Chapter 82

Chapter 82 Let’s open the box

CA SSANDRA

Even though I wanted to tell Asher everything and reveal what the king of Yurene and I had spoken about after Margaret had left the room, Kaleb had asked me to keep the details of our conversation a secret. I couldn’t betray anything about his father’s illness, not when he’d been kind enough to save me so many times.

And besides, there was no way I could even remotely mention Kaleb’s offer to join him in the North. There was no possible way Asher could understand that, not even a little bit. Hell, I couldn’t even understand it myself, not when there was so much going on.

The snake pit.

Adalyn.

The encounter with the Alpha King in his chambers last night…

I certainly couldn’t say anything after last night.

I could hardly stand to be in the same room as Asher. His proximity to me was far too much already that I could barely handle this health check without losing my mind.

Was he still thinking about it as much as I was? Still thinking about me, the way I’d wrapped my legs around him, the way I’d quivered under his touch? Did he spend the night as I had, dreaming about what could have been if Prince Marco hadn’t walked into the chamber and interrupted us?

Pull yourself, together, Ca ssandra, I chastised myself. I couldn’t succumb to those thoughts, not now.

I half-expected the Alpha King to get upset with me for not betraying my encounter with Kaleb, but he didn’t. He simply sank back into his chair and closed

his eyes. I had the sense that a headache had arrived, so I decided not to push too

far.

I worked in silence for a while, taking notes, measurements, and different details of Asher’s health. Just as he’d mentioned, it seemed like the disease was in fact progressing. I wished I had more research on the subject to tell me how this was going to play out, but at the end of the day, it just wasn’t there.

I didn’t want to worry him, but this new mark on his forearm wasn’t looking good.

“Have you heard anything more about the vipers in the basement?” Asher shifted the subject.

His eyes opened, and as they stared into mine, I was grateful for the shift in subject.

“Becky told me that many venoms were noted,” I relayed. “But many of them were new or ones that she recognized as non-lethal and the ones that contained the worst kind,

but there were a few others we didn’t know about.”

had little information about them in our books. She wrote down the

“I see,” Asher remarked. “Mystery venoms? That certainly doesn’t bode well, does it? I wonder what can be done about it all? We can’t risk any more viper attacks around here. We only have so many healers, and I don’t want to risk anyone’s safety any further.”

“Right,” I agreed.

I finished up the health check and began to pack my supplies away neatly. As ! made sure everything was in its proper place, my mind wandered, and suddenly, a thought appeared.

The strange box in the royal library.

“Your Majesty, do you know anything about the box in the royal library?”

“Excuse me?” Asher asked, and his eyebrows creased together.

“The box in the library,” I repeated, and then I clarified. “The one in the private

room?”

Asher still didn’t seem to understand.

“I don’t know of any such box,” he said, and he pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. “Describe it to me.”

“Large, wooden,” I said. “It’s got a large lock on the top. I asked the librarian what it was, but she had no recollection of it either. She said it’s been sealed for the entirety of her employment.”

“Large wooden box…” the Alpha King mused, and then he sat up. “Okay, I know what you’re describing. But I’m afraid I don’t know anything about it. Why, what does it have to do with the vipers? I don’t understand.”

“There’s a definite possibility that I could be wrong,” I said slowly. “But I think, Your Majesty, that the box might be related to the Ewonmiams.”

Asher leaned forward. “Okay, Ca ssandra, now you’ve lost me entirely. Catch me up to speed about whatever key details I appear to be missing. What are the Ewonmiams and what have they to do with anything we’ve discussed?”

I went into detail about everything I’d uncovered in the royal library. I explained the Ewonmiams and the sorcery, every last thing I’d read about in the books.

Asher listened carefully, and once I reached the part about Wegalla being built to fight the Ewonmiams and stop sorcery, he frowned.

“I… I’ve never heard anything about that,” he remarked. “I was never told.”

“I don’t think any of us were,” I said as I shook my head. “I think it’s an idea that has long been buried.”

I told him all about the poisons they’d produced, and that although they’d been mentioned, there were few details about them.

“If I could find out more about the poisons, I might be able to find their cures,” I

said.

Asher pondered the idea and then nodded thoughtfully.

“So, it’s a gut feeling?” he asked. “All of this?”

Heat spread to my cheeks and I nodded back. The Alpha King’s a*sessment was correct. All of this was merely a theory. I didn’t know how much merit there was to it. I lacked some credible sources, and I had no idea what could actually be inside the box. All I knew was what I’d found in the books and the story that Becky had

told me in the lab.

Now that I’d said it all out loud, I felt a little ridiculous.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty,” I apologized quietly. “I know this seems silly. I’m probably not right about any of it.”

I half expected a laugh, but Asher shook his head and cleared his throat. He rolled his shoulders back and stared into my eyes with great intensity. I had no ideal what was about to happen. Would he laugh at me? Write me off completely?

The Alpha King rose to his feet.

“I’ll go check the box with you,” he announced, much to my surprise. “If there’s something there, we need to find out right away. I want to get to the bottom of this mystery. The last thing any of us needs is another fatal attack. As the king of Wegalla, it’s my duty to undercover any possible threats. So, let’s do whatever we can to find out the truth, even if the theory seems implausible.”

“The box is sealed, Your Majesty,” I reminded him. “We may need some heavy tools to pry it open.”

Asher smirked at my proposition. “I’m a very capable wolf, Ca ssandra. I think I can handle a closed box.”

For a moment, I was stunned. For the first time in what felt like forever, I saw the Asher of the past, the one who could oftentimes be arrogant, but mostly confident.

I smiled.

“Okay,” I decided. “Let’s go open up the box.”