Page 64 of The Lure of Wolves and Whispers

“I’ll see what I can do.” Talon’s face softens, just a little bit. “I promise, Maeve.”

There’s a shift between us. A peace of sorts, I think.

“Thank you.”

Talon just nods, then gestures to the wedge in my hand. “Make sure you use that.”

In answer, I slip past the door and shut it, then kick the wedge into place. It slides in firmly, and I let out a taut breath at the relief washing over me.

I can just make out their soft laugh before it fades down the hall.

The noble daughters try to kill me twice in two days.

Neve throws a knife in the corridor outside the banquet hall as I arrive to dinner the next night.

The whistle of the blade is my only warning in the heartbeat before it flies so close to me that all the hairs down the back of my neck prickle.

I duck, a thin slice of hot pain opening along my forehead, the blade clattering against the glittering wall behind my head.

Aoife picks it up with shaking fingers and hands it to me.

Another for my collection, I guess.

Neve waves her fingers at my glare, a menacing smile twisting her lips, before slipping away with a pair of older nobles into the waiting banquet.

Talon’s eyes nearly bulge out of their head at the sight of me wiping the blood away.

“I’m fine.” I brush them off.

I’m not.

I knew it was only a matter of time before the noble daughters tried to kill me, but the brazen way she did it… I draw in a shaking breath and force my chin high.

Aisling makes the next attempt.

Three days after the High King’s attack on the musician, another banquet sees the tables set closely enough to one another that nobles grumble as they settle into their chairs. Stoneware cups of dark, rich wine wait for us on the table at the very back of the room, and I’m sure it’s no mistake that I’m seated as far away from the prince as possible.

Talon stands half-hidden by a flickering candle in a corner, blending in just like the dozen or so other gardai lining the room’s edges.

Shucked oysters on ice sit in the center of the table, and the nobles around me wear gems covered with faint scratches and gold that’s long past glowing. They sneer at every attempt I make at speaking to them, their eyes lightening only when Aisling glides toward us.

I spot the vial in her palm before she stumbles clumsily, grabbing on to me and clearly trying to hide the sprinkle of white powder she scatters across the oysters on my plate.

It dissolves into the brine quickly, but I recognize it by the lack of any smell at all.

Arsenic.

My stomach churns, but it’s nowhere close to what it would do if I consumed that poison. Arsenic is notorious for either long-term use in small, precise doses if you want to stretch a death out to avoid suspicion… or a particularly inglorious end if you’re impatient. Violent diarrhea. Vomiting like you would not believe.

The fact that most victims die of shock from the trauma on the body speaks to the indignity of death by this particularpoison—and I can’t help but wonder with grim curiosity who she bought it from. Surely, Keeva wouldn’t deal to nobles now, knowing I’m here.

Shemustknow I’m here by now.

I shove the plate away and flee to my room the second the formal meal is done.

That night, sleep refuses to come.

Faint shadows ring my eyes as I tie my hair back the next morning. The buttery soft leathers and tunic that have become my uniform fit a little looser than when I got here. Worry, I think. I can’t seem to settle because the second test is just days away.