How could he ever ask them to accept something he couldn’t?
“Ah, it looks like CEO Rein really knows how to have a good time,” Geoff said then, finally noticing where Nuri’s attention lay. “I suppose you’re in for a busy evening, am I right?”
“Pardon?”
“Men like Silver Rein require a strong PR team. I’m sure you’ve buried more than your fair share of scandals over the years. Looks like you’re about to have another one on your hands.”
The man next to Silver lifted onto his toes and pressed his lips to the corner of Silver’s mouth.
Nuri was halfway across the room before he even realized, with no clue what he intended to do. Before he could make it all the way, however, the lights flickered, causing him to come to an abrupt stop.
He frowned up at them, then over to the stage when the screen in the back suddenly came to life.
Gunshots cracked through the speakers, the blurry images of a group of men surrounding someone on the ground appearing. The angle suggested it’d been filmed from within a car in a parking lot, and there was something in front of the lens that cut off the top half of the film.
Too bad Romeo Brixton, lying on the ground, crying and clutching his arm and leg, was in perfect view.
Nuri raced toward the stairs, already calling the staff in the technical booth.
“We got it,” the voice of Eli, an Imperial guard, spoke through the line a second before the screen went blank. “No one is here.”
“Find them,” Nuri instructed. “They couldn’t have gotten far.”
The crowd burst out in chatter, many staring at Silver, though some eyes found Nuri as well. Neither of them had been fully pictured thanks to the obstruction in front of the camera, but news about Romeo Brixton’s arrest had made headlines for weeks now, so it wasn’t too hard for assumptions to be made.
This was bad. They were going to have to—
Screams sounded and his head whipped over to where Silver had been standing. When Nuri saw the Emperor on the ground, his heart leapt in his chest.
* * *
“The drug should be out of his system within a couple of hours,” Doctor Yi told Nuri from where they stood outside of Silver’s room at the manor. “It’s fortunate that he didn’t finish the drink. He didn’t take a strong enough dose for there to be any real concern.”
Nuri snorted. “The Emperor passed out in front of a hundred people, and you don’t think that’s concerning? No,” he held up his hand when the doctor went to reply, “you wouldn’t. I’m the one who has to deal with the fallout, you’ve already done your job. Forgive me, Doctor, this situation has me out of sorts.”
“Of course.” Yi nodded. “You did everything right, Royal Secretary. It’s good that you arrested the culprit first thing. If hehadn’t still had the drug in his pocket, I may not have been able to deduce what his majesty had been given in time.”
The man who’d been chatting Silver up had lingered around like an idiot, probably to try and avoid suspicion. Too bad for him, he’d been the first person Nuri had searched, and the guards had found the vial in his suit pocket right away. Currently, he was being held and questioned by the Imperial guard, with Nuri as their point of contact since Silver had yet to wake.
“Is there anything I need to do?” Nuri asked, pursing his lips when the doctor seemed to grow uncomfortable all of a sudden.
“It doesn’t appear as though the Emperor has slept the past couple of nights. That also explains why this hit him so hard. Because of his exhaustion, it’s best if the drug is purged as quickly as possible.” He cleared his throat. “The drug is meant to subdue whoever takes it, while keeping them…” Yi coughed into his hand, clearly stalling.
“Yes, Doctor?”
“Aroused.” The older man seemed mortified that he’d been forced to say it. “Since you’re the Emperor’s partner, I can only suggest—”
“Hold on.” Nuri held up a hand. “Where did you get that idea from?”
“I’m sorry?” Yi’s brow furrowed.
Falc, who was standing nearby glared, and the doctor instantly backtracked.
“My point is, purging the drug from his system will help heal him sooner.”
“And that’s done…how?” Nuri already knew he wasn’t going to like the answer.
“Sexual release, of course.”
