Page 62 of Ties of Deception

I pushed my chair back. Was he sick? Had he choked? Maybe if I healed him with a Blessing, the feast could continue without hiccup. I walked as fast as I could, coming alongside the woman and placing my hands on his cheeks. I focused on how I had felt in the carriage when Ethen had kissed me. Nothing happened.

His cheeks felt cold and clammy. His eyes were half open and vacant. I removed my hands in shock. He was dead. How could one of my guests be dead?

“Fetch a physician! Hurry!” I shouted. I turned to the woman. “Does he have any health concerns? Any allergies?”

She shook her head, her face contorted in panic. “He was fine when we arrived. He’s been poisoned. Poisoned!” Her shrieking voice reached the ears of every guest in the room, and everyone started to stand, pushing plates and cups away from themselves.

I turned to Ethen who stood in the corner, watching emotionlessly. “Can you save him? What’s wrong with him?”

The god of death only narrowed his eyes and frowned before walking out the room, his three men close behind. The sting of abandonment in my hour of greatest need pierced my defenses.It was just an act. Just an act.

The woman pointed at him. “He did it! That Aida! He did it!”

Prince Sebastian clapped his hands. “I think it’s time we all headed back to our accommodations. Thank you for coming. We need to give the physician space to treat the ambassador. Please don’t be concerned.”

The guests left as multiple physicians filtered in. I hovered behind the weeping woman, wringing my hands. If I could do nothing as a Grace, surely the physicians couldn’t either.

Sebastian rested a hand on my shoulder. “Stay calm, Purity. You’re the host, remember? You must remain levelheaded and in charge.”

I nodded, blew out a deep breath and directed a servant to fetch a glass of water for the ambassador’s wife. I couldn’t think of anything else I could do to help.

The physicians conferred and then bowed to the prince. “We regret to say the ambassador of Suza has passed away. We believe it was a fast acting poison, but we will have to run some tests to determine which one.”

Cold dread ate at my stomach. “You should take all his food and drink for testing. His utensils. Anything he touched.”

The physicians took over directly from the servants. I attempted to comfort the ambassador’s wife, but she hit my arm away. “We were guests at your banquet! How could you let this happen!”

I didn’t know what to say. An apology didn’t seem adequate. “I’ll…they’ll do everything they can to find out who’s responsible for this.” She wasn’t listening to me.

Sebastian had taken one of the physicians to a corner to speak privately. The doors flung open as the empress strode in. She swept over to the crying woman as the physicians instructed servants on how to preserve the food, the body on the table now covered with a shroud. Her eyes found mine—they were furious.

“Purity, you should return to your chambers. Do not leave the palace until the investigation is over.”

I couldn’t respond. I curtsied and hurried to the safety of my litter.

Chapter

Twenty-Four

Ifelt numb. How would I ever recover from this? What if whoever had done this framed me as the murderer? All my plans to win the contest and gain information from Sebastian or the empress felt useless. And to be honest, I wasn't even sure I wanted to continue playing this game. Somebody was taking things too far.

When my litter arrived, I kept my head bowed and followed Flavia up the stairs toward the quiet haven of my rooms.

A maid stopped us in the corridor. She curtsied. “Lady Purity, Lady Constance requests your presence at once.”

My mouth dried. Had she already heard the news? Could she help me—or was she just seeking information to help her win over Sebastian and the empress? My mind could barely form a coherent thought. Everything was a blur as I tried to process the events of the afternoon, but I couldn’t easily refuse. I followed the maid automatically.

“Flavia, go to the servant’s quarters and see if you can find out anything more.”

She bowed her head and hurried off, her face pale with stress.

My heart continued to race as I stumbled into Constance’s room. The Grace reclined calmly on her couch, her face serious and thoughtful. A large painting of Ismara dominated the room, the original goddess of life almost completely concealed within her voluminous golden hair. Her eyes were closed in a peaceful expression as if she were meditating or sleeping. The image was calming, and I focused on it for a moment before Constance spoke.

“Our banquets all ended early, and we’ve had only fragments of news as to why. What happened, Purity?”

Tears pressed behind my eyes. “The ambassador from Suza was poisoned at my banquet.”

She frowned and looked away. She didn’t appear surprised, only worried. “That’s what my servants claimed had happened, but I couldn’t believe it. Nothing like this has ever happened before.”

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