Chapter 46
Emmeline
“And you didn’t suspect Sir Valen was suffering from a toxin?”
The enormous chamber was nearly empty. Only a few important court officials sat in the rows of seats along the walls, and the balconies remained vacant. The queen watched the proceedings from her throne, but she’d delegated the interrogation to Sir Marculus, the knight marshall.
And me? I was stuck in a hard chair in the middle of everything, getting questioned.
“No.” My voice sounded small as it echoed through the hall. “I thought he was drunk. He’d had a lot of wine.”
“Yet the healers found traces of the Queen’s Blood Roses’ toxin in his blood.”
I wished I’d gotten more sleep. Valen and I had waited for about an hour before a servant had discovered us bound and gagged in a storeroom. We’d been questioned immediately, sent to a healer, and then snagged a few hours of rest in a palace guestroom before getting summoned here.
“I know,” I said, trying to ignore the weight of everyone’s eyes. “I was there when the healer treated him, but I don’t know how it happened.”
“Even though you went strolling in the Garden of a Hundred Deaths?”
Sir Marculus stood ramrod straight, hands folded behind his back, and raised a single eyebrow.
“We stayed far away from the plants,” I said. “I’m sure I would’ve noticed if he got cut. We didn’t touch anything—well, except for that guard who bumped into us.”
“Could you identify him or her?”
Sir Marculus had the guard from the garden door brought in, and I shook my head.
“Not him. The other guard inside the gardens. He bumped into Valen as he walked past. It was quite rude.”
“But there wasn’t anyone patrolling inside the garden!” cried out the door guard.
Sir Marculus dismissed him as the few onlookers whispered.
“Therewasanother guard.” I pushed desperation into my voice as I looked at Sir Marculus. “I swear. Valen saw him, too.”
The knight marshall’s stern features softened slightly. “We’re not doubting your testimony, simply whether the person you encountered was truly a guard.”
He questioned me about the mysterious attacker we’d met in the hallways, Drudon’s death, and our capture.
I looked down at my lap and said in a small, meek voice, “He said he’d come back and kill us if I made any noise.”
He dismissed me soon after, but apparently courting a knight had some advantages: I got to sit with the other onlookers instead of leaving the room. The people sitting closest to me leaned over to offer sympathy on the terrible ordeal, but we had to cut our conversation short as the next witness came in:
Valen.
His gaze immediately found me, and I offered him a reassuring smile as he sat on that horribly uncomfortable chair.
Sir Marculus wasted no time. He asked about the garden, and Valen told the same story we’d invented about encountering another guard.
“What do you think your brother was doing in the hallway?” Sir Marculus asked.
“Probably trying to cause trouble.” Valen’s voice sounded hollow. “He and I didn’t get along. We were arguing when the attacker showed up. That Drudon fought to defend me despite the bad blood between us…”
He cut off with a choke, and I didn’t doubt that he was using his genuine grief to sell his act. I hated portraying Drudon as a selfless hero who’d died trying to protect us, but the story made the most sense. Lying about it wouldn’t help Valen’s grieving process, though.
“We found traces of your blood on Drudon’s sword.”
Sir Marculus let the accusation hang.
