"Crowns topple easily. Thrones crumble like dust. Hearts cease to beat. Thorns draw blood."
In a country torn into two, there should have been no room for mistakes. Especially not at the very core of the royal family. That was what she was. Yes, a...
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Poison.
That was the first thought that rang in her head as Irina drank the brandy from her goblet. The bitter taste landed on her tongue, making her wince as she swallowed the amber liquid. She could tell what it was the moment that it entered her body. As if she could sense the very moment it took its hold on her.
After having unlocked more of her abilities, she had become more aware of how her body worked and how things functioned. By swallowing the brandy, she suddenly felt as if she had doomed herself, the liquid not feeling right.
But it was too late. It had already made its way into her system, making her freeze even as everyone returned to their seats, chattering excitedly as dinner was brought to them.
"Irina, are you alright?" Antero asked her, looking up at her worriedly, his hand reaching up to grasp her arm gently.
Irina was about to wave it off as nothing yet she found that she could not speak, blood beginning to pour from her mouth. She raised her hand to touch it, pulling away to see that it was truly blood. From her nose and her mouth.
Her eyebrows furrowed, the confusion settling within her. Breathe. She reminded herself that she needed air to survive.
She began to choke, coughing in an attempt to breathe. She found that she could not breathe with the blood flowing out of her like streams of death. The very air turned against her, the very thing keeping her alive now abandoned her as she was overwhelmed by the very thing she sought to control.
"Poison! The princess has been poisoned!" Antero realized, calling for healers as everyone stirred into a panic. "Help! The princess!"
Saints, she was going to die. She was going to die.
Her eyes immediately went to the one person who occupied her mind every second of every day. Even throughout her training, planning for the ball, and her forced conversations with Prince Antero. Even when she had thought she hated him, even when she was asleep.
Even when she had doubted and lost herself, it had only ever been him.
It had always been him. "Aleks."
Everything had begun to feel numb. Darkness licking at the edges of her vision like the shadows Aleksander had once conjured up to protect her, the shadows that showed up in her dreams to provide comfort, now felt like arms threatening to suffocate her.
She felt her legs give out, her mouth falling open desperately as she tried to release careful breaths only for more blood to escape her mouth, her throat burning as if she had swallowed gas and now, she was burning from the inside.
Her eyes flickered close, her body expecting to hit the cold marble ground but she was surprised when she felt a pair of warm arms encompass her body.
