My gaze drifted to Noelle,who could not hide her true emotions like her sister. Her hand shook and she stepped back away from the king, keeping out of his eyesight.
“Stephani.” He turned the human around in his lap, gripping her chin, more forcefully than gentle. “Are you accusing the queen of the fae of murder?”
“No, your highness.” Stephani’s eyes watered. “Of course not. She is grieving and that would be a cruel thing to do, but someone is working for her benefit.”
“Hmmm.” King Kyros kissed Stephani and began pulling down her dress further.
Only when the king’s face was deep in her bosom, did she look over at me and smile.
Taking my leave, I rushed out of the room and headed toward the dungeons. My mind replayed over the conversation with the king. He was the second person in the room that day, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Why would he not tell Moira? None of it made sense.
By the time I had made it to the death priest, I had more questions than answers.
“Tallis, what are you doing here?”
“You said the princess choked on a candy. Do you still have it?”
“Yes, but why do you ask?”
“Where is it?”
He shuffled into the back room. Dissected body parts filled glass jars along the shelves on the left. To the right the body of a fae lay cut open from the chest, the stomach pinned to the side of the table. The death priest grabbed a jar off the shelf.
“Here,” he said, but held on to it.
“I need you to test it for poison.”
“Poison?”
“Yes, do it now.”
Grumbling, he took the jar over to a table cluttered with beakers and foul smelling liquids. Taking a pair of metal tongs, he took out the sugar square and placed it on a green celadon dish.
My heart raced. I did not want this to be true. The implications . . .
Priest Kolvar took a dropper and dipped it into a clear liquid then squeezed the liquid onto the candy. The square dissolved and a reddish hue spread across the dish.
“What does that mean?” I hovered over the table, gripping the wood to keep myself steady.
The death priest turned his head, his yellow eyes going wide. “The candy is poisoned.”
Chapter Eleven
Moira
Something pressed against my back, and I wondered if Ruffles had found her way into my chambers. I rolled over, opened my eyes, and nearly screamed. Kyros laid next to me on his side, shirt off, smiling. The moonlight coming in through the windows landed directly on his face, highlighting the sharp planes of his cheeks and revealing his pitch-black eyes. There was no amber hue in them like normal and his normally smoky aroma had an odd pungent scent. He leaned forward and slid his hand across my hip, a gesture so foreign I flinched.
“You looked ravishing tonight,” he said, dragging my body flush against his, oblivious to the fear beating in my chest.
Tonight? During the funeral?
What was he talking about and why was he in my bed? I nodded, not knowing how else to react to this absurdity. The king had been prone to sleepwalking, but never into my bed. Most of the time, one of the guards would follow him and make sure he didn’t hurt himself.
Kyros moved quickly, rolling me underneath him, planting his arms on either side of my body. “Do you know how difficult it was to watch you dance in that red flowy gown?” He brought his lips to my neck. “You know red is my favorite color and you wear it so well.”
My mind raced with questions, and I thought back to what he could possibly be speaking about. We hadn’t danced in a long time and I had worn black to say goodbye to my beloved Laoise.
“Did you enjoy yourself, my queen?” His touch made my body tremble and not from desire.
