Chapter 65

A shudder went through the room at the mention of treason. The kingdom's law regarding treason was one of the harshest laws they had: death by drawing and quartering. The last time someone had been accused of treason, the king left their body scattered until the wild beasts consumed every piece of flesh and refused to let the traitor's family hold any form of funeral rites.

In that man's defense, the traitor had murdered his luna.

Chasel knew that if Adolph had to follow in his father's footsteps in that way, he wouldn't stop at drawing and quartering. The late king had been a fearsome man, but he had come into the war a lot older than when Adolph had gone in. He hadn't been so steeped in blood that his aura and scent had begun to smell of it.

Chasel shuddered.

"So says His Majesty," Chasel said, calling forth a resounding salute of acknowledgment from the guards in the hall.

Chasel approached Adolph slowly, taking stock of how he shook and the glints of red light in his eyes. It had been close, but Adolph had been controlling himself on the edge of madness for years.

"I have ordered the city to be locked down and all those within the castle to be detained for interrogation."

Adolph looked at him, focused and centering himself, taking slow and measured breaths.

"Start with the kitchen staff and everyone related to her breakfast this morning."

Chasel met his gaze, "Everyone in attendance?"

Adolph was about to exclude Raven and his family, but Raven stepped forward.

"Everyone in attendance this morning can at least wait together," Raven said. "Though we ware guiltless, we may have seen something that might be vital."

Adolph's lips twitched into a ghost of a smile. He nodded at Raven in gratitude and acknowledgment. Raven, Irene, and the others had always been on his side. He never questioned their loyalty, but excluding them would only add fire to the political nightmare that was unfolding. Besides, it was best to put them in the room with as many other people who would have had the chance to poison Laurel. He knew their instincts were just as good as his were if not better.

He needed all the eyes and ears he could manage to figure out who was behind it. He had a handful of suspects, but wouldn't let his suspicions change the investigation. The vampire queen likely had spies in the kingdom, but finding just one of them wouldn't solve the problem.

He needed to find the general over the spies that were here and that would require setting a trap enticing enough. He'd have to give them another chance at their objective, but he had to find out if their objective was Laurel's death or his insanity.

He didn't know how much the vampire queen knew about werewolves, but he knew a great deal about vampires to spot one on sight. There were none around. He hadn't even caught a whiff of a vampiric stench which meant that vicious woman had hired werewolves to spy on him and betray their own race. It was smart and almost as despicable as her continued existence.

He turned back to the priestess whose brow was furrowed in a deep frown in the shadow of her hood.

"What can you tell me?" Adolph asked.

"She's been poisoned with a mixture of wolfsbane and crimson oleander," she said, her voice was tense. "She is quite lucky to be alive."

He recognized wolfsbane. It was the same poison that had tainted the food that had led to Jack Miller's death, but he wasn't familiar with crimson oleander. He would have to ask more about it or find some information about it in the library.

Right now, he just needed to know that she would be alright, no matter how long it took.

She had to be alright.

"Will she recover?"Adolph asked, bracing for the worst answer possible though his heart clenched with hope.

She looked up at Adolph and smiled, "Yes, she will. Even in the smallest of doses, wolfsbane is lethal as is crimson oleander. Together, even a drop of it in a dish would be certain death If the moon goddess meant for her to die, she would have done so long before the ceremony."

Adolph shuddered at the relief that washed over him, "Can you tell how long it's been since she was poisoned?"

She shook her head, "No, but I can tell you that the only way to guarantee the efficacy of either poison is to have the target ingest it."

It meant he'd been right to start with the kitchens. Given that no one else who had been at the brunch seemed to be affected, it had been a targeted attack. The thought made his hand shake with fury.

She looked back down at Laurel, "She will need an antidote to avoid any adverse side effects. Anyone with instructions can make it, but it requires rather hard to get flowers from the southern regions of the kingdom."

"I'll send my fastest riders, just tell me what she needs." He'd go himself if it would save her. "Make a list and it will be done."

"Your Majesty, if I may?" He turned to look at Eden. His instincts were telling him that he wasn't wrong about something being off about him, but he held his tongue and eyed Eden carefully.

"You may."

"My caravan has just returned from the south to collect medicinal herbs. There's a chance that we may have what is needed as we supply hospitals in other parts of the kingdom."

Adolph didn't want to let Eden near Laurel or anywhere near the priestess treating Laurel, but he relented. It would take longer than he was willing to allow to try and find a different merchant to procure whatever was needed if they had it.

Since they supplied several hospitals, there was a large chance they had at least some if not all of what was needed. His wolf growled in frustration, remembering the way Eden acted with Laurel, but he calmed his wolf by focusing on the possibility of getting Laurel back on her feet as soon as possible.

"You will assist the priestess in treating Laurel for as long as she needs you after you've been interviewed."

Eden bowed, "As you wish, Your Majesty."

"Chasel," Adolph said, "Interview Eden first so he can help the priestess. When a list of what is needed is procured, arrange proper compensation for him and his caravan as well."

He had Sam and Lynn organize the move of the guests to separate rooms to be detained until he could begin interrogations before lifting Laurel from the ground and carrying her to her room with the priestess and Eden trailing behind him.

He lay Laurel in her bed gently, wiping the blood from her mouth and kissing her cold hand.

"Please," Adolph said, his voice growing rough with emotion. "Look after her."

She smiled at him, her eyes aglow with a mystic light as she nodded.

"The white and black wolf must stand in defense of the goddess' chosen kingdom," she said and Adolph felt a warm presence drift over him, familiar and otherworldly. "On the moon's light, you have my word. She will recover."

He nodded and turned to leave. Assigning a new guard at her door and organizing the rotation of guards. She wouldn't be left unguarded for a moment and only Eden, Lily, Sarah, and a handful of other people would be allowed to see her until she was well again.

He stopped in an empty corridor to take a deep breath and clear his mind. He couldn't afford the fury or to rush if he meant to catch the culprit and make sure no one ever tried again. When he caught them, he'd make a grim and bloody example of them.

"Your Majesty?" Chasel said from down the hallway. He turned his head and looked at him. "Perhaps you should clean up."

He frowned and turned to look at his reflection in the mirror. His face was splattered with blood. His stomach turned and his wolf growled with fury as the memory of Laurel's smile faltering came to mind.

*Fear struck through him. Then her body trembled and jerked as she opened her mouth and the wet, metallic splash of blood caught him in the face as if she had been skewered with a sword on the battlefield.*

He shuddered and clenched both fists before nodding. Chasel set a bowl of water beside him with a towel.

"I've walked into the heart of vampire territory with you, Your Majesty," Chasel said. "We'll find the person behind this."

Adolph dipped the towel into the water and unbuttoned the top knots of his jacket before washing his face.

"On the bright side, I'm pretty sure you've scared the ministers at least half straight and maybe your son too."

"Doubtful," Adolph said, dropping the towel back into the bowl. "It takes intelligence to feel fear, not greed."

Chasel nodded and remained silent beside him as he pulled himself together. He was barely calm enough to speak rather than growl menacingly, but he didn't think he'd find a way to get calm any time soon.