Page 40 of Dark Prince's Captive

My father gently arranges my mother’s hands in her lap before getting to his feet.“Go.Now.”

Kian leaves without another word.

“Do you have any idea how this could’ve happened?”I ask my mother.

She’s my main suspect, but would she truly have poisoned herself intentionally to appear like a victim to hide her guilt?It’s unlikely.The chances of living after exposure are too uncertain.

“I made the infusion myself,” she says, turning her face toward me with effort.“Tarix can vouch for that.”

“That’s true,” Tarix says.“No one was allowed in the kitchen while your mother prepared the precious potion.”

“Obviously, the poison wasn’t in the potion,” Vitai says.“Or else you’d be dead, Aruan.”

“Then how did your mother come in contact with it?”my father asks, his face a thunderous mask.

“It must’ve happened when I straightened the place settings,” my mother says weakly.“I was annoyed with the maids for not setting the table properly.Elsie’s goblet was slightly out of line with the others, so I put it back in place.”

“Where did you touch the goblet?”Vitai asks.

“I picked it up by the stem.It was slippery, as if someone with fatty hands had touched it.I almost dropped it but managed to catch it before it hit the table.I polished the stem with a cloth and put the goblet back in the right place.”

“Could you have touched the inside of the goblet when you caught it or maybe while you polished it?”Vitai asks thoughtfully.

My mother blows out a tired sigh.“I suppose that’s possible.Yes, I most likely did.”

“That’s enough.”My father bends down and picks my mother up in his arms.“I’m taking her to her quarters.She needs to rest.”

“An assassin is on the loose,” I point out.“One who nearly succeeded in killing my mate.”

My father gives me a cold stare.“We’ll get to the bottom of this but not at the expense of your mother’s health.”

“Someone must’ve painted the inside of the goblet with a poison that’s not only translucent but also tasteless and odorless.”Vitai looks at Gaia’s dead pet on the floor.“Spiked dragons are notoriously good at smelling harmful toxins.”

“Night lilies,” Tarix muses.

My exact thought.

“Four moon cycles of people had access to the hall before the banquet,” Suno says.“It could’ve been anyone.”

“Precisely.”I cross my arms.“And it will never happen again.From now on, no one cooks or touches Elsie’s food but me.”

“Don’t worry,” Suno says, coming closer to warily pat my shoulder.“Whoever did this, Kian will find him.”

“Or her,” I say, still not completely convinced about my mother’s innocence in all this.

However unlikely it is that she would’ve touched poison on purpose, I can’t ignore how convenient it is that she fell ill right before I intended to confront her about the “death” of my infant mate.I still want answers as to how Elsie ended up on Earth.

My father exits the hall with my mother in his arms, leaving us to stew over the question of who could’ve attempted such a terrible deed, a crime punishable by the cruelest of executions.

The truth is that it could’ve been anyone.Both the royals and the nobles are well versed in the scrolls.They’re terrified of the prophecy about the Alit prince with a dark, uncontrollable power… and the role his mate—mymate—is supposed to play in bringing about the end of our world.

Personally, I’m not a believer.But I can see why they are.

Not even I know exactly what I’m capable of, and if anything had happened to her today… Gritting my teeth, I tamp down on the thought and the rage that accompanies it, which manifests as a crack in the ceiling.

Tarix and Suno jump.

Tarix leaves quickly with an excuse to go check on the queen.Suno offers to get rid of the dead pet and to get a new one from the breeder for Gaia.

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