The prickling sensation faded away, and I regained dominance over my left hand. But the damage to our evening had been done, and I surveyed the disaster oozing down my sundress.
“Well, I think the score for our date has just dropped to zero,” I said, taking the napkin from my lap and wiping off what I could.
“Let me help you clean it up,” Luke offered, sliding out of his chair and using the emptied plate and my fork to pick up as much of the ruined pasta as possible. “Wait. This is not right.”
“I know, I know.” I gave up cleaning myself off and waved him off. “Don’t trouble yourself. It’s my fault, so let me fix my own mess.”
“No, that is not what I implied.” My fiancé lifted the retrieved contents to his nose and picked up some of the mushroom pieces. He held them up closer to his eyes. “I was afraid of that.”
“What?” I stood up to join him even though I couldn’t see much of anything without more light.
He placed the plate down on the table and wrapped me up in his arms. I protested and pushed against him, trying to keep him from ruining his expensive clothes. But he held me tight to him regardless.
“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” I mumbled into his chest.
“The mushroom. It is not what you think,” he said, rocking me back and forth.
Fear snuck into my stomach and churned the contents I’d managed to consume. “Okay, now you’re scaring me,” I admitted.
He let me go and drew away so I could see him. “Good. Because you need to know the truth.”
“Which is?” I pressed.
Luke held up one of the slices of mushroom. “This is indeed a type of amanita mushroom.”
“Yes, it’s the Caesar one. Isn’t it?”
He shook his head. “No, cara. This is amanita phalloides. Otherwise called a death cap. An extremely poisonous and deadly fungus.”
I knocked the mushroom out of his fingers. “What would have happened if I had eaten the dish?” I asked, already guessing the answer.
“In six or more hours, you would suffer severe abdominal pain and distress, vomiting, and other unpleasant effects.” Luke held me in his gaze. “But the poison attacks the liver. You could experience rapid organ failure. Go into a coma. Die.”
The last word echoed in my ears. Panicked, I picked up my napkin again and wiped my dress over and over, wanting any remnant of the mushroom off of me. Luke waited with patience until the tears formed in my eyes and fell. I dropped the napkin and returned to his hold.
“Do you understand what this means?” Luke asked.
I nodded into his shoulder. “Somebody was trying to kill us.”
“No, cara. Not us. You.” He cradled my face in his hand. “Someone wants you dead.”
Chapter Eighteen
Luke escorted me back inside, but I hesitated before crossing the threshold. Ever since coming to the castle, nothing had gone right. And while I wanted to finish my mission and figure out how Isabella really died, I was less sure I wanted to sacrifice my own life for the truth. At the same time, whoever was trying to hurt me in the present must think I was getting close enough to worry whoever it was.
The link between Isabella and me grew more evident. Two women threatened. One already killed. And I had escaped three attempts to hurt me. And if Luke was right, the culprit was stooping to more sinister means to get rid of me.
Cassio caught sight of us as we hurried through the halls. His eyes widened in surprise. “Do not tell me Amara ruined your evening?”
Luke ushered him to the side, glancing around to check for onlookers. “I need you to do me a favor, old friend.”
“Of course, whatever you need,” Cassio agreed.
My fiancé touched his shoulder to pull him closer. “Someone has tried to poison the pasta that was served to Ruby Mae.”
“No!” he shouted, and then spoke in a quieter tone. “Are you sure?”
Luke snorted. “You and I both know our mushrooms well. Whoever made the dish used death caps.”
Cassio hissed. “That is a sinister mistake.”
“I don’t believe it is a mistake, my friend. That’s why I need some assistance to find out who made the dish,” my fiancé insisted. “Will you help us?”
“Always,” his old friend promised. “I shall go to the kitchens now and see what I can find out.”
Luke offered him our thanks and whisked us through the halls with purpose, ignoring the odd looks from staff who stopped in respect to him. Instead of heading down the corridor that led to my room, my fiancé paused, looking down the darkened hallway that led to his sister’s destroyed quarters.
“Do you trust me?” he asked.
I nodded. “Of course.”
Scooping me into his arms, he kissed my nose. “Good.” He used his vampiric speed to zip us down the hall to his sister’s room.
He kept ahold of me while he tried to open the door. In the pitch black, I listened to his failed attempts, the door rattling as he shook it. Yelling a couple of curses under his breath, he stopped.
“They’ve locked it again. The only way in would be to break it down.” Frustration laced his heavy words.
I patted his arm and swung my legs to encourage him to put me down. “This is why it’s good to be friends with a witch,” I said, casting a small orb of light to be able to see.
Luke’s frown faded as he realized what I meant. “I guess we might work better as a team.”
I tapped his forehead with my finger. “Now you’re getting it. Let me have a crack at the lock. I do this all the time with the stuff
