Page 37 of Slay Me

“What did you eat today?”

“Breakfast,” I slur. My limbs are far too heavy, my vision swirling with black spots. It’s as though I’m alert but have zero control over any motor movements.

“What the fuck did you eat, Liv. As in what food, not the meal.”

I try to recall, but my thoughts are jumbled. “Fruit?”

“Is that a fucking question?”

The door opens, but the newcomer is too far away for me to make out any features.

“What is wrong with her?”Fiona.

“I think she was poisoned.” He takes a cloth that she offers him as soon as she’s close enough that I can see her. Blue eyes blazing, she looks down at me as though she’s ready to kill someone.

“Who did it?”

“If I knew, their blood would be adorning the walls.”

“Only if you get to them first,” she snarls back.

Bile burns my throat. I gag as it comes up, but I’m unable to roll to my side to keep from choking on it. The contents of my stomach spew out of my mouth, and in a slew of curses, the Ringmaster rolls me onto my side and yanks the hair out of my face. “Get me Duncan, and have him bring Adaya here.”

“I’m sorry,” I manage, though the words are barely audible—even to me.

Chapter12

Dante

“She’ll survive.” Adaya zips up her backpack and then slings it back over her shoulder.

“What happened to her?” The berserker has refused to leave. When Duncan tried to make her, she threw him through the door. I could have forced her to go, but given how much she cares for Liv, having her around is smart.

Especially when I believe someone is trying to kill her.

While the fire was not directed at her specifically, it happened. And I still have yet to discover who started it.

“She was poisoned,” the water fae replies. “With a fairly potent toxin, too. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Any idea who might have been able to get their hands on something like that?” I ask Fiona.

“Yeah. Any of us could have gotten it. We go out as a group, but occasionally, we’ll separate to shop in the market.”

“This is not something that could have been purchased in the market,” Adaya says as she crosses her arms. “This would have been made specifically to target her fury blood.”

“Whoever did this has been planning it?” Fiona snarls.

“Yes.”

The berserker turns to me. “Valentina. It has to be her. She hates Liv.”

“Enough to poison her?”

“Absolutely.”

Anger singes my veins, but I force myself to remain neutral—for now. “I will find out if she had anything to do with this.”

“Fuck that. We know it had to have been her! Everyone else here adores Liv. No one would try to hurt her.”