“How could you leave your post?” Karlan growled.
“What’s wrong?” Silas asked.
“These two were supposed to watch Romak last night.” Karlan cuffed the nearest one on the head. “Come on, I’ll show you.”
Silas followed Karlan and the guards down the stairs into the dungeon, lit by torches along the stone wall. They passed two empty cells, then stopped at the last one, where the gate was open.
Silas’s breath caught. Romak was inside, lying in a pool of blood, a knife protruding from his chest.
Dammit. Silas rushed inside. One look at Romak’s glazed eyes and he knew the man was dead. He’d been dead for several hours. “How?”
The captain scowled at his soldiers. “These two were supposed to watch him last night, but when I arrived this morning, they were lounging around outside the door.”
Silas gritted his teeth as he strode toward the guards. “You left your post?”
The two men exchanged nervous looks.
“We—we were ordered to, my lord,” one answered.
“That’s right,” the other one agreed. “We were told to wait outside until morning.”
“Who would tell you that?” Karlan demanded.
The two men turned pale as they exchanged a frantic look.
Karlan grabbed one by the collar. “Who?”
The man gulped. “It was … you, Captain.”
Karlan released the man, his eyes wide with shock.
The second soldier gave Silas a pleading look. “It’s true, my lord. The captain told us to leave. Then he went inside.”
“He was carrying that knife.” The first soldier pointed at the knife embedded in Romak’s body.
“What?” Karlan stepped back with an incredulous look. “I didn’t kill him!”
What the hell? Silas clenched his fists as his heart squeezed in his chest. Had Karlan betrayed him? Was he in league with someone like Lord Morris who had ordered him to kill Romak before the man could talk?
But dammit, Karlan looked as shocked as Silas felt. It didn’t make sense for Karlan to be the murderer. He’d always been loyal. And he was too smart to leave such obvious evidence. He would have covered his tracks better than this.
“You had better be sure about this,” Silas growled at the guards. “I can easily check Karlan’s whereabouts last night. And if I discover you two have been lying—”
“It was him! I swear it!” the first soldier cried, and both men dropped to their knees. “Please forgive us, my lord. We thought we were following orders.”
“It wasn’t me,” Karlan whispered, his face pale. “I swear it wasn’t me.”
Silas glanced at the dead body in the cell. What the hell was going on here?
Chapter Twenty
Gwennore’s heart pounded as she rushed to the workroom in the western wing. It would be making love. Goddesses help her, how could she resist falling in love if Silas was feeling the same way?
She shut the door behind her, then leaned against it to catch her breath.
“How does it feel?” Annika asked.
Frightening. Gwennore pressed a hand against her still-thudding heart. No, it was exciting. And so tempting.
Annika motioned to her breeches. “Doesn’t it feel strange at first?”
“Oh.” She meant the breeches. Gwennore pushed away from the door. “It made it much easier to run up the stairs.”
Annika gave her a curious look. “Why were you running?”
Gwennore hesitated, then changed the subject. “Did you check on Her Majesty this morning?”
“Yes, she’s about the same. Margosha and Olenka are with her, giving her some verna tea. They should be here soon.” Annika motioned to a table where the plates contained small portions of bread, cheese, and fruit. “You missed breakfast, but we left some food for you.”
“Thank you.” Gwennore grabbed a slice of cheese and ate it as she approached the bowls of water and lily pads. “Has there been any change?”
“One is starting to look bad.” Annika pointed at a lily pad that was turning brown along the edges. “But it could be a natural reaction from being transplanted.”
“Or it could be caused by poison.” Gwennore picked up the slip of paper next to the bowl.
EMERALD RING, RECTANGULAR, SURROUNDED BY EIGHT SMALL DIAMONDS
“We need to examine this ring.” Gwennore studied the bowls on the table. Only half of them had tested jewelry, and that was only a small sampling of the large amount the queen owned. “Actually, I think we should test all of Her Majesty’s jewelry.”
Annika’s eyes widened. “That will take a while.”
“Yes, but I suspect there could be other tainted pieces.” Gwennore tapped her finger on the label. “This is an emerald ring, so the queen would wear it only once a week on Emeralday. I’m not sure that would produce the amount of poison she has in her system.”
The door opened and Margosha and Olenka came inside.
“Any progress?” Margosha asked.
“Perhaps.” Gwennore handed her the slip of paper. “What do you know of this ring?”
“It’s one of the Her Majesty’s favorites.” Margosha frowned. “Are you saying it’s poisoned?”
Olenka snatched the paper away and read it. “Oh, I know about this. It was a gift to Her Majesty last summer after she suffered her last miscarriage.”
“A gift?” Gwennore asked. “Who gave it to her?”
Margosha winced. “Her husband.”
The king. Gwennore swallowed hard.
“King Petras gave her a poisoned ring?” Annika asked. “Is he hoping to replace her with a healthy—”
“He’s devoted to her,” Margosha interrupted. “He would never…”
“Oh, my.” The piece of paper slipped from Olenka’s hands. “Then it’s not a curse, after all? Someone is trying to poison the queen?”
“They already have,” Annika muttered.
“It can’t be His Majesty,” Margosha insisted. “He’s with her now. He’s beside himself with worry.”
Gwennore nodded. “Then we need more information. Where did the king buy the ring? Or did someone give it to him?”
“I’ll ask around and check the jewelry shop in the village,” Margosha offered.
“Good. But before you go, could you bring us all of the queen’s jewelry?” Gwennore asked.
“All of it?” Olenka scoffed. “She has three caskets. We can’t just walk out of the queen’s bedchamber with them. She’ll throw a fit!”
“We need to test everything,” Gwennore insisted. “I seriously doubt that this one ring
