{BOOK 1/3 of The Triumvariate Trilogy}
Adaline was living a normal life moving from military camp to camp as she tried to help anyone in need. Everyone needed her medical advice for she was the best doctor in the country.
But when the Grisha of Rav...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"You....are worried."
She sniffed. "Of course I'm worried. Why would you think otherwise?"
"He needs to rest." Maria whispered near Adaline. "Get out." She didn't want Stefan to hear her but she was going to convey the information to Adaline clearly.
The door closed behind Adaline after she was out. She wanted to turn around but knew that Stefan needed to rest. She should let him. She looked around and thought about what she should do next and only one thing entered her mind - one thing that she should have done a long time ago.
She stormed into the Little Palace's dining hall. All eyes were on her but she didn't care. She was going to get answers that night. She walked towards the double doors with the eclipse symbol on it and was stopped by two guards.
She swiped her hand to the right and made them move from her way. She was not going to go easy on anyone that was going to stop her. Her legs were leading the way and she was glad for it. Her mind was fumbled with the thoughts that she needed to shout at him.
She blasted open the doors of his chambers and walked inside. He was looking at the embers of the flames and looked quite surprised at such a reaction from her. "Adaline-"
She hit his chest and pushed him backwards. "Did you have to hurt him as well? Huh? Why couldn't you leave him out of this? Your problem is with me and not with the people I care about."
The Darkling understood who she was talking about. "You cannot blame me for everything that happens in your life, Adaline."
She pushed him once again, the anger engulfing her, but he held her hands in hers. She released herself from his grasp sharply and rotated her wrist. "Did you hurt Stefan?"
He stood straighter. "Is that love I hear?"
"Don't play with me. What did you do to him? What did he or the seamstress ever do to you?"
"You seem very insistent on making me the villain."
She scoffed. "Give me the truth for once!"
The Darkling sighed. "I did hurt the seamstress, but not in the way you're thinking. She was a spy."
Adaline was gobsmacked. "What?"
"A month ago, I had intelligence that a spy had entered the castle. I already warned you about meeting strangers, but you thought that I was trying to stop you from making friends." Realisation and shame spread across her face. "I ordered Freya to make you a kefta in order to trap her. She had poisoned it in order to kill you. But I made sure that the poison was mine and that it affected her before the kefta ever got to you."
She shook her head. It couldn't be true. "You're lying."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Does it sound like I am?" His calm voice pricked her conscience. "She poisoned the cup that I was going to give you at the night of the ball. Somehow, it made its way into the Little Prince's hands. I couldn't track the poison down but I could remove the toxins from his body."
Processing whatever he said was a huge process. The Darkling had saved Stefan. That was what the Healer was talking about. He had saved him. "Then why did you threaten me?" She asked in a low voice, hardly getting the words out. "Why did you tell me that I needed to know my place?"
He looked into her eyes. He hadn't meant it to be a threat, but he couldn't have let word get out about a spy in their very own home. "I'm sorry." He apologised to someone for the first time after a really long time. The words felt strangely familiar but he knew that it was in order.
She kicked herself for having been so blind. She had told the Princess to not blame someone when she had been doing it all along. She couldn't meet the Darkling's eyes. "Yeah." She nodded. "Me too."
