“Verin.” I slipped my hand into his.
Verin stopped pacing to pull me in against his chest. His heart beat rapidly beneath my palm and his hand tightened around my waist. The tips of dragon claws pierced my dress.
I met his ice-blue stare calmly. “We're alive. Neither of us is in imminent danger. Take a breath, baby. We'll catch whoever did this.”
Verin did as I bade, breathing in deeply. His shoulders relaxed as he exhaled and his talons retracted into blunt fingernails. His hand slid up to the back of my head and stroked my hair. I slipped my hand into the V of his tunic and rubbed the skin over his heart soothingly.
“If you can't find a witness, I can sing,” I offered.
Verin lifted both of his dark blue eyebrows. “You can find the culprit with a song?”
“I can do nearly anything with a song, even save a dragon from poison.” I winked at him.
Verin made a rumbling sound that was very close to a purr. A dragon purr—who would have thought? It had just become my favorite sound. Verin bent his head to kiss me tenderly. I slid my hand into his hair and pulled him closer. Love and relief coursed through that kiss along with that overwhelming elation that comes with a close call. Everything seemed brighter and far more precious. I wanted to weep and laugh and never let him go.
Savassa cleared her throat.
Verin tore his lips away from mine to growl at her. At hismother. I was shocked. She was not.
“The maid is here, Son,” Savassa said gently. “You can question her now.”
Verin grunted and reluctantly eased away from me but reclaimed my hand. We turned to face the maid together. But before he could speak, something occurred to me.
“You're immortal,” I said to Verin.
Verin grunted in a way that implied a question.
“What kind of poison could kill you and nearly killme?”
Verin blinked, his expression smoothing, then turned toward his mother. Queen Savassa wore the same surprised look on her face.
“There is only one known poison that can kill a Lóng,” Lord Chan, one of Verin's advisers said as he stepped forward. “Basilisk venom.”
“Basilisk,” I murmured. “But all of the basilisks are trapped on Torr-Chathair and guarded by Griffins.”
“I only offer the facts, Your Majesty.” Lord Chan bowed.
“Gage is a Griffin,” Verin said softly.
“First of all, Gage can't get past your wards,” I pointed out, a little flutter rising when I spoke my mate's name. “And second, he would never try to kill me. You, perhaps, but not me.”
Verin grunted in concession.
“However, he would know how someone could get basilisk venom,” I added. “Do you want me to speak to him?”
“No,” Verin said, his grip tightening. “We'll find another way to figure this out.”
“Perhaps we should have the cake tested and make sure that it contains basilisk venom before we run with this theory,” I suggested.
Verin grunted and looked pointedly at one of his guards. The man ran off without a word.
“There are ways to get past Griffins,” Savassa noted. “Not many, but I'm sure it's possible.”
Verin swung his head toward her. “What are you saying, Mother?”
“I've never tried personally, but Torr-Chathair is a planet. There must be a way to secretly travel there and steal some venom. I'm told the Griffins are more concerned with monsters escaping than of anyone arriving.”
“That may have been true previously but not anymore,” I said firmly.
