Page 53 of Chosen
I’d gotten too comfortable, but this was a reminder that my life was insignificant in their eyes and I could trust no one.
Chapter
Nineteen
DRAKEN
“Are you absolutely certain?” I ask, even though I’m staring at the evidence myself.
“Yes, My Lord,” Physician Gwyen nods solemnly. I ran the test twice. The first results were inconclusive, and I suspect there may have been some issues with the workers in the lab, so I had it run again and this time I sent off the bloodwork to the hospital in region 5 because I have some trusted colleagues who work there. That’s why it took a little longer than expected.
“On top of these findings, you believe that the previous results were tampered with in the lab?”
“Unfortunately, My Lord. I do believe so.”
I hang my head, frustrated that the results were what I suspected from the beginning. I had hoped to be proven wrong but that isn’t the case.
“Thank you. Please get back to the infirmary for now and report anything you find suspicious in the coming days.”
“Yes, My Lord.” He bows his head and places his hand over his head before backing out of my office.
I look down at the report that had been transmitted to my e-device. Not only had Lawreynce not died from an aneurysm asthe former head Physician had stated but he’d been poisoned. Apparently he’d been administered enough to kill several large beasts.
That explained the scent I’d smelled on him when I’d examined his body. There was also a reason why that smell was familiar. It had been the same scent that had been in my food.
Someone in the kitchen had laced my food with this stuff and I’d been ingesting. I tap the screen on the e-device to give me more information on this drug.
It was called bellum, a cross pollination of several plants that creates a purple flower which would be harmless for the most part but when dried out and crushed into a fine powder or made into a liquid, it could cause irritability, headaches, and paranoia in small doses. In large doses it was poisonous.
Clearly he’d been administered a powerful dose. Perhaps it was hindsight that the chef who happened to be in charge of my meals had been dismissed and had been thrown in one of the holding cells.
I could no longer ignore that the fact that I was in the middle of a coup. And the mastermind behind it was none other than my cousin.
From the time I’d come to live at the fortress, he would speak of nothing else except one day taking over his father’s position as Sector Leader. He’d had so many grand ideas about how he would make our sector better and that he planned to weed out the corruption.
I’d always promised to support him.
But we were both young and foolish.
When my Uncle found me and summoned me to live at the fortress, I thought it was because he’d felt some familial tie toward me but instead he’d wanted an attack dog.
He’d heard about the undefeated ‘beast’ he’d fought in the pits. Discovering that the fighter was his brother’s son, probably made him think I’d be easier to control.
Instead of treating me like a cherished family member, I became his main Enforcer, sent to attack and kill anyone who he deemed unworthy of living. I became his sword, striking down anyone in the blink of an eye.
My Uncle was a petty man who took offense over the slightest offense. No one under his reign was safe. Servants, dignitaries…his own son.
Braeden had been the only bright spot at the time. We’d grown close to each other, commiserating after one of his father’s beatings.
Braeden would get beat for not being strong enough, for being an embarrassment because he didn’t have the ability to shift. And I would be beaten for being stupid or for getting ahead of myself.
And both of us took it for reasons of our own. Me mainly to protect Braeden from his father’s wrath. Once my Uncle had beaten my cousin so badly, I thought he’d kill him. When I intervened, he took it as a challenge and had two other Enforcers hold me down and beat me until I passed out.
I woke up with claw marks on my chest and a scar just below my jawline. It’s the reason I grew my beard in.
There came a point where both Braeden and I had reached our breaking point. Braeden had pointed out that the reason my uncle needed me by his side was because he was no longer powerful enough to hold his position. Part of me didn’t want to challenge my uncle because despite how he’d treated me, he was still family. But then Braeden told me that my uncle had planned to bring in several breeders with the goal of getting a new heir. Once he had one, he intended to kill Braeden.
My cousin was my only ally so I couldn’t allow that to happen. I reminded him that the last time my uncle believed that I would challenge him he got the other Enforcers involved.
