Chapter 143

Chapter 143 Something different

CAS SANDRA

Later that day, Lancel accompanied me to the dungeon to check on Spi ke’s

progress.

Between the celebration, the opening of the clinic, and all of the other events. of late, I hadn’t stopped in to visit the imposter in a while. I had no idea where he was at with his research and wanted to compare it to what Becky had been working

on.

There was bound to be overlap, and hopefully, we were coming close to

progress.

If we could help heal the people of Wild Crawler as well as the man that I loved… there could be a real improvement in the state of Wegalla. I could finally put to rest the years of countless research and focus my efforts on other things, like my relationship with the Alpha King.

As Lancel and I descended the staircase to the dungeon, the awkwardness

between us grew.

Asher’s most trusted guard said little and seemed even more reserved than usual as we walked. I knew he was unhappy with the Alpha King’s decision to let an imposter and criminal conduct such important research, but there was no other

choice.

Whatever Asher ordered was absolute, so Lancel had no choice but to honor it.

I could admire his dedication to his Alpha, but I wished that he could lighten up round me and let his guard down, so to speak. Lancel and I had spent plenty of ime in close proximity with one another. Why was he still so on edge in my presence?

Did he suspect my true identity?

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aimer

Was there mistrust there?

It was hard to say. But by the time we reached the dungeon, I cast those questions aside. There were more pressing matters to attend to. My relationship with Lancel could wait.

“I’ll be over here,” Lancel announced gruffly, and he stood like a statue just beyond the cells. “Call if something is awry. If he tries anything funny-”

“You’ll be the first to know,” I a*sured him.

Lancel offered me a single nod, and then I walked down the hall until I reached Spi ke’s cell.

Spi ke seemed exceptionally focused today. His dark eyes were narrowed behind his safety goggles, and his gaze was hyper-focused on the beaker in front of

him.

I tried to tread lightly to not disturb him, but when I approached the bars of his cell to see what he was doing, the man let out a huff and cursed under his breath.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized quickly.

“Fine,” Spi k e replied, but he cast his beaker back down on the ground. “You shouldn’t sneak up on someone mid-experiment.”

“I’m sorry,” I emphasized again, and then I gestured down at the beaker. “What happened?” ”

I was close to being successful,” he murmured, and then he huffed again. “So very close.”

frowned. “What were you close to succeeding?”

“I’ve been trying to recreate a poison,” he explained, his voice weary and tired. “I was suspecting that the disease was initially caused by a chronic poison. However, I failed to replicate it. Something isn’t right.”

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As Spi ke’s revelation sunk in, I nodded my head in response. I hadn’t expected progress so soon. This was likely great news and could be a ma*sive help to us.

“Could you attempt it again?” I wondered.

“Again?” Spi ke repeated back and then, much to my dismay, he shook his head dejectedly. “No, this attempt was my last idea. I don’t have any further inspiration

on the matter.”

I was puzzled by his answer and took a step closer.

“I don’t understand,” I admitted as my brow furrowed. “What do you mean by

that?”

Spi ke took a deep breath and stepped away from his table full of scientific equipment and data.

“When I examined the coroner’s report, I was confident we were dealing with a chronic poison,” he elaborated as he crossed his arms against his chest and approached the bars. “However, this blood sample appears to be slightly different. I believe this discrepancy was because the sample I used today and the others I tried before came from different individuals, which could explain the differing test results. Consequently, I attempted to conduct experiments based on this a*sumption… but I

failed.”

He released a heavy sigh. “There are two potential explanations for the failure. Either my initial research direction was wrong, or the person who provided the blood sample had a similar, yet subtly different disease.”

“A different disease?” I asked in surprise.

Spi ke nodded. “I believe I might have been mistaken from the beginning because I wasn’t aware that the blood sample was taken from the Alpha King. I had a*sumed both of the samples came from a different source, but clearly, that wasn’t

the case.”

I was taken aback by his answer.

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I understood what he was implying, and realized the problem moments later. I didn’t think Spi ke was initially wrong and knew in the back of my mind that it was possible that the disease Asher had was different than the one prevalent in Wild

Crawler.

But I hadn’t given it too much thought out of fear of the truth. If Asher’s disease was different… what could that mean?

I cast those worries aside at once. Though he was correct, I couldn’t let him know that the blood sample had in fact come from Asher. No one, aside from me, could know that the Alpha King was ill. It was an ironclad secret that I had no intention of sharing.

So, I simply rolled my shoulders back and smiled.

“Don’t lose hope,” I a*sured him calmly. “I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation for all of this. Just run the samples again. I’m sure they’re similar.”

Spi ke didn’t seem convinced. His dark eyes studied me for a moment, but my gaze didn’t waver. Finally, he offered me a strange smile.

“Sure,” he said, and a chill ran through me. “Perhaps I’m wrong after all.”

He picked his goggles up again and placed them on his head, and then he returned to his work. I lingered there for a minute more and then headed back down

the hallway.

Once I reached Lancel, the guard studied me, and then we began our ascent up

the stairs.

“Is Asher in the palace?” I asked him.

“The Alpha is visiting soldiers who have returned from the border with Silas Moses,” he answered formally. His eyes were distant, and his mind was clearly preoccupied.

“I’ll wait for him in his study then,” I decided.

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Lancel accompanied me up the winding stairs silently. Though we exchanged no words, the silence was heavy.

Once we reached the corridor outside of the study, Lancel stopped in his tracks and looked around. Luckily, we were entirely alone, so there was no one to overhear us. I stopped with him and frowned as the guard leaned in closely.

“Miss Cas sandra, did the criminal speak the truth?” he asked softly. “Was the blood sample from the Alpha?”

I was surprised by his question. I knew that Asher trusted Lancel with his life, yet he didn’t know.

When I confirmed it with a nod, Lancel sighed.

“I’m concerned about the danger of all of this,” he remarked. “Giving a criminal his blood… I don’t think this is the best idea.”

“I know,” I agreed. “But bringing a patient from Wild Crawler to Anemond would attract too much attention. No one here can know about the disease, not yet

anyway.”

I half-expected Lancel to protest or say something against me, but instead, he sighed again.

“I hope you can keep the Alpha safe, Miss Cas sandra,” he said quietly. “I understand the severity of the disease. I hope you can find a cure quickly.”

The sincerity in Lancel’s eyes left me stunned and gave me the sense that maybe Asher’s most loyal guard was starting to trust me after all.

I smiled at him. “I promise I’ll do everything I can, Lancel.”