Page 57 of Ties of Deception

I shook my head and handed over my bag of figs and honey. Without Ethen, I would be in a great deal of trouble right now.

He rummaged through and relaxed. “I’m sorry to disturb you, Purity. I know it’s rude of me. Something from Patience’s rooms has gone missing and we’re trying to work out where it could have ended up. Charity said she passed you. We checked her, so thought it was only fair to check you too.”

I took back my bag and stepped back with wide eyes as if this was all a surprise. “What are you looking for? Can I help? Did Patience leave something behind? Is she all right? I’m worried that she left without saying goodbye.”

His expression softened. “It’s really nothing. One of the maids saw some herbs in Patience’s room. Herbs she…probably shouldn’t have had. When she went to bring them as evidence, they had disappeared. We’re trying to work out the truth. It might simply be the servant making things up to discredit Patience. We just wanted to make sure nobody else decides to use them.”

I frowned. “Herbs? I doubt Patience would have done anything wrong deliberately. She’s so sweet and earnest.”

He nodded. “She is. Please don’t let this trouble you, and I’ll see you for breakfast tomorrow. I apologize once again for having to do this unpleasant task.” He bowed, far deeper than appropriate and walked off with the Amazone.

I blew out a breath and went into my rooms to double-check my dress.

Chapter

Twenty-Two

Everything appeared hazy around the edges, and my focus was slightly off. I stared down at my palm and the blood that was pooling in the middle. I wore a strange robe of black with silver embroidery. The strength of my emotions crashed into me as the picture sharpened. It was happiness. I felt so overwhelmingly happy.

Ethen’s hand appeared next to mine, his blood collecting in the center of his palm. We clasped our hands together, mixing our blood. His eyes met mine, his expression so earnest that my heart dipped in my chest. I heard a tremble in his voice. “In this life and the next, I promise I will always be yours.”

I beamed at him, swallowing down the lump building in my throat. “In this life and the next.”

He let go of my hand as if worried he had touched me for too long. “I can’t wait for you to be my wife. I still can’t believe…” His words trailed off as his voice became thick with emotion.

I couldn’t stop smiling. My joy made me want to dance. I might not be able to marry him in this life, but we were going to be married in my next life and that would make everything worth it.

I swayed, caught in a wave of dizziness, and Ethen’s expression fell. “Snow? Come, let’s wash my blood from your hand. It’s still touching you. It may—Snow?” He caught my arm. “You should sit. Come…”

New hands steadied my back, and I recognized Tamel’s voice. “Aidis, I’ve got her. You should let go. Step back from her. I’ll help her wash.” Then the memory grew dark and distant as if it were fleeing down a long tunnel.

I woke in the middle of the night, confused by the light filtering through the curtains. My mouth was parched, and a headache pounded behind my ears. Everything told me to go back to sleep. My body felt like it was being sucked under in a swamp, but something wasn’t right.

It was morning, not the middle of the night.

It was the morning I was to have breakfast with Prince Sebastian. Flavia was supposed to have woken me at the crack of dawn. With huge effort, I sat up. My eyes were gritty, and I fumbled around the low table for the pitcher of water. I drank the whole thing, but my throat was still parched. Was I ill? No, Graces didn’t get ill. And no matter how I felt, I couldn’t afford to be late.

I staggered out of my room and glanced at the cylinder on the water clock on the low table in the middle of my living quarters.

It was hours past dawn. Breakfast would have officially started ten minutes ago. Panic chased away my drowsiness, and I ran to Flavia’s door, pounding on it before flinging it open. Flavia lay asleep on her bed—even the noise hadn’t roused her. I tried to wake her, but she only moaned. Her pulse and breathing were fine. Her skin was cool with no sign of a fever. We had been drugged.

I hurried back into the main room and grabbed my silvery-green dress that had been laid out the previous evening. I had thought the scent pouch had been Charity’s main trick, but clearly she’d been up to something else more clever. I’d been too confident.

The sound of heavy boots made me turn around. Ethen pushed through the curtains from my balcony. “What’s going on? Where’s Flavia? The prince is waiting for you.” He looked me up and down. “Wow, you look a mess.”

I graced him with a sarcastic smile. “Thanks. Just what I wanted to hear.” I nodded to Flavia’s room. “I can’t wake her. I think we’ve both been drugged. Will she be all right? She has a good pulse and is breathing well.”

He frowned and sniffed the air. “That scent. It’s moon blossom. It’s not dangerous—it only makes you sleep.” He sniffed again and strode to the side table where our incense sticks burned almost constantly. He seized them and threw them into a pitcher of water. “Clever. I’ve only seen it used in drinks, never as an incense. They must have changed your incense sticks when a new batch was delivered to your room yesterday. I didn’t even think to check them. I’ve only been keeping an eye on the food and drink. It looks like the effects were less powerful in this form, but it served its purpose. You’re very late.”

I bared my teeth in frustration. “If you help me get ready, I can hurry there and apologize. Maybe he will overlook it.”

Ethen didn’t look convinced. “I mean, I didn’t even know that Graces could look like you do right now.”

I grabbed a cushion and threw it at him. “There isn’t time for your nonsense. Help me! Quickly!”

I started to pull off my chiffon nightgown, and the humor dropped from his face, replaced by alarm. “Purity…”

“Get my hairbrush and those earrings and necklace and put them there. Don’t worry, I won’t take my shift off. I know it’s thin but…just don’t look. I need you to help me with the clasps. Hurry!”

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