Page 61 of His Realm

“You are the only one to send.”

I was quiet.

“It doesn’t mean he has no regard for you.”

No. It was much worse. It meant that everything I’d done, the work I put in for him, the excuses I’d made to keep him above reproach, the anger I had taken on his behalf, the devotion I had for the title he’d given me, were all for nothing. He thought of me as completely disposable.

“He was assured by Ødger that if he sent you, the matter would be closed forever.”

If I were the king, before I promised anyone the mate of my son or daughter, I would have razed his holding to the ground for even suggesting anything so vile.

“Along with you, the king promised Ødger the siren Keres from Gaius’s court.”

“Gaius consented to give up Keres to help his brother?” Zev asked her.

“He asked her, and she consented,” Isabella told him. “Keres does nothing she doesn’t want to do. Ever.”

“Where is this Keres now?” I asked.

“She’s here in the palace, as she was supposed to travel with you.”

“That poor woman. She⁠—”

“No,” Dae-Jung said abruptly, drawing my attention. “Do not mistake Keres for an ordinary woman or courtesan. If Keres finds Ødger, Balon, or any other noble in Ophir in any way disagreeable, if anyone does anything to displease her, even bore her, they will come to a quick end.”

I could only stare at him.

“She is deceptively lethal and carries with her as many soothing, fragrant oils and aphrodisiacs as she does rare toxins from before Rome.”

Keres sounded like a very interesting woman.

“Sometimes the poison is in the bowl, sometimes it’s on the outside of the bowl, and other times, it is the bowl itself,” he explained. “I once saw her open a beautiful, ornate butterfly fan so fluidly, so gracefully, I became lost in the movement as though the creatures were in flight, until the man at her side yawned, lay down, and was dead the next moment.”

“He’s right. She’s extraordinary,” Sabira said excitedly. “I once saw her kill five men with a hairpin dipped in arsenic.”

I glanced at Dae-Jung and then at Sabira. “That’s horrible. You get that, right?”

“What I was trying to make you understand is that she is in no danger from anyone in Ophir, only them from her.”

“If she’s caught having killed him, she⁠—”

“She could never be caught doing anything,” Sabira assured me. “She’s a small, demure flower. No one would ever think her responsible for a death.”

“But she seems to have a reputation as a poisoner.”

“Very few people know that,” Sabira imparted. “You must understand, I am certain that all the noble men and women are salivating at the thought of having a new courtesan in the holding. I doubt any of them know a thing about her.”

“I’m glad she wouldn’t have been in any danger, though it doesn’t matter now. She can stay here or return to Gaius as she sees fit.”

“What do you mean? She plans to travel with you and Varic to Ophir. She wants to see it. When you’ve lived as long as she has, a break in the monotony of existence is a welcome diversion,” Sabira concluded.

“Plus, I’m certain it’s been ages since she murdered anyone,” Dae-Jung offered. “She probably wonders if she’s out of practice.”

“That’s a bit gruesome, don’t you think?”

He nodded. “You did hear the queen call her a siren, did you not?”

“I didn’t know that was literal.”