BOUND TO THE POISON QUEEN

Chapter 5

Lucien. The Solar Emperor.

Aurelia's ex-lover. The man who had gaslit her, used her, and turned her into the most hated woman in the realm.

When Lucien saw me coming up the stairs, he stopped talking to his doctor.

He stepped forward. His blue eyes scanned me from head to toe.

"Aurelia," Lucien said. His voice was bright. Rich. Like liquid honey poured over poison. "You look terrible, my love."

I stopped ten feet away from him. Vane stepped to the side, leaning against a marble pillar, watching us like he was sitting in a theater with popcorn.

"Thank you, Lucien," I said flatly. "You look like a walking yellow ribbon."

The guards shifted silently in their armor. Someone coughed.

Lucien's smile froze for a split second. Then he let out a short, hollow laugh.

"Still sharp with your tongue," Lucien said, taking a step toward me. He reached out his hand, intending to cup my cheek. "I heard you collapsed in your chambers. Dr. Vance said you looked pale as a sheet. I was worried you had been poisoned."

I looked at his reaching hand.

I didn't let him touch me. I took a half-step back.

Lucien's hand hovered in the empty air. His blue eyes flashed with dark annoyance before he lowered his arm.

"I'm fine," I said. "Just a minor stomach bug."

"A stomach bug?" Dr. Vance stepped forward, his small grey eyes blinking rapidly behind wire-rimmed spectacles. "Princess Aurelia, the servants reported you were vomiting blood an hour ago. You must let me examine you. Your pulse—"

"My pulse is fine, Doctor," I cut him off.

I looked at the old doctor. I looked at his hands.

His fingers were stained with yellow spots near the cuticles. Digitalis residue. Or maybe nightshade extract. The same chemical signature that had been in Aurelia's wine glass.

I felt a cold smile tug at the corner of my lips.

The doctor was the poisoner. He worked for Lucien. Lucien wanted Aurelia dead, but he wanted it to look like a sudden illness so he could take control of her private army without a fight.

Simple. Unoriginal. Lazy.

"Doctor Vance," I said, my voice dripping with fake politeness. "You look nervous. Your hands are shaking."

The old man pulled his hands into his long grey sleeves. "I am merely concerned for your health, Your Highness."

"How sweet," I said. "Then why don't you offer me some of that medicine in your leather bag? The small blue bottle near the bottom strap."

Dr. Vance froze. All the color drained from his wrinkled face.

Lucien narrowed his eyes. "Aurelia, what are you talking about?"

"Nothing," I said, turning my gaze back to the Emperor. "Just checking if my physician knows his own inventory."

Lucien took a step closer to me. The honeyed fake sweetness vanished from his face. He lowered his voice so the guards couldn't hear.

"Where is the beastkin head, Aurelia?" Lucien asked. His tone was cold now. Demanding. "I gave you an order yesterday. I told you to bring me his head on a silver plate before midnight."

"I changed my mind," I said.

"You don't get to change your mind," Lucien spat quietly. "You belong to this court. You belong to me. I made you Princess of Aethon. I can take it away just as easily."

I looked at Lucien. Really looked at him.

He was a classic narcissist. Used to getting everything he wanted by flexing his crown and smiling at gullible women. The old Aurelia had worshipped him. She had killed for him.

I felt a wave of absolute disgust wash through my stomach.

"You didn't make me anything, Lucien," I said softly, stepping closer so only he could hear. "And if you want that beastkin dead, you're going to have to walk down those stairs and cut his throat yourself."

Lucien's face went red with rage. His hand flew to the hilt of his sword.

"Is that a challenge?" he hissed.

"It's an offer," I said. "Go on down. He's completely unchained. I'm sure he'd love to meet you."

Lucien stiffened. He looked at the dark dungeon doorway behind me. He knew Kael's reputation. He knew Kael was a monster in combat. Lucien was a politician, not a fighter. He wasn't going down those stairs without twenty guards in front of him.

