Page 110 of Fragile Oath

“Is it time for these delicious pear desserts yet?” I asked, gesturing to the tower of pastries on the cart near the tea in an effort to prompt her into taking them.

And sitting down, away from me.

“Of course.” She grabbed the plate from right next to me, and I fought back a flinch as her arm grazed mine.

“I was wondering when you would ask,” she said, setting the scones on the table and settling into her chair. “I’ve been looking forward to these all morning.”

Her demeanor hadn’t noticeably changed, but that meant nothing.

“Do we think the orange spice tea will be all right this time? It’s my favorite,” I lied.

It didn’t complement the pear dessert at all, but Socairans were known here for our odd tastes, so I hoped she wouldn’t question it.

“That sounds perfect, then,” she said easily.

I almost, almost second-guessed myself. Then my eyes slid to the closed curtains that led to the balcony she hadn’t wanted me to see.No.There was no doubt in my mind that Gracie was the Viper.

Now I just had to survive this tea long enough to tell Davin.

With numb fingers, I added the herbs to the basket in the teapot before pouring over the water. It would need at least five minutes to steep. Then we would drink it over dessert, which would take time. Davin would come looking for me before long, even if I didn't see an opportunity to leave.

I could do this.

I searched the small cart until I found an intricately woven tea cozy, slipping it over the pot.

“I don’t see many of these here,” I commented. “Did you make it yourself?”

“Stars, no,” she said with a self-deprecating laugh. “I never had any talent for knitting. Do you?”

“It was expected, in Socair. I suppose you were busy training like the princesses and the duchess?” I said lightly, setting the pot down on the table.

“No one trains quite like the duchess,” she said with another airy laugh.

So yes, then, but it wasn’t something she wanted to admit to in this conversation. She played her games so, so carefully.

She nudged the tray of scones toward me, and I dutifully picked one up with the silver tongs and deposited it on my plate. The crystalized sugar on top fell from the pastry, clinking against the ceramic plate like tiny shards of glass.

Could she hear it as loudly as I did?

“Thank you,” I said, glancing down at the pastry.

One of the poisons I studied had tasted like apple, not unlike the capsules from the viper had smelled. Would a pear dessert mask that taste? Would the poison even survive at baking temperature? The questions spun round my mind while I chose one for her next, depositing it onto her plate smoothly.

It was right on top, easily in a place where I could have plucked my own. She certainly hadn’t baked the pastries herself, and there were no markings to distinguish between one that might have been tampered with and one that wasn’t.

She cut into it with a blade that was sharper than the average butter knife, and serrated. Then she lifted a forkful to her mouth without hesitation. Short of assuming she had an immunity to the poison, something Gallagher theorized would be nearly impossible, it felt reasonable to assume the scones were safe.

Caught between fear of being poisoned and fear of giving myself away, I rapidly debated the likelihood of Gracie murdering me.

She had allowed me to choose my seat at the table. She’d given me the first choice of scones and hadn’t hesitated to eat hers. She also had brought me to her rooms, knowing I had left a note for Davin telling him where to find me.

Hating the necessity of the gamble, I took a tiny, polite bite. It tasted exactly like the filling from the dessert Davin had ordered me. Still, I chewed slowly, on alert for any aftertaste or tingling sensations.

There were none that I could detect.

“So you knit, but what about your other hobbies?” she asked nonchalantly. “I heard you work with Gallagher sometimes. Do you want to be a healer, too?”

I certainly wasn’t the only one fishing for information.

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