not like the others. I am trained in herbology and the magical arts, and I’m quite familiar with this poison. It’s wolfsbane, which should have killed her. I’m not at all certain why she’s still alive, but she wouldn’t have been for much longer if your healer kept going.”
“Can you do something? Please, save her,” King Gerald begged. “I will give you anything, even up to half of my kingdom.”
The tables were turned. He couldn’t see me beneath my dark veil. He didn’t know I was a daughter of Eville. What half would he possibly give me? I already had his son. Was this how the bargain had been made years ago with my mother? Was this how he had lost his firstborn son?
“I don’t think it’s yours to give,” a deep voice said from the door, and I knew without looking it was Xander. Keeping my back still, I put the bowl down and continued to clean up the mess the horrid healer had made.
“I’m still king, son, and this is my decision.”
“No, it’s not,” Xander said. “You have no right to give our lands away. Not now, not when we have Florin at our gates.”
“It’s okay,” I replied softly. “I ask for no payment.”
“That’s right, because you already have everything you want, don’t you?” Xander sneered at me.
“What do you mean?” King Gerald asked in confusion, looking between the two of us.
“Don’t let the veil fool you, Father. It’s a daughter of Eville who is sitting beside you. Through your previous deals, she has already gained a title.”
Xander stormed over to me, and I stood to meet him.
“There will be no deal, nor payment,” he seethed. “If you can help, I order you to do so.”
“I had already agreed. I came not to gain favor with the crown or you, but because Ameline asked me to.”
Ameline had retreated to the far side of the bed and was watching us with eyes the size of saucers, her hands covering her mouth in worry.
A servant entered with a bowl of broth, and I took it and carefully tended the queen by trying to get her sip from the bowl.
“I know you’re tired, Your Majesty, but you need to drink,” I murmured. “You need to replace the blood you lost.”
Her eyes fluttered open and her lips quivered as she asked, “Have you come to take me to the afterlife?”
“No, you are strong. You can fight this.”
“It’s all my fault,” she whispered so softly that only I could hear her, her tears pooling at the corner of her eyes. Queen Anya obviously thought I was death come to claim her soul. “If only I hadn’t run. If only I had held on tighter, I wouldn’t have lost….” She sighed and lost her train of thought. “He shouldn’t have been forced to marry her. It’s because of me that we’re cursed.”
My hand stilled on the cup as I realized the queen didn’t know who I was. If only she knew who was helping her.
“No, he shouldn’t have,” I whispered just as softly, then held the cup to her lips and watched carefully as she took a few sips. “A few more,” I coaxed. “You can do it.”
Her neck wobbled as she struggled to lift her head, but I wouldn’t let her fall nor a single drop mar her dress. I would make sure she kept her dignity. Her pillows were stained dark from her hair dye, and I wondered if it was vanity or something else that made her change her color. Her head dropped back onto the pillow, and I saw her wince in pain as her breathing slowed, her lungs not fully expanding as the poison took hold of her muscles.
My stomach pitched like water in a barrel when I reached for the ceremonial knife the healer had already used on the queen.
“Stop! What are you doing?” King Gerald roared.
Keeping the blade in my lap, I turned to both of them. “I’m very sorry, but the poison is still in her blood, and I need to draw it out with magic.”
“No!” Xander snapped at me, knocking the knife from my grasp and onto the floor. “Don’t go near her.”
King Gerald’s shoulders shook, his face wrought with regret. “I never thought I would ask one of you to help my kingdom a second time, but please, do what you must.”
“Father!” Xander pleaded. “Don’t make a deal with the devil again. Think of who you’re hurting.”
His words infuriated me, and as much as