Revenge of the Duchess

Chapter 36

A/N: I own nothing. Enjoy! Small trigger warning for intended sexual assault.

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"Annabeth!"

Annabeth's brother, Malcolm, had pushed himself to the middle of the situation. To his relief, Annabeth was untouched. The same could not be said of Percy.

Percy slowly wiped the wine dripping off his hair and onto his face. The moment that Kelli had moved so had he. Moving before his mind had reacted, Percy had stepped in front of Annabeth, turning his body so she would be protected. The wine had caught him on his side, and he wrinkled his nose at the strong. pungent odor of alcohol.

"Don't move," Percy said seriously. "The glass on the floor could cut you. Are you okay?"

He recalled Annabeth was wearing some newfangled heels made of leather strips that exposed her toes and heels.

"Percy, you should be more worried about yourself!" Annabeth scolded.

She produced a handkerchief and hurriedly wiped his face and hair. She didn't even care when a few stray drops landed on her dress and cheek. Her grey eyes looked worriedly up at him. "Did you get hurt? I know the glass broke when it landed on the floor, but it's possible that it cut you."

"I'm not hurt."

Malcolm was about to approach, but seeing the scene soaked with the overly loving actions of his sister and future brother-in-law, he made a face and turned to scold his cousin, Kelli, instead. Percy approved of this action. He would gladly take a brother-in-law who was protective of his sister but also knew when to step away at his sister's romantic relationships.

Percy reached up to wipe the stray drop off of Annabeth's cheek, and he couldn't help but lick the purplish-red liquid from his thumb. Suddenly, he froze at the strange taste. A normal person wouldn't have detected anything wrong, but he had been sensitized far too much in his education of poisons to not notice the taste. He quickly grabbed the handkerchief away from Annabeth, surprising her.

"Don't lick a single drop of this wine," Percy warned.

His eyes scanned their surroundings. His knights as well as other Imperial guards had already apprehended Kelli Chase.

Annabeth's eyes widened as she heard the urgency in Percy's voice. Realization hit her face before she smoothed her expression in order not to alarm others. "Poison?" She stared at the stained handkerchief. "But this wasn't Kelli's wine?"

Percy grimaced. He knew who Kelli Chase had grabbed the wine from. It had been Lady Eris, daughter of Marquis Ares who had been holding this potentially poisoned wine. His face darkened as he recalled how Marquis Ares' threats. But there were two questions. Who was the wine intended for, and for what purpose?

The answer to the second question came in a few more moments after Percy felt his body heating up. An aphrodisiac. Percy frowned. He had only licked a few drops of the wine, and already the effects were potent, though it wasn't that strong that he couldn't control himself. He didn't think he had encountered such a drug before, and even on that night when one of his maids had tried to drug him, Percy didn't feel the effects. He wondered if this was a new form of aphrodisiac. If so, this was quite dangerous.

But had Lady Eris intended to have him drink the drugged wine so she could clamber into his bed, or did she intent to have Annabeth drink the wine and make her susceptible to other men? Percy felt a boiling hot anger inside of him surge up. Either way, he would never stand idly by if Lady Eris and Marquis Ares harmed Annabeth.

They had crossed the line.

All around the two were the excited murmurs of the attendees, eagerly bathing in the scene before them. For many of the noblewomen, they sighed at the heroic sight of the Duke who had protected his fiancee, hoping that they, too, would have someone who did the same.