a P

a section of the castle that felt as c

wood and rich tapestries, but the tall, arch

as a gilded cage, but for a newly awakened dragon,

anged into simpler black clothes, but the silver mask rem

ood, its wheels and armrests inlaid with th

ing in," he said, his

on the silver mask. "Our pact has begun. As your 'wife

out, aiming

wrist. His grip was like a steel trap. The moment his skin touch

of the Dragonslayer poison ravaging his core. The strength in that grip was immense, far more

n his golden eye. "Do not

ming on my skin. He released his grip, let out a short, sharp sigh, and had the servant

s crouching beside a strange, faintly glowing plant, recognizing it from my ancestral memorie

new bride?" a soft v

own. She had strawberry-blonde curls and wide, wat

most imperceptible detail on her dress: embroidered in silver thread was a pattern mimicking the royal dr

m Audrey Burns. It's a pleasu

n this fortress, entering my secure wing. "Miss Burns," I ackn

m with a lace handkerchief. "My brother... he was Gideon's closest friend. He di

But as she spoke, the ancient healer within me analyzed her. Her breathing

ally. Hers did not. More damningly, as the wind shifted, a sickly-sweet

llen-a rare, lethal toxin documented in th

oned Gideon's two previou

g climate of this castle... it took them both so quickly." A microscopic tw

f undetectable poison. This woman was no innocent flower; she was a venomous vi

she continued, her voice turning

his condition." She smoothed her perfect dress, the gesture a clear declara

ch the air, and finally smiled. It was a smile that didn't reach my eyes. "I

oodlines, then added, "But from now on, looking after the lord is my responsi

eathing hitched, and a flash of raw, ugly jealousy and panic sparked in her watery blue