na

gested. Soft leather cushions, polished dark wood, and the faint, pleasant

r seat, a man

unnervingly pale, almost translucent, but the illness that plagued his body had not touc

or a fraction of a

d about in court, the prince poisoned by silver as a chi

Elena Grant," he said, his voice the same low, tired baritone I'd heard from

ful nod, keeping my face a neutral mask.

ng straight to the point. "But sob stories

did more than just set a bone out there. Th

ed truthfully. "It speeds cellular reg

ss Omega' who is a more gifted apothecary than the Royal H

secrets as you, Your Highness? For instance, the fact that your ailment isn't simple silver poiso

's smile vanished, replaced by a chilling stillness. Beside hi

, humorless sound, filled with self-mockery and a grudging admiration. "Remarkable. In the ten yea

had just demonstrated a value

said, laying my fina

ghter, the languid, sickly posture gone. He was looking at

ety of the mother and child I just treated. Have them moved somewhere safe,

ad expected a demand for wealth or statu

he right ear at court. I need to ensure my petition for rejecti

l rhythm on his knee. To help me was to openly oppose Ant

him I understood the game. "An upstart with no real foundation, but he is the King'

that I was not just a he

an create a cure?" he asked, hi

l require three stages, over the course of one month. I can give you the first

und. Thirty percent. After a decade of suffoca

moment, then gave a single,

always carried and produced a t

king it and dipping a silver needle i

ars harmless," I explained calmly. "The art of a master hea

is eyes locked on mine, and drank the contents in one s

at immediately began to war with the cold, insidious poison that had plagued him for so long. Beads

m of emotions-disbelief, hope, and a profound, unsettling a

his voice a raw w

"I'm the person who is going to help you ta