A Betrayal of Storms by Ben Alderson

Chapter 14

Someone had tried to kill me.

The thought overwhelmed me as I paced the room, scuffing the floor with my heavy steps. They had made an attempt on my life, and it was clear as to why. Orion had made it painfully obvious that I was a threat to stopping a war, one he so dearly wanted to proceed. Had he done it? It was not impossible to believe. Whoever had wanted me dead was for a terrible reason, and starting a war was the only one I could think of with my mind so full of conspiracies.

"Will she survive?" I questioned, hands shaking at my sides. Half-moons had etched themselves into my palms, leaving behind a slight sting as I flexed my fingers.

Erix had sat himself on the edge of my bed in mostly silence, his elbows resting on his outstretched knees. "It is hard to tell. It would depend on the poison, and how quickly a healer has been deployed to help her."

Guilt stormed within me. Guilt for someone I did not know, but who took the brunt of an attack against me anyway. She had not asked for this. All I kept seeing in the dark of my mind was her gasping expression, lips coated in the green foam, how her body convulsed violently, legs and arms kicking out and her head slamming into the ground over and over again.

"Can you at least go and inquire?" I snapped, unable to fathom how he could sit still during such an event. "Or take me to see her. Anything but sitting here and waiting."

"I will not be leaving you. Not now, not again. Nor is it safe for you to leave this room. Word will reach us soon whether the taster has survived-"

"Her name is Briar." I stopped dead in my tracks, shoulders tense as I glared toward Erix. "I heard Althea call her by it. Do not refer to her as anything but her name again."

Erix regarded me for a long moment, silver eyes looking over every inch of me. His jaw feathered as he contemplated his response. "Briar was only completing a task set before her. She knew the risks and she did what was required. Do not bear the guilt I see you harbouring. It will do you no good."

"Is that it!?" My torso ached with the slamming of my heart. The chest, that dreaded, cold box, crept open, letting a trickle of unbridled power out. The release of pressure was incredible, the feeling almost exhilarating. I sighed a heavy breath, watching it cloud before me as the air itself seemed the drop violently in temperature. "Do not think for a moment that your wise words make me feel any better. I did not ask for a taster, nor do I deserve one. There is a world in which her life does not need to be a sacrifice for mine. If I had refused to come with you perhaps she would still be..." I couldn't say it, because admitting her potential death was too raw and painful.

"It is clear that your life is at risk, whether it be caused by the humans and their twisted pets, or those of my kind who see you as a wall in their road to war. Regardless of where you are, news of what you did at the Hunter camp would have spread and your life would still have been in danger. Believe that."

I tried not to blink, for every time I did, I saw Briar cradled in Althea's arms. "Althea knew her. Before she ate the food I could see her discomfort. And the way Althea reacted..."

A soured taste filled my mouth as I drudged up the haunting memory of Althea's shattering cries.

"I am not one for gossip, but for years rumours of Althea and the Ta- Briar has spread around court. But it is not for either of us to question it. Not everyone requires their relationships to be open for judgement or questioning. It is why I never brought it up with Althea, even after Briar was demoted from her position as the princess's own taster. Robin, all that matters is you are alright."

"What matters, Erix..." I spoke his name as though it was a weapon, sharp and swift. "Is that no one else's life requires to be a safety net for my own. This is so fucked. All of this. I want to know if Briar is alive, then I want to know who would have poisoned the food. Am I not to eat again for fear someone else will make an attempt on my life?"