still recovering. Her eyes went to Finlay. “Can you give us a moment, please?”
He did so, though his eyes flitted to me for a moment— as if he worried about leaving Emma alone with me.
He needed to mind his own damn business.
Once Finlay shut the door, Emma gave a weak cough. “It was an assassin.”
“What happened?”
“He stabbed me. A wound to the stomach.”
I pulled down the hospital blanket and lifted Emma’s gown to see. She didn’t protest. She was wearing nothing underneath, but I hardly fathomed that fact. The thick bandage over what I knew had to be the entry point caught all my attention.
I gently covered the wound back up. “A poisoned blade.”
“Yes. He… as he stabbed me, he told me your mother sent her regards.”
My throat became tight as my hands shook with rage. I couldn’t believe… didn’t want to think… that my mother had done this.
But the evidence was there, and it was too much to deny. Over all others, I believed Emma.
I squeezed her hand tightly. “I should’ve been there.”
“Finlay was. He saved my life.”
Gratefulness coursed through me. Though I despised him, I owed Finlay everything for saving Emma’s life. If he hadn’t shown…
My body shuddered with the possible reality. “Is he staying here with you?”
“Yes.” Her tone was wary. “What are you doing?”
I rose from my seat. “I am going to rectify the situation.”
“Ethan, if you confront her, it’ll make it worse.” Emma’s eyes were full of fear. She truly believed that.
“I have to do something. I won’t allow you to be frightened of her.”
I left Emma behind, though her face had gone pale. Finlay slipped in the moment I slipped out. Though spitefulness flared, I privately thanked him for being with her, so she wouldn’t be alone.
I should be at her bedside, and yet, I couldn’t be. Not when there was a threat to her existence.
I changed into a wolven and charged into a run the moment I left the infirmary. The university was far left behind me as I ran toward the royal grounds, where my mother’s mansion was. Revenge had me trapped within its jaws, and I foamed at the mouth to fulfill it.
Over the years, my mother had gotten rid of a variety of political opponents using her poison. She’d never been caught. My father had always shielded her from the backlash, and when that didn’t work, she merely threw one of her servants to the wolves to satisfy the Circle and place blame.
But never would I assume she’d be so bold to pull a stunt like this. I’d been ignoring the obvious. This was my mistake.
I burst into the mansion with my teeth bared. My mother lay in the parlor room, a servant kneeling beside her and holding up a golden tray of chocolates. Queen Antonia sipped at a glass of wine and read the daily news as I stormed in, barely giving a glance up.
I changed into a man, and the servant gave an uneasy stare. My shoulders heaved as I bellowed, “You are a complete monster!”
Mother rolled her eyes and threw aside the paper. “Come now, Ethan. Be reasonable.”
This was asinine. I couldn’t believe my mother could just lie there, drinking wine and eating bonbons after she’d tried to take a young girl’s life. She was deplorable.
“Your reason has departed for madness! What has taken over you, that you find it appropriate to make an attempt on the life of my mate?”
Mother jumped upward from her seat. She threw the edge of her robe back as she said, “That peasant is no mate of yours. She’s rejected you as your mate to whore around with the common folk. You think I haven’t read the news? The press is making a mockery of my son, and by the gods, I won’t let that happen.”
“Her absence from my side is my fault,” I growled. “Don’t blame her for my own transgressions!”
“I refuse to allow that tart to embarrass my son by acting like a common hussy!” Mother’s voice trembled with power and rage. “She lost you your crown. She’s lost you your dignity. For the gods’ sakes, Ethan, what more will you lose to try to keep this girl?”
“I will go to the ends of the earth for her, and farther still. Do not ask me why, for you could never understand how to love.”
“She doesn’t want your bond anymore!” Mother threw her arms high. “Why does it matter whether she lives or dies?”