gave him a bright smile.

  Roukewood cleared his throat. “I am relieved to hear that. It was already worried that I would be stood up tonight.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it, my lord,” Alex told him. I wouldn’t dream of it.

  “In that case, I’ll leave you to your meal.”

  He bowed and left. Alex picked up some cutlery and ambled over to Bonny’s table, who was stuffing her face with cheese.

  Alex dug in as well. Soon, the queasy feeling in her stomach dwindled. The food was almost making up for the ordeal of the previous night and Alex couldn’t help but enjoy it. Beside her, at the edge of the terrace, huge rosebushes of white and blue climbed from their flowerbeds. A young, white female crab spider was busily hunting for prey among the flower buds.

  A group of girls giggled their way over to their table and stopped before Alex, Cecile in the background. Great, not one moment of peace!

  The girls looked at each other as if everyone was expecting someone else to start talking. Cecile made an impatient sound and pushed to the front.

  “Alexandre!” she said with a sickly sweet smile. “Isn’t it a beautiful morning?”

  Oh, it was. Before you came over.

  Alex smiled back. “It sure is,” she replied just as sweetly, while she remembered what the little bitch had said about Darken. “And you look quite beautiful this morning, too.” You would look even more beautiful with my fork in your eyeball.

  Cecile curled her lips as if she knew the compliment wasn’t completely genuine. “I just saw you speaking with Senator Roukewood over there.” She tilted her head. “Some people have been spreading hilarious rumors, so, tell me, is it true that he asked you to be his companion for the banquet tonight?”

  Straight to the point. Alex admired that about her, if nothing else. The question must have really nettled her.

  Well, good news spread quickly, it seems! Alex shot a glance at Bonny, who suddenly seemed to find something in the flowerbed extremely interesting.

  Alex shrugged. “That’s true. He asked me last night.”

  Cecile pursed her lips.

  “What an honor,” one of the other girls chirped. They started whispering amongst themselves.

  Cecile leaned forward and said in a low voice that was only meant for Alex’s ears, “You’re new here, so let me make something very clear to you: be careful whom you sink your claws into.”

  Said the woman who had been planning to force a forfeit into her bed! Ah, if the little snob had any idea how fitting her wording was.

  Alex glared right back at her. “Is that a threat, sugar?”

  “A threat? Dear Mother, no. Just a friendly piece of advice. Remember, darling: the higher you climb, the farther you fall …”

  “Thanks, darling. I’ll keep it in mind.”

  Cecile glared at her for a moment longer, sniffed and turned away.

  The sweet smile fell from Alex’s face. Without thinking, she reached into the nearby rosebushes, snatched the crab spider and dropped it into Cecile’s hair as she sashayed away with her fan club.

  Alex followed them with her eyes. She didn’t have to wait long until one of the other girls leaned toward Cecile and said something. Suddenly the girl paused. Her brows drew together and she leaned even closer. And then her eyes grew bigger and bigger, while her mouth opened wide. Three, two, one …

  Alex grinned and appreciatively bit into her steak as the scream rang out across the terrace. Only seconds later the whole group of girls was screaming and jumping up and down and Cecile was batting and yanking at her hair, hollering for help. It was beautiful.

  Not far away, Edalyne watched the scene for a moment, then looked suspiciously at Alex, one eyebrow slig
htly lifted.

  Alex shrugged innocently. Edalyne’s gaze pierced her, saying without words, “we’ll talk about that later,” before returning to her breakfast.

  Alex sighed. That woman was too perceptive. She, Heloise, and Josy were having brunch together with Alistair Devilier and his wife Patricia. Stephane’s main opponent in the election campaign looked just as prim and stuffy as the night before, meticulously wiping down his cutlery with a hanky before using it. He was a closed book to Alex. He seemed decent. Like a man who played with open cards. But then again, Elizabeth had put on a good show as well, before she had turned into a cold bitch during her call at the Saunier Estate. Speaking of which …

  Under the pretense of hunting for desert, Alex left her table and drifted closer to where Elizabeth was sitting under a silk canopy. Her husband had tuckered out beside her, with his eyes closed and an occasional snore escaping his lips. Elizabeth ignored him, completely engrossed in a conversation with an older woman in a beige suit. Her voice drifted over, light and feathery. Talking about some big money she’d spent on a beneficial gala. Yes, yes, Miss Goody Two-Shoes.

  Well, we’ll just see about that. Alex still remembered the sharp, impatient sound of Lady Saunier’s voice, when she’d spoken on her vis-a while Alex had been eavesdropping. You know how much I’d like him to be out of the way. Hadn’t those been Elizabeth’s exact words during the call? And then some bit about something you couldn’t get in every drugstore.

  Funny—at the time, Alex had even contemplated that she might be talking about poison. And that she might be after Stephane’s life. Except, after all she’d heard about the palace and its security measures, she’d never dreamed that the Sauniers would actually attempt something during the Summerball. But now Stephane had almost been poisoned last night. Coincidence? Possible. But rather unlikely.

  In any case, it called for a closer look at the Sauniers.