Ezaara met Tonio’s dark gaze. “I didn’t know what those blades were for. I thought they were decorative. It would make no sense for me to poison a decorative sword, or any sword. Besides, I’ve been training day and night, so anyone could’ve tampered with them.”
“Good point.”
“No, Ezaara. Not anyone.” Tonio’s smile was feral. What did he have up his sleeve? “I call Fleur, Master of Healing, as my first witness.”
Fleur rose, her chair grating against the stone, setting Roberto’s teeth on edge.
“Master Healer, Fleur, what was the poison on the defendant’s blade?” Tonio was charming—now he wasn’t questioning Ezaara.
“I’ve never seen it before,” Fleur said. “Neither have any of my assistants. It’s something foreign to Dragons’ Hold.”
“It’s dragon’s bane,” Ezaara announced, before Roberto could stop her, “as common as clover in Lush Valley. Any healer worth her salt knows that.”
No! He’d been too slow. Now Tonio had rope to hang her with.
Tonio pounced. “What did you call it? Dragon’s bane? Sounds dangerous.” He flashed his teeth. “So, you brought the poison here, then?”
“I object,” Roberto called. “He’s planting a connection in everyone’s minds, where there is none.”
“Agreed.” Lars rapped his gavel. “Continue questioning along a different line, please, Tonio.”
“Did you bring this poison, this dragon’s bane, to Dragons’ Hold? Answer, please,” Tonio snapped.
“No, I didn’t. I’d never poison anyone. I’ve learned the healing arts, so I recognize some poisons.”
“A healer must know many poisons.”
“Well, that’s true, my mother taught me to—”
“Your mother? Now, who was that?” Tonio purred dangerously.
Why was Tonio aiming at Ezaara’s family? Was there dirt in their past?
“This isn’t relevant,” Roberto interjected. “We’re investigating Jaevin’s poisoning, not Ezaara’s upbringing.”
“Upbringing can have an effect on behavior, Master Lars,” Tonio countered.
Lars scratched his beard. “You may proceed, Master Tonio, but please keep your questions relevant.”
“Who was your mother?”
“Marlies.”
Gasps rippled around the room. Those a generation older than Roberto looked shocked. Who was Marlies?
Tonio could barely conceal his triumph. “You mean the infamous healer who killed a royal dragonet, then fled before she could be convicted?” His face hardened. “Perhaps her blood flows too strongly in your veins. Perhaps you, too, had the desire to kill.”
Lars rapped his gavel. “Order, Tonio. Keep your questions relevant.”
But it was too late. The atmosphere was poisoned, as if Tonio had leaked dragon’s bane into the air. Council masters’ faces were tight, their posture rigid. Onlookers were pointing and whispering, hostile gazes on Ezaara.
“Don’t answer any more of Tonio’s questions,” Roberto melded.
Ezaara’s face was paler than before. “I’ve messed up, haven’t I?” She was biting her lip, the picture of guilt. “If only I hadn’t struck Master Jaevin.”
“It was a duel. You were supposed to strike him. Someone has set you up. I know you’re innocent. We need to convince the council. Try to relax.” Shards! If she didn’t change her expression, she’d be convicted on that alone.
Zaarusha roared.
Lars approached her and laid his hand on her snout. “The queen would like to give evidence.” He nodded at Tonio. Both men placed their hands on Zaarusha’s forehead. It was customary for two people to listen to a dragon’s evidence, so no one could falsify it.
Lars spoke. “Zaarusha says to judge her rider upon her merits, not the mistakes of her mother. It’s been years since she’s had a rider, and she doesn’t want to lose Ezaara.”
Good, the queen was vouching for Ezaara.
As Lars and Tonio sat down, murmurs broke out. Lars rapped his gavel, then had to rap it again to get the crowd to settle.
“Tonio,” Roberto said quietly. All heads swiveled to him. “This has all been coincidental. Do you actually have any real evidence?”
With a scathing glance, Tonio snapped his fingers.
A blue guard approached, passing Tonio a package.
“We searched her quarters.” Tonio unwrapped the package and uncorked a terracotta pot. “My spy found this in the top drawer of Ezaara’s nightstand. Fleur, would you please identify it?”
Fleur dipped a fingertip in the pot and sniffed it. “The same poison that’s been used on Jaevin.” She pointed at Ezaara. “Dragon’s bane, she called it.”
Dragon’s bane in Ezaara’s room. Roberto hadn’t expected that.
“It’s not mine,” Ezaara blurted, panic etched on her face. “I’ve never seen it.” “Roberto, it isn’t mine, honest.”
“Sit tight. Don’t say another thing.”
“But I have the antidote in my healer’s pouch, hidden under my mattress. I could help Jaevin.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“But—”
“Not a word. It’s vital.” Someone was plotting something far larger than ousting Ezaara. Her antidote could be their only chance of saving Jaevin. If Fleur got her talons on it, she’d destroy it and Jaevin wouldn’t stand a chance.
Tonio slammed the pot of poison on the table, his voice as hard as granite. “What other lies are you going to tell us, Ezaara?”
Now—when Tonio had the whole crowd against her—he used her name. Intimately, as if he knew her. But if he knew her, he’d never accuse Ezaara of treason. She didn’t have a treasonous bone in her body.
A guard burst into the council chamber and pushed through the crowd, rushing up to Lars.
The weary lines in Lars’ face deepened. “Master Fleur,” he said, “Jaevin is rapidly declining.”
“I don’t think I can save him.” Fleur shot Ezaara venomous daggers, snapping, “I hope you’re happy.”
“Roberto, the antidote. I have to tell them.”
“No!”
Fleur drew herself up. “Before I leave this chamber to attend to Jaevin, I would like to
