But the senator’s face is purple. The capos back away. With muttered curses, they run out of the room.
The worst has happened. Someone poisoned the senator. But, how? Bella.
I race down the hall, back to the library.
Jaeger is there, leaning against the door. He sees my face and opens the door for me. “She’s safe,” he says, letting me pass.
But I don’t breathe until I see her lying there, looking peaceful.
Still asleep.
Bella
I wake up in a dark room. My mouth feels grimy, like I need to brush my teeth. The last thing I remember was falling asleep on the love seat in the senator’s house. Now I’m in my bed. Alone. “Kaiser?”
“I’m here.” His voice comes from my left. He’s sitting in the armchair beside the bed, where he’s been sleeping lately.
I sit up, still in my ball gown. He took off my shoes but didn’t tuck me in. He just set me on the bed. “What time is it?” It feels late.
“Three a.m.”
Still the middle of the night. I touch my hair. It’s still in the fancy updo I styled to match the dress. My gloves are gone, though. I took those off. “What happened?” What I mean is, what happened after you drugged my wine?
“You know what happened.” Kaiser clicks on the light. I wince, holding up a hand to block it until my eyes adjust.
Kaiser looks at me like I’m a stranger. Like I’m the enemy.
I feel a deep sadness, mixed with relief. It’ll be easier if Kaiser’s the villain. “We were at the party. I fell asleep.”
“I drugged you.”
“I know.” I could taste the additive when I drank it down. It made me a little drowsy, but it was nothing I couldn’t fight. I decided I wouldn’t fight it, though. I lay down and let sleep take me.
“I don’t know how you did it, but I know you did,” Kaiser says.
“What are you talking about?” I feel a stab of glee. Like I used to feel. I stuff it down.
He stands and steps toward me. His shadow falls over my face. “It’s you,” he says. “You’re the Poisoner.”
34
Bella
“You figured it out.” I shouldn’t feel so good about it, but I do. The way Kaiser’s looking at me, with fascination tinged with fear, is so satisfying. “How?”
“The senator died at midnight. Minutes after you shook his hand. You poisoned him. How?”
I lift my hand and inspect my palm. “A little of this, a little of that.” Kaiser moves so he’s blocking the light. His hair blazes gold, but I can’t see his expression. My heart beats faster recognizing the power move. The predator in the dark.
“He’s not the first. You’ve done this before. How many?”
“I thought you’d never ask.” I scoot to the edge of the bed. “The first was when I was eight. Papa finally let me go to a sleepover, and I was so excited. That night, my friend told me her stepfather was mean to her mother. That he hit her. She showed me bruises where he’d hit her, too. I wanted to tell Papa, but she begged me not to. Her stepfather was a judge. No one could touch him. But the next time I went to her house for a sleepover, I was prepared.”
“You poisoned him.”
“It was easy. A little monkshood sprinkled on his cake, and he was done for.”
“No one suspected?”
