Chapter 41

Chapter 41 Splendid idea

CA SSANDRA

As I stared back at Margaret, I pushed down my disbelief and tried to keep my face as neutral as possible. Asher’s stepmother’s words were harsh, but I couldn’t let her threaten me.

“Rest a*sured, I’m being completely honest with you,” I said calmly. “The Alpha King was especially concerned after the viper appeared here at Merliscire, and wanted a thorough investigation done on the beast.”

“Were there any findings?” Margaret practically demanded. The woman’s nostrils flared in agitation, and her mouth pursed as she awaited my reply.

“Yes,” I confirmed, and I made sure to keep my tone as even as possible as leaned forward. “The viper that attacked the Alpha King seemed to be raised deliberately by someone-”

“What does that mean?” she interrupted me, and her eyes narrowed further.

“The essence released in the bite wasn’t venom,” I revealed. “It was an artificial

poison.”

The moment the words left my l*ps, a strange feeling moved through me. I didn’t regret blurting out the words, but I wasn’t sure how the pair of women would react to it.

Adalyn’s face shifted first and contorted into an expression of shock and.

concern.

“That’s in

she managed. “No one would dare to sneak a poison under the Alpha King’s nose. There’s no way someone in Merliscire would dare.”

Meanwhile, Margaret’s face looked panicked, but only for a single second. She regained her composure quickly and nodded.

“Adalyn is right,” she agreed. “No one in Anemond would dare.”

Part of me wondered if Margaret had something to do with any of this. The older woman’s face was highly suspicious, and she had a track record of

wickedness. Had she directed this behind closed doors?

I wouldn’t put it past her, but I wasn’t sure. If it really was Margaret who wanted to kill Asher, she could have done it much earlier.

And furthermore, what would she gain in killing the Alpha King?

Sure, she might still be deluded into thinking that her son could take the throne, but she wasn’t an idiot. If Asher died, Kane would be the first suspect, and Margaret would be complicit as well.

I turned to the food I’d been ignoring on my plate and raised my knife.

“It’s just a theory,” I mused as I carved into my steak.

The room fell into silence as I attended to my food, and after a little while, Adalyn and Margaret followed suit. We all ate quietly, and the sound of our knives and forks against the plates was the only sound.

Finally, a little while later, Margaret cleared her throat.

“I’m sorry,” she said in a softened tone. “Please forgive me, Healer Ca ssandra, and don’t take offense to my questions. I’m just worried about my son and my grandson.”

“It’s okay,” I said, even though I didn’t mean it. I wasn’t going to press the issue further, but I was definitely taking note of the way Adalyn and Margaret were acting. This whole encounter was suspicious and strange. Neither woman could be trusted. Hell, no one in this palace could.

“How old is your son, Cas sandra?” Margaret changed the subject.

As the older woman sipped at her wine, I swallowed back a gulp.

“Five years old,” I answered.

I felt a little uneasy answering Asher’s stepmother’s question, but it would have been strange for me to refuse to say or even to lie.

Margaret and Adalyn perked up at the mention of “five years”, and for a moment, my heart raced as they glanced at one another. But then, they resumed earring.

“Prince Marco is six,” Margaret mentioned with a smile. “Since they’re so close in age, I’m sure Finnick and Marco could be good friends.”

It took all of my energy to not frown in confusion. Marco was six years old? I’d a*sumed that given our past, Adalyn would have given birth five years ago. But six? She hadn’t seemed pregnant six years ago.

“That’s a splendid idea,” I remarked as I pushed the thoughts away. “Finnick is a little shy, but I’m sure he would love to have a friend here. He left his best friend

back in the Wild Crawler Pack.”

gla*s.

“Another peasant?” Adalyn scoffed rudely as she swirled, her wine around in her

“The son of the Wild Crawler’s Alpha, actually,” I retorted. Maintaining a calm. tone of voice was nearly impossible, but I managed to do it well enough. I wasn’t looking to start a fight with Asher’s wife, but the beautiful, mean woman wasn’t making it easy.

“Hmm,” she said, unimpressed. “Not much better than a peasant, then.”

“Adalyn, húsh,” Margaret hissed with a roll of her eyes, and then she turned to me with a calculated expression. “Who takes care of Finnick while you’re working, Healer Ca ssandra?”

“Erika,” I replied. “The Alpha King generously designated her to be a babysitter for me. It’s been a huge relief and help. I appreciate his kindness.”

“Oh, c’mon,” Adalyn muttered, but Margaret and I ignored her.

“Perhaps young Finnick could join Prince Marco’s cla*ses in the afternoons,” Margaret proposed, much to my surprise, and then she glanced over at Adalyn. “What do you think, Adalyn?”

“Him, join Marco?” Adalyn replied in a shocked tone, and her eyebrows

furrowed.

Every afternoon, Prince Marco attended cla*ses that taught him different facets. of a royal education. Maths, languages, history, and the arts were on rotation every day, along with cla*ses on etiquette. I wasn’t sure if Finnick would be welcome to join the sn ooty young boy, but I didn’t mind the idea of Finnick getting to learn. Back in the Wild Crawler Pack, he was still new to reading, though he’d taken to it quickly. Perhaps a royal education could prepare him one day to take over for me as a

healer.

“I don’t know,” Adalyn spoke again and interrupted my thoughts. She toyed with the large blue-white diamond ring on her finger and examined it absently before looking at Margaret. Asher’s stepmother stared at her expectantly, and Adalyn returned her hands to her lap. I was a little surprised at how quickly she was whipped back into shape, but I knew Margaret was impossible to say no to.

“Okay,” Adalyn agreed, and her amber eyes darted over to me: “I suppose Prince Marco would be happy to make a new friend.”

Her demeanor suggested she still wasn’t fully convinced, but we both knew that her hands were tied. She offered me a small smile that wasn’t completely genuine, and I offered one right back. This was an impossible game we were playing, but I had to let her think she had the upper hand if I was going to survive.

Meanwhile, Margaret turned back to me and smiled slowly.

“What do you think, Healer Ca ssandra?” she asked. “Do you think Finnick would like to join Prince Marco? I think it would do the boy a great deal of good to learn something.”

Though her tone was kind, I knew her words were a subtle dig at my pretend. upbringing, as well as Finnick’s. No matter what, the two women would always think they were more intelligent and educated than we were, and furthermore, better

than us.

Little did they know, I was better at hiding my intelligence. I would stay smart about all of this and play along.

So, I smiled. “I think that’s a great idea.”