From Blood & Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout Page 0,42

muscles. The lights from the castle windows guided me forward as I edged around the water fountain, coming to a sudden stop. Footsteps sounded ahead of me. My hand slipped to the dagger, fingers curled around—

“Maiden? We heard shouting,” a voice called out. It was a Royal Guard who’d often kept watch over the Ladies and Lords in Wait. His eyes widened upon seeing me. “Is that—good gods, what happened to you?”

I went to answer, but I couldn’t get my tongue to form words. Another guard cursed, and then there was a taller form with golden hair brushing past the two guards, his weathered face stoic. Vikter. His gaze swept over me, lingering on my knees and hands, and then the unveiled part of my face.

“Are you hurt?” He grasped my shoulders, his grip gentle, and his voice even more so. “Poppy, are you injured?”

“It’s Rylan. He’s…” I stared up at Vikter, suddenly stopping as what Hawke had said about death surfacing without warning. It was something I’d already known, but it still managed to shock me.

Death is like an old friend who pays a visit, sometimes when it’s least expected and other times when you’re waiting for her.

Death had indeed paid an unexpected visit.

“How did this happen?” Duchess Teerman demanded. The jeweled flower securing her brown hair glittered under the chandelier as she paced the room usually reserved for greeting guests. “How did someone get into the garden and come that close to taking her?”

Probably the same way someone got into the castle and killed the Lady in Wait the day before.

“The others are scouting the inner wall as we speak,” Vikter said instead. He stood behind where I sat perched on the edge of the velvet settee, half afraid that I would get blood on the golden cushions. “But I imagine the culprit came through the section that has been damaged by the jacaranda trees.”

The very same section Vikter and I used to leave the castle grounds unnoticed.

The Duchess’s dark eyes flashed with anger. “I want them all torn down,” she ordered.

I gasped.

“Sorry, my lady,” the Healer murmured, dabbing a damp cloth under my lip and then handing the material to Tawny, who provided him with a clean one. She’d been summoned as soon as I’d been placed in the sitting room.

“It’s fine,” I assured the silver-haired man. What had caused the reaction wasn’t what the Healer had been doing. Granted, the astringent stung, but it was what Duchess Teerman had demanded. “Those trees have been here for hundreds of years—

“And they have lived a long, healthy life.” The Duchess turned to me. “You have not, Penellaphe.” She strode toward me, the skirt of her crimson gown gathering around her ankles, reminding me of the blood that had pooled around Rylan. I wanted to pull away but didn’t wish to cause offense. “If this man had not been scared off, he would’ve taken you, and the last thing you would’ve been worried about is those trees.”

She had a point there.

Only Vikter knew what had happened—that I had managed to wound the man before he’d been signaled off. While the details couldn’t be shared because we’d run the risk of exposure, Vikter would notify the Healers in the city to keep an eye out for anyone wounded in such a manner.

But the trees…

They may have caused the deterioration of the wall, but it had been like that for as long as I could remember. There was no doubt in my mind that the Duke and Duchess knew about the wall and simply hadn’t ordered it repaired.

“How badly is she injured?” she asked the Healer.

“Superficial wounds, Your Grace. She’ll have a few bruises and some discomfort, but nothing lasting.” The old Healer’s long, dark coat hung from his stooped shoulders as he rose on stiff, creaking joints. “You’re incredibly lucky, young Maiden.”

I wasn’t lucky.

I had been prepared.

And that was why I sat here only with an aching temple and a sore lip. But I nodded. “Thank you for your assistance.”

“Can you give her something for the pain?” the Duchess asked.

“Yes. Of course.” He shuffled over to where his leather satchel sat on a small table. “I have the perfect thing.” Rooting around until he found what he was looking for, he revealed a vial of pinkish-white powder. “This will help with any pain but will also make her drowsy. It has a wee bit of a sedating effect.”

I had absolutely no intention of taking whatever was in that vial, but