"You are playing a dangerous game, Aurelia," Lucien growled, pulling his hand away from his sword. "You are acting very strange today."

"I had a near-death experience," I said, smiling coldly. "It cleared my head."

Before Lucien could reply, the heavy oak doors at the end of the grand hall burst open.

A guard sprinted into the room. He was dripping with rain water. His armor was dented. He slammed his knees onto the marble floor, gasping for air.

"Your Imperial Majesty!" the guard yelled, his voice cracking with terror.

Lucien turned around, annoyed. "What is it? I am in the middle of court business!"

"The harbor, Sire!" the guard screamed. "The southern fleet! The Tide Lord... he broke his magically bound seals! The sirens have taken the harbor!"

Silence fell over the hall.

Vane pushed himself off his marble pillar, his red eyes widening.

Silas. The Tide Lord. Aurelia's third bound mate.

Lucien turned his furious gaze straight back to me.

"What did you do?" Lucien roared.

"I didn't do anything," I said honestly. "I've been down in the basement dealing with your incompetent poisoner."

"Lie!" Lucien yelled. He pointed his finger straight at my face. "Guards! Arrest her! Lock her in the high tower until the harbor is cleared!"

The ten guards stepped forward, raising their weapons.

I didn't move. I looked at the ten armed men coming toward me.

My heart rate stayed perfectly steady.

"Vane," I said softly, without looking at the vampire behind me.

"Yes, Princess?" Vane asked, his voice full of dark amusement.

"If you kill these guards for me," I said, "I'll let you drink from my wrist tonight."

Vane let out a low, dark purr right behind my ear.

"Now that," Vane whispered, his cold hand sliding around my waist, pulling my back flush against his hard chest armor, "is an offer I simply cannot refuse."

The silver blade flashed in the torchlight.

And the grand hall exploded into blood.

Vane moved like smoke.

One second his cold arm was wrapped tightly around my waist. The next, he was across the white marble floor.

A high-pitched metallic shriek tore through the air.

Clang!

The blade of the first guard’s longsword flew into the air, spinning uselessly, before sticking directly into the polished wooden ceiling.

Before the guard could even blink, Vane’s hand shot out. His fingers crushed the man’s throat armor like paper. Bone cracked. Blood sprayed. The guard dropped to his knees like a sack of rocks.

I didn't flinch. I just smoothed down the front of my black velvet dress.

"Messy," I muttered under my breath. "Blood stains white marble forever, Vane. The housekeepers are going to hate you."

"Shut up and enjoy the show, Aurelia!" Vane yelled back over his shoulder.

His red eyes were glowing like burning coals now. His pale face was twisted into a dark, ecstatic grin. He loved this. He lived for the blood.

Two guards fired their crossbows at the same time.

Thwip! Thwip!

The heavy iron bolts tore through the air. Fast. Lethal.

Vane didn't even draw his sword to block them. He twisted his torso at an impossible angle. The first bolt missed his ear by a millimeter. The second bolt caught his black leather shoulder guard, tearing through the material.

He didn't scream. He laughed. A sharp, cruel sound that echoed off the high ceiling.

"Is that all the Imperial Guard has?" Vane mocked.

He closed the distance in a fraction of a second. He grabbed the crossbow of the nearest soldier, yanked it out of his hands, and rammed the heavy wooden stock directly into the man's teeth. Teeth exploded out of his mouth in a crimson spray.

Meanwhile, Lucien was backing away.

The Solar Emperor, the great ruler of the realm, was retreating toward the grand wooden doors like a frightened rabbit. His face was pale. His hand was trembling on the hilt of his decorative gold sword.

"Doctor Vance!" Lucien yelled, his voice cracking with pure pathetic panic. "Get behind me!"

"Your Majesty, we must run!" Dr. Vance squeaked, clutching his leather bag of poisons to his chest.