Chapter 117

Evelyn

I had expected Chris to flee for the medical wing, seeking out antidotes, as I instructed. But before he could even turn and leave, I remembered and shifted my focus to Logan.

“My bag,” was all I needed to say. He knew what I meant without asking for any clarification.

He was gone for the span of a few heartbeats, but with my father prone between my brother and me, it felt like a small eternity.

Alex was breathing heavily, a horrified expression marring his handsome face.

“This can’t be happening,” he said under his breath, seemingly to himself.

I didn’t have time to even think about the specifics: who was responsible and how much of the drug there had been in his cup. Because I knew this drug itself like the back of my hand now. And I had even developed a cure for it.

When Logan reemerged, he was panting from exertion and clutching my bag. I snatched it from him and dug for only a moment before unearthing a vial of my cure. My hands shook as I held it to my father’s lips. They were just barely parted, having gone slack as he fainted.

“Come on,” I whispered, pressing it to the opening of his lips and tilting it back. “Drink.”

Because he couldn’t die. Not here in front of an audience, splayed on the floor. My father was a warrior. He couldn’t go out like this.

For one terrible second after the liquid passed his lips, nothing happened. Had this been a bad batch? In that frantic, trembling moment, I began to panic.

Then, a shudder ran through the Alpha King. His chest swelled, fuller, and his eyes fluttered open, unfocused but alive.

Relief slammed into me so hard I nearly collapsed beside him.

“Get him to the medical wing!” I snapped before I could succumb to my mounting emotions.

Chris was grabbing him before I had even finished my instructions, pale-faced and brow creased with concern. He and two guards lifted the Alpha King, carrying his weight between them. My father groaned faintly as he was moved, but the worst of it had passed. Still, until I knew for certain what had been done to him, I would not rest.

Logan helped me to my feet. His hand hovered at the small of my back, protective, grounding, though fire still roared in my veins.

I could hardly see, hardly focus. I was furious, seeing red.

“Someone tried to poison the Alpha King,” I spat, my voice low but trembling with fury. “And they did it here. In my home. On the night of our supposed victory celebration. This was a message to us all.”

The crowd was dissolving into whispers, nobles clinging to one another in panic, terror written into everyone’s face as they realized that even the strongest of them was vulnerable to a petty attack. But I didn’t care. Let them cower. I needed answers.

“Whoever it was didn’t know you had a cure for wolfsbane,” Logan noted, staring at the emptied vial.

We looked at each other for a long moment, understanding passing between us. We knew of someone who had been exiled and on the run around the time I had developed the cure. Someone who had already proven themselves capable of murder on a public scale.

“Come,” I said to Logan, already moving. “The wine. It was in his goblet. We start there.”

We made our way to the kitchens, which were nearly abandoned. The servants scattered in the chaos. The faint smell of roasted meat still hung heavy in the air from a meal we would never eat. Not now, while the Alpha King lay in a cot in the medical wing.

I turned toward the wine cellar, feeling Logan following behind me like a shadow.

It was a short trip down the stairs, into the cool stone of the cellar. I tore through the shelves until I found the cask that had been tapped for the night’s toast, a rich, very aged red wine. My father’s favorite.

Logan inspected the rim, his sharp nose twitching, while I searched the nearby table for any evidence of tampering.

“We will need to interrogate the servants,” he said. “Anyone who came even close enough to sniff the wine in that goblet should be questioned. I will get my Gamma unit to look into it. They’re getting restless without an assignment.”

I nodded vaguely, my eyes continuing to comb over our surroundings as we spoke. I was willing to employ every tool we had to find answers.

Whoever had poisoned him had to have done so between this cellar and when the vintage pour ended up in my father’s flagon. Retracing our steps was a start, but there was no guarantee that—

And then I saw it.

A slip of parchment, neatly folded, weighted by a cork. I could’ve missed it entirely if my gaze hadn’t been cutting across our surroundings so critically.

I snatched it up and read its contents, though between its shaky penmanship and the fury still blurring my vision, it took a moment for me to comprehend what it said.

Did you think it would be that easy? Did you think war ends because you say it does? I’m still out here. Still breathing. Still standing. And now, your precious Alpha King isn’t. Now, you’ll remember to never forget about me.

It wasn’t signed. But it didn’t need to be. Only one person wouldn’t have known that I had developed a cure because he had been living life on the fringes since his exile. And the jagged handwriting spoke to either a hasty scrawl or the use of a nondominant hand.

Scott.

My hand shook with rage as I crushed the note into a tight ball, the edges biting into my palm.

“He’s laughing at us,” I hissed. “He thinks he can haunt us forever.”

“Evelyn—” Logan’s voice was quiet, steady, but I whirled on him.

“Don’t. Don’t you dare tell me to calm down. My father could have died tonight. He should have, if I hadn’t been prepared. If I hadn’t found a cure, we would have had a funeral to attend.

“And it’s because of him. Because we let him slip through our fingers. Because I didn’t catch him at Emma’s execution.”

My throat burned with unshed tears, fury mingling with something that felt like helplessness. I hated it.

“All our enemies are buried except for this one,” Logan said quietly. “For now. We will get him.”

“But—“

“No,” he said, cutting me off. “You should know by now that I am more than willing to bury anyone who puts you in harm's way. This is no exception. He will be the last of our enemies to fall. But he will fall, Evelyn.”

Logan reached for me, but before his hand could touch mine, footsteps pounded on the stone stairs.

A young servant stumbled into the cellar, face pale, chest heaving.

“I’m… I’m so sorry to interrupt. It’s just… It’s important. Princess, Alpha,” he gasped. “The city… It’s on fire. There’s a fire that’s burning through buildings as we speak. A massive one. And it’s spreading fast.”

I froze. My father had barely escaped death, and already, his kingdom was burning. And here I thought we would have a nice celebratory ball.

“Show us,” I demanded through gritted teeth.