Galen.
“What happened?” I asked the servant girl still shuddering behind me. She stumbled and reached down toward him, but I leaped forward to grasp her arm. “Don’t touch him,” I snapped. The last thing we needed was a rotted corpse wasting away with no explanation.
She reared back in fright. “I didn’t hurt him, I swear!” she cried, a sob racking her body. “H—He asked me to bring him a glass of whiskey, and wh—when he took a drink, he just—he fell!” Tearspoured down her face as she pointed to the broken glass on the floor at Galen’s side.
“What’s going on?” Clarissa’s voice sounded, followed by a gasp. I whirled to see her, Taryn, Rose, Leo, and Evadine gathered at the door. Evadine grasped Clarissa’s arm.
More sets of footsteps clicked against the wood floor.
“What is the meaning of this?” Rhys Penworth boomed. He and his wife pushed through the others.
“I think His Majesty has been poisoned,” my mother answered. Her face was drained of color, her fingers clutching anxiously at the pendant around her neck.
“Poisoned?” Lord Penworth exclaimed.
Galen lurched, and his upper body seized violently. His eyes were closed, but I could see them fluttering beneath the lids. A thin line of white foam formed on his lips as he spasmed.
My heart raced. I didn’t know what to do. We couldn’t touch his skin, or we’d die. But if someone didn’t help him,hewould die.
“Fetch a healer,” I shouted to the distressed servant.
To my surprise, Rose stepped forward and reached for a strange leather pouch hanging from her belt. She knelt at Galen’s side, and Leo hissed, “Rose, what are you doing?”
Her emerald eyes shone determinedly. “Helping him. My magic may not work here, but my tonics might.”
Clarissa’s sharp cry rang through the air, “Rose, don’t!”
I lunged for Rose’s hand as she reached for Galen’s bare neck.
I was too late.
The moment her fingers touched his skin, her entire body jolted backward like something had slammed into it. She sucked in a sharp breath and snatched her hand away, staring at it in alarm.
“What is it?” Leo asked, instantly at her side.
“I can—I can feel it. My magic.”
I glanced at Clarissa. Before we could ask questions, Rose grabbed her little pouch and began pulling out stems and leaves I couldn’t identify. I watched in bewilderment as she pressed eachto her tongue, mysterious words flowing from her lips. Slowly, Galen’s seizures subsided until he was still once more.
“What are you doing?” Lord Penworth thundered behind us, making his way to Rose and Galen. “Get away from His Majesty!”
I rose to my feet and put a hand on his chest. “She’ssavinghim.”
“She’s awitch!” he snarled. Whirling on his daughter, he pointed a finger at her and said, “You told us these were companions from school. Howdareyou bring these people into our home?”
Taryn crossed her arms over her chest. “This probably isn’t a good time to tell you I never finished school, is it?”
Clarissa stepped forward. “Lord Penworth, your daughter is?—”
“Andyou.” A vein in Rhys’s wrinkled neck bulged. “You’re the one behind this. Coercing my daughter into your schemes, sneaking your repulsive kind to my land, tomyhouse? The rumors from the Mid Territory were right. You’re plotting against us. How many more are there, hmm?” His nose screwed in disgust as he stepped closer and spat at Clarissa’s feet. “What else are you hiding, you manipulative little?—”
“Enough,” I said through gritted teeth. Red appeared at the edges of my vision as rage flooded me. I grabbed his outstretched wrist and twisted until I felt a small pop, and his snarl turned into a hiss of pain.
I’d had enough of these people treating Clarissa like vermin when she had donenothingbut help them. Nothing but try and earn their approval, when they should be the ones begging for hers.
“Kneel,” I commanded, still gripping his wrist.
“Excuse me?” he spluttered.
