ndria

was a

hing for jewels; they had been trying to humiliate me. They wanted me to walk into this chaos and feel the weight of their contempt p

he only chair that h

small, warm flame in the cold ruin of my life. Even now, with bruises flowering on her arms and her l

ne, Jad

d. The smell was wrong. It was supposed to be a simple healing balm-lavender, beeswax, maybe a trace of comfrey

loser, inha

hv

spread like wildfire through a camp. A slow, agonizing death dressed in the disguise of medicine. A cold, sharp rage pierced through my exhaustion. My hand tightened on the ceramic

pened with

ailed behind her like a nervous shadow. Her eyes swept over the room, over Jade's bruised face,

with false sympathy. "I heard what happened in

s the dusty surface of the nightstand toward her. I forced my expression into one of

d with a quiver I manufactured. I made sure to emphasize

second. She had expected tears. She had expected gratit

"It has a strange smell," I said, my voice uncertain, as if I were a naive child n

hind them. She thought I was merely suspicious, not knowledgeable. She

of course, dear,"

n't say the name of the poison. I didn't reveal my knowledge. I just looked

ar?" I asked, my voice small. "Christal said.

his hands trembling. He took one sniff, and his expression confirmed everything. I watched the blood d

just as my father ap

ubt I had planted in the cellar-but he arrived just in time to witness the ph

aning of this?"

orres, the salve... it has been tam

d used Ashvine before. She knew its scent was nearly undetectable to anyone without training. And yet this bruised, trembling Omega had stopped the salve from touching her skin before I could be dosed. S

g. I let tears well in my eyes. "Someone...

ked sob. "Father... today it's in a salve. What wi

h, I saw him look at his new wife with genuine, cold suspicion. It was not love I saw in his eyes. It was c

oice dangerously low. "I

lord," she stammered, biting her lip. "I w

irl who had stumbled onto the truth by accident. Let Eleanor chase shadows trying to find her

er, the adrenaline that had fueled

stant mental battle-it had all taken its toll on a body that was already weak and injured. This body had bee

ave washe

Jade s

twist with terror, her thin arms reaching for me even as her own body t

as if to catch me. He was too late. But for one frozen moment, I saw something cross

ms wrapping around me, trying to break my fall. The last thing I h

stand ther