The serving woman next to him said something and touched his arm, and he blinked and turned back to her.
She felt something hot and prickly flare to life in her chest, jealousy maybe, and shoved it down as deeply as she could. She had no claim over Sam, even if they had kissed back there. Her cheeks felt hot just thinking about it.
The soldier leaned closer, still talking, and his mug wobbled dangerously in his hand. Seized by a sudden idea, Natalie closed her fingers around the stone in her pocket and drew it out, keeping it in her closed fist as she leaned toward the man. "Here, give me a drink, will you?" She gave him her sweetest smile, which felt utterly fake.
Jake the soldier didn't seem to notice the insincerity. He grinned at her and pushed the mug of beer into her hands. "Naughty girl, drinking before the market. Isn't your boss going to be mad?"
"He won't care." She was careful to lock eyes with him, making sure he was looking at her and not her hands, as she received the mug. Still staring at him, she tipped the mug back and pretended to drink, slipping the stone over the edge of the mug. It made no sound as it hit the disgusting-smelling amber liquid, but it fizzled slightly, and Natalie held onto the mug until it stopped. She grinned and pushed it back at him.
"Thanks."
She waited anxiously while he continued to flirt, growing more impatient with each probing question he was asking: Did she have a boyfriend at least? How long was she in town for? Did she think men in uniforms were sexy?
Finally, he tipped the mug back and took a deep draught of the beer, and Natalie slumped in relief. A second later she had an alarming thought. Jewels had said the stone would only take a minute to work. If he was still out here and begun spewing the queens' secrets everyone would know something was wrong.
She glanced at Sam, who seemed to be sitting there a bit stunned as the serving girl flirted shamelessly with him. She was hanging off his arm, Natalie noted a bit sourly.
She leaned sideways, bumping an arm into the soldier's playfully. "What do you say, should we get out of here? It's so noisy here, I'd like to hear you talk without all this distraction." She sent a silent apology to the serving woman on the other side of her, whose glare had tipped over from annoyed to positively murderous now. Clearly she'd had her sights on the soldier and Natalie was ruining everything for her.
Jake the soldier's brows shot up, and then his leering smile was back. Natalie forced her expression into what she hoped was a coy look instead of utter disgust.
"Yeah," he said. "I think that's a brilliant idea. So noisy in here."
He stood up so fast he nearly tripped over the bench in his haste, and Natalie got up a bit slower. That seemed to get Sam's attention, because his head snapped up, and he placed both hands on the table, as if he were about to get up. Natalie shook her head sharply. Hopefully he would figure out this was part of the plan.
Sam looked darkly mutinous as she and the soldier exited the kitchen, but luckily he didn't follow them.
She wasn't sure why she did it, but on her way out the door she spotted a single, flour-dusted apron hanging on a hook by the door, and she snatched it off, cramming it into a tiny ball under her arm before anyone could notice.
Once she was out in the dimly lit hallway, Jake the soldier stumbling behind her, Natalie began to walk a little faster. Her heart was beating hard. They needed to get somewhere there'd be no risk of being overheard by any of his fellow guards.
"Hey darlin', don't go so fast."
His voice was far closer than she'd like it to be, and Natalie felt him grip her arm a second before she was spun around and shoved against the cold stone wall. Jake the soldier leaned in, and she couldn't help screwing up her nose as the scent of stale sweat and beer washed over her.
His face was inches from hers now. "Give us a kiss."
Natalie froze as he leaned closer. Her muscles tensed, coiled, as she readied herself to spring forward, crash her fist into his nose. And then the soldier's face went slack.
Natalie stayed where she was, staring. Jake the soldier blinked. He was still holding her against the wall, but his grip was light now, not pinning her there any longer, and he looked shell shocked and stupid, blinking at her in confusion.
Thank god. A rush of relief went through her. The truth stone had kicked in just in time.
"What were we talking about?" His voice was slow and slurred, though it could have been from the beer just as easily as the stone. "I can't remember."
Natalie considered tearing herself out of his grip for a second, but this would be the perfect cover if any of his friends did come around the corner. They looked like two people in the middle of a passionate embrace, rather than one person spilling a lot of illegal secrets to the other.
"You were just about to tell me about the queen's plan for tonight," Natalie said softly. "Keep going."
"Oh year." A slow, stupid smile crawled over his face, and his eyes had gone glassy. "Right, we were talking about that, weren't we? I was just sayin', the feast is because of that king fellow. He keeps trying to make peace with her."
She felt her stomach drop, and her nails bit into the palms of her hands. She already knew that. What if all of this had been for nothing and there was no plan? She was wasting time she could have spent looking for her mother. Well, she could still use the stone to her advantage. She shook herself loose from him and fished into her pocket for the photograph.
"Do you know where I can find this woman?"
The guard looked disappointed that she'd pulled away, but he seemed momentarily distracted by the photograph, squinting down at it blearily.
"Oh yeah, I know that one. Take the occasional shift in the tower. Gods, she don't look that good anymore." He reached out for the photo and missed, his hand swiping clumsily through the air.
Natalie's stomach sank. She really didn't like the sound of this tower, or the fact that her mother looked so different now. That couldn't mean anything good. "Tell me about the tower."
The guard jerked his thumb back over his shoulder, in the direction they'd come. "Yah, north wing tower. She's the queen's favorite prisoner. Mad scientist or some such, I dunno. Way above my paygrade. All I know is she's got a lot of junk in there, like herbs and potions and stuff. Tower entrance is down the hall that way. Turn right at the end." He jerked a thumb haphazardly over one shoulder.
"Right." Natalie began to turn away, heart beating hard against her ribs, intent on following his directions to get to the tower. Then she paused. It was worth one more try.
"And the feast tonight? What's she planning?"
"A distraction." He mumbled this, and then blinked bleerily at her, like he wasn't sure why he'd said that.
"What?" Natalie turned back to him, grabbing his shoulders, hard. "Tell me, what does that mean? A distraction for what?"
"She's going to fix the water supply, if you get what I mean. Release her toxin from the top of the north tower so it poisons the river. The rebels and traitors will die first." The soldier grinned, and his head lolled a little to the side. His eyelids had begun to droop. Natalie gripped his arm tightly, grinding her teeth. He couldn't pass out, not right now.
"What else?" she urged, frantic. "Come on. Stay awake. Tell me when, what's she putting in the water."
"Tonight," Jake the soldier muttered. "During the feast, dunno when..." his words were growing more slurred, and the beer mug he'd been holding slipped from his loose fingers and clattered to the ground. The sound echoed down the hall and Natalie winced. The hallway was empty but it echoed with noise, both from the kitchen and the great hall. People were bound to come by any second now.
Jake the soldier was slouching now, nearly knocking Natalie over as she tried to hold him up. "Gonna...take out the last free city," he mumbled. "That'll show 'em."
"Oh my god." Natalie gritted it out through her teeth, still struggling to hold him up. "Holy shit. They're going to kill everyone."