Kiss of Snow

27

He nodded with enthusiasm and had his mouth open before he’d even plunged his spoon into the pie. He almost inhaled the second pie, and I smiled at the speed with which he made it disappear.

“I’m very glad you enjoyed it,” I said.

He grinned, and he reminded me a little of a loyal dog. He was kind, if nothing else. “Thank you, Princess Lily. It was very…” He broke off and gasped, then clutched his stomach. “I’m sorry,” he panted between heavy breaths. “I suddenly don’t feel at all well.”

I stood from the table, my chair screeching backward over the stone floor. As he wobbled to his feet, I reached out toward him. “Are you all right? Can you manage?” I turned to Keane. “Can you help Lord Vasso to his room?”

As I spoke, Lord Vasso gave a startled cry and crumpled back into his chair.

“My head,” he wailed. “It really hurts. It’s pounding and I…I can’t see.” Fear took his volume up a notch. “Everything’s black.” But his speech was slowing, slurring, and I looked again for Keane, who stepped forward to kneel at Vasso’s side.

Almost immediately, Danzin took a knee at the lord’s other side and reached for his wrist, pressing his fingers over Vasso’s skin in search of a pulse.

He looked at me. “It’s very weak, Your Majesty.”

Confusion buzzed through me. “But whatever could…” I stopped, hesitancy finding its way into my voice before I remembered my position. I swallowed down the fear and tried for something that resembled calm leadership. “What could be wrong with him? Lord Lasloe, send for help from the kitchens, and Lord Gusten, please bring pillows and blankets. We may need to make him comfortable.”

Danzin stood. “If you’ll allow me, I’ll fetch my medical kit from my room. I have a selection of herbs and tinctures that might help.”

I nodded. “Yes, go. Quickly.”

While the suitors all gathered around Vasso, Keane picked up the plate that had held my pie and sniffed it. Then he picked up the plate that Vasso had eaten the first pie, his own, from and sniffed that one as well.

“What are you doing?” I asked him quietly.

“Something’s wrong,” Keane said in a low voice. “The plate that had your pie smells bitter.”

Fear whispered through me at what that could mean. “Poison?”

Keane nodded. “It might be. And coming so soon after the previous two attempts on your life, we can’t rule it out.”

Servants entered the room, ready to clear the table, but I grabbed the two pie plates and stacked them on the floor behind Vasso’s chair.

“Please take the plates to the kitchen and push the table to one side.” I gave a clear, steady command as I tried to prevent my hands from shaking by holding them in front of me.

Gusten, Hirth, and Lasloe laid Vasso on the floor, and Danzin arrived back from his room, a little out of breath with a medical bag clutched in one hand. I gave a sigh of relief. He looked the part of a doctor, at least.

“Go and tell him what you suspect,” I said to Keane.

Keane looked at me and then at Danzin, while Vasso’s pale face was losing color by the moment. “Is that wise? For all we know, Danzin could be the poisoner. He certainly has the means.”

“Go,” I urged him, pushing him forward. “We could be saving this man’s life!”

Keane picked up the two plates as the servants pushed the table aside, and spoke quietly to Danzin, while the nobleman removed things from his bag. Danzin nodded gravely, while I kneeled beside Vasso’s head. His eyes were closed, and I feared we might be too late already.

I touched his hair softly but he didn’t stir. “It’s all right. We’re going to help you.”

Danzin approached, his mouth set into a firm line. “I only have very little of the herb we need. Just pray it will be enough.” He drew an amber liquid into a narrow glass pipette and moved it toward Vasso’s mouth.

“Are we sure this is safe?” Covack’s nasal voice filled the room. “Lord Danzin could kill Lord Vasso with whatever he’s about to administer.”

Annoyance flickered over me, but I brushed it aside. “I trust Lord Danzin’s intentions and knowledge. A medic has been sent for, but might not arrive in time if Lord Vasso’s pulse continues to weaken. What would you have us do?”

Covack stepped back. “My apologies, Your Majesty.”

I nodded to Danzin to continue, and he dribbled the tincture between Vasso’s barely parted lips, waiting between drops. When the pipette was empty, he sat back on his heels, two spots of high color on each of his cheeks. “That’s all I can do for now. We must make him comfortable until the medic arrives. Recovery could take a while if it’s the poison I suspect.”

I rose to my feet and turned to Keane. “Please get a guard to stand with Vasso until the medic arrives. I’ll make him as comfortable as I can, but I’d like to retire to my room as soon as possible.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Keane beckoned to one of the servers and issued rapid instructions as I returned my attention to Lord Vasso. He’d taken the poison meant for me, and my guilt mixed with fear at being targeted again. I hadn’t realized that simply by being near me, all of these men would be in danger too.Eighteen

Lily

R

ose closed the door to the small sitting room. The sun had barely peeped above the horizon and the sky was still a chilly gray, but we’d gathered in this room of faded colors and duty furnishings before the rest of the castle woke.