He glanced at his old friend. Dimitri had married his first love six years ago, but then she had died nine months later in childbirth, along with his newborn son. Ever since then, he’d believed in the curse. And he had vowed never to marry again, so he could never cause another woman to suffer.
Silas took a bite of bread. “Aleksi should be arriving soon with Annika.”
Dimitri shrugged with a disinterested look.
“She’s going to help Gwennore—”
“Just keep her away from me.”
Silas sighed. When Annika had joined the army a year ago, she’d immediately fallen for Dimitri. He’d brushed her off, trying to scare her away with dire warnings about the curse, but as far as Silas could tell, her feelings had not withered away. She simply admired Dimitri from afar.
Silas had thought that was the end of it, but then he’d secretly caught Dimitri gazing at her with a look of longing. “I don’t believe in the curse.”
Dimitri was quiet for a moment, then muttered, “I do.”
“I know. But believe in this, too. I’m going to get rid of it.”
Dimitri sighed. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
Silas nodded, then lowered his voice to a whisper. “Did you see where that priest went?”
Dimitri glanced around the room, then leaned forward. “He met Romak in the woods. They exchanged letters, then the priest handed Romak a small bag. Romak looked inside, removed a gold coin, then dropped it back in.”
“He’s getting rich spying for someone,” Silas concluded.
Dimitri nodded. “Someone from Eberon, I assume, since that’s where the priest came from.”
Silas drummed his fingers on the table. “Given the fact that the courier is a priest, I would guess Lord Morris from Eberon is the one paying for information.”
“Lord Morris?”
Silas nodded. “He was head priest and chief counsel for King Frederic. Morris would like to get rid of the new king, Leofric, and go back to the good old days when the priests held the power of life and death over their followers.”
Dimitri winced. “Thank the Light our priests here in Norveshka never wielded that kind of power.”
“But what could Morris want with our country?” Silas gazed out a window while he considered. “If he wants to overthrow King Leofric, then he would need an army.”
“Our army?”
Silas nodded. “He could be using Romak to persuade our king into waging war on Eberon.”
“That would be disastrous for us.”
“Both countries could end up destroyed, but maybe that’s what Lord Morris wants. When a country is in ruins, it’s easier to take over.” Silas recalled the dragon his brother had talked about. The Ancient One, Fafnir. The dragon also wanted war. Was there some connection here?
“We could arrest Romak and the priest,” Dimitri suggested. “If we interrogate them, they’ll tell us what they’re up to.”
Silas thought it over as he ate. “Let’s leave them be for now so we can see what they do next. When Aleksi returns, have him follow the priest. You keep an eye on Romak. I need to visit the Sacred Well.”
Dimitri blinked in surprise. “Why? There’s nothing there but a spring of boiling water.”
“That’s what I need to check.” Silas gulped down the last of his cider. Either his brother was right and there was an old dragon lurking in the cave, or Dimitri was right, and there was only a spring.
Silas banged his empty cup on the table. If there was no dragon there, he would have to admit that his brother was completely delusional.
* * *
She’d slept with a man. Gwennore lay in bed for a few minutes digesting that thought. General Gorgeous had slept with her, wearing nothing but his underpants, and she’d seen his bare chest, his broad shoulders, his battle scars, and the dragon tattoo on his shoulder.
When he’d leaned over her and touched her cheek, a part of her had wished they wouldn’t be interrupted. With a sigh, she rolled over. What foolish thinking! He’d only behaved like that because he’d known the maid was coming in. It was nothing but pretense to him.
Or was it more? There had been that moment when they had looked at each other and time had frozen while the air between them had heated with desire.
Dear goddesses, the man tempted her. She sat up and glanced at the pillow he had used. There was still a slight indentation where his head had rested through the night. She reached out to touch it, then jerked her hand back.
Stop thinking about him! There was work to do. She needed to gather up samples of any poisonous and medicinal plants she could find in the castle garden.
She headed to her dressing room and shoved a chair against Silas’s door. After relieving herself, she filled a bowl with water and rolled up her sleeves to wash her face.
To her surprise, there was a pink, inflamed area on the underside of her left forearm. Had the fancy gown she’d worn last night irritated her skin?
She washed her face, then the pink area on her arm. With her hands still wet, she reached for her toothbrush, and it slipped from her grip and tumbled into the water.
“Of all the silly—” She grabbed the toothbrush, then dropped it again with a gasp. The silver handle had turned black.
Her skin chilled as she gazed once again at the pink spot on her arm. A side effect of the seeds of the darca flower. Someone was trying to poison her.
Chapter Fifteen
Don’t panic. Gwennore gripped the edge of her dressing table and took a deep breath. She needed to remain calm and act like the healer that she was.
First, she should take a reading on herself. She gripped her left wrist, and instantly her gift was activated. Pulse was fast, but that was probably due to shock. Don’t panic.
She mentally searched her body for signs of poison. It was mostly concentrated around the inflamed area on her arm. Thankfully, she’d received a small dose. She could expect some dizziness and perhaps some nausea,
