“Fox,” I interrupt, my voice steadier now. “Where is he?”
Silvia’s lips tremble as she meets my gaze. “He hasn’t stirred once. I’ve had healers with him this entire time but...” Her voice trails off.
My heart pangs and a bolt of fear hits me, only then, it’s overtaken by suspicion.
Wait. Something doesn’t add up. Fox’s metabolism burns twice as fast as mine. Any poison that didn’t kill me should hardly affect him.
“Take me to him.” I swing my legs over the side of the bed.
“But you need to rest!”
“I’m fine. I want to go see him. Now.”
“Of course.” Silvia tugs a velvet cord by the bedpost.
Barely ten seconds later, a servant appears in the doorway behind her. “Your majesty?”
“Has there been any change with the shifter?”
The servant’s eyes flick to me, then away. “Still with the healer, your majesty. They’re... doing everything possible.”
I narrow my eyes at the servant. “Did Fox agree to magical healing?”
“He couldn’t, my lady.” The servant’s gaze skitters away from mine like a startled mouse. “He was unconscious, so we sought the other wolf’s permission instead. The one with the burned face.”
My heart stutters. The lie lands between us like a physical thing. Kai would sooner cut off his own hand than allow strange magic near Fox while he was unconscious. A creeping intuition prods at the back of my mind.
I force my face to relax and my voice to steady. “Of course,” I murmur, nodding as if this makes perfect sense. “How... thoughtful. Is Jett helping to heal him then?”
“Who?” Silvia asks.
“Our friend who arrived first. I assume you told him what happened, right? So if he isn’t here with me, is he helping to heal Fox?”
Silvia looks to her servant again, seeming unsure, and the servant jumps in. “Yes, m’lady. Your friend and our healer are working together.”
Again, my intuition prods at me. I have always said that I’m not a real seer, but my gut feelings do tend to be right…and at the moment, my gut is telling me something is very wrong.
Jett doesn’t use magic, Kai wouldn’t agree to it, and Fox absolutely should not have been so affected by any poison. So, where are they? And secondly, if Silvia was the target of the poison, why did it only affect Fox and I?
Silvia smiles and I force myself to return it. I need to play along until I can find out what’s going on here.
“I hope you don’t blame me for this,” Silvia says dejectedly.
“Of course not,” I gush. “But who would do this?”
“I don’t know for sure, but I’m determined to find out. As the Queen, I have so many enemies. I suspect it might have been those animals you arrived with—not that I blame you of course. You couldn’t have known how hateful they are toward me.”
“The shifters?” I clarify. “You think they tried to poison you?”
“It seems possible. I’ve tried my best to give them everything, but they’re still ungrateful. I know they resent me. Again, not that I blame you. It’s not your fault you ended up bonded to one.”
I try to force myself to smile, but I’m sure it comes out more of a grimace.
“Oh, are you still in pain?” Silvia asks, jumping to her feet. “Would you like some water?”
“Yes,” I say, “Thank you, I do still feel a bit weak.”
I don’t really, but I do need a moment alone to think. I need to find Fox and the others, and the longer I sit here, the more my intuition is screaming at me. Silvia put the poison in our wine herself. Possibly, she meant only to get Fox with it, not knowing that he wouldn’t have been affected, or meant to poison both of us so that she could “save” me. Either way, she’s dangerous.
