Page 3 of Sapphire Queen
Gasping and clutching her chest, “What? I’m your mother, Sarifena.” Stephanie glanced at Dr. King, “What the hell is going on? Why doesn’t she remember who I am?”
“We don’t know, Your Majesty. She seems to have no memories before collapsing. I need to make a call.” Heath excused himself and stepped into the hallway.
“Dr. Bright, please.” Heath ran his fingers through his hair, “Howard, it’s Heath. The Queen is awake, but we have a problem. Have you found anything in the sample I sent you?”
“Yes,” he paused, “I was just about to call you. It seems she was poisoned with Clirnolaine.”
“Clirnolaine? What is it?” Heath sighed in frustration.
“It’s from a rare plant found in the deadlands. Whoever did this, they knew what it would do to her.”
“Let me guess…” Heath paused, “Memory loss is one of the side effects.”
“Yes. Memory loss is one of the side effects, but Heath,” Dr. Bright grew silent as if he were choosing his words carefully, “Memory loss is not the concern.”
“Not the concern? Howard, the Queen, doesn’t remember who she is. How is that not a concern?”
“Her memory will come back as the poison leaves her system. But not before it does its damage.”
“Damage?”
“Look, whoever did this knew what they were doing. Clirnolaine doesn’t just cause temporary memory loss. It can do permanent damage to her organs, specifically her reproductive organs.”
“Are you saying this will make her infertile?”
“Possibly. I don’t know the severity of its effects on the human body. Like I said, it’s a rare poison.”
“Can we stop the damage?”
“I’m doing some research. If there is an antidote or something to reverse the damage, I’ll notify you immediately.”
“Ok. Keep me updated.”
Heath shoved his phone into his pants pocket and leaned against the wall. Telling Sarifena what the poison was doing to her would be difficult, but she deserved to know.
Taking a deep breath, he shoved off the wall and headed back into her room. Sarifena needed to know everything, including the fact he would stop at nothing to save her.
