Aunt Rashel sat down on the armchair. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her hair beneath her bonnet was unkempt. She looked as though she hadn’t slept in days. Finn stood beside Aunt Rashel with a hand on her shoulder. Jerrem Denar leant against the writing desk.
“How is father?” Katryna asked her aunt.
“His fever has spiked again, and he grew very pale during the night and was vomiting blood. He sleeps at the moment,” Aunt Rashel replied.
Risha looked very worried as she said the words, realising the links to how Mira had died by choking on her own bloody vomit.
Katryna nodded in response. She did not want to pull Aunt Rashel away from her father’s bedside but felt that under the circumstances it warranted it.
“Thank you for coming so soon,” Katryna began. She pulled her long hair back into a ponytail to help concentrate without distraction and folding her arms across her chest. “I had Finn ask you to come on my behalf, to avoid any suspicion from Rowan, or any of his associates or servants in the castle. What I am about to tell you is potentially treasonous, but I say it because I fear that it may be true.”
Katryna spent the next several minutes laying out her suspicions to Aunt Rashel and Jerrem Denar. The two could not look away as Katryna described her theory about Rowan, and his questionable actions.
“Surely this cannot be,” Jerrem Denar croaked. The old man seemed more puzzled than ever, almost determined to put such theories to rest.
“Your brother loves his father, and loved his mother even more so,” Aunt Rashel said.
“I do not claim to be entirely certain of my suspicions yet,” Katryna said. “But I have a responsibility to our House and our kingdom while father is ill. I am acting regent until he dies, under Camridian law.”
Jerrem Denar looked shocked at Katryna’s statement. “My lady, pardon me, but perhaps you should impart such a responsibility to someone more… suited to the role?”
“I am fit for the role,” Katryna objected. “I come to the position bearing no agendas, with nothing to gain, and only the welfare of the people I love to worry about. I’d say I am better suited for the acting regent than anyone in the kingdom.”
Jerrem Denar bowed to Katryna apologetically.
“My lord, Finn told me that you think you know what poison was used on mother and father?” Katryna said.
Jerrem Denar grimaced, sealing his mouth shut as if he did not want to utter another word. He took a seat in the second armchair in Katryna’s quarters over by Risha, slowly rocking back and forth like a nervous child. Katryna could see the battle being waged in his mind.
Aunt Rashel stepped in. “My lord, you are the royal physician. It is your duty to tell us the truth. It could mean saving the king’s life, could it not?” She sounded desperate, her concern stemming from a deep place of sisterly love.
“Creator, forgive me,” Jerrem Denar muttered. “Yes, I believe I know which poison was used. I spent some time looking through my catalogue of potions and tonics, poisons, and mixes, to see if I could match the strange symptoms with anything. The vomiting of blood, in particular, is quite unusual, to say the least. It is something I am unfamiliar with.”
“What did you find?” Katryna said.
Jerrem Denar cleared his throat. “I think I may have discovered which poison was used on the king and queen. It is an old and rare substance, milked from Amaxa rinovatus, the blood lily.”
“Blood lily… Why does that name sound familiar?” Finn asked. Katryna realised that the name was recognisable to her too.
Jerrem Denar nodded. “That is because you know it by its common name, ‘Hunter’s Bane’.”
Finn and Katryna gazed to each other in a collective expression of recognition.
“Hunter’s Bane, that was a historic poison that Camridian boar hunters used to use, wasn’t it?” Finn said.
“Yes, it was, some several hundred years ago. Hunters would dip their arrowheads in a potent mix of the liquid. When struck with an arrow, the boar would quickly drop. The poison caused their blood vessels to suddenly burst.”
“That’s right, I remember learning about it in our history lessons,” Katryna said. “The meat from the hunt was savoured for its juiciness.”
“The poison was used in such high amounts that it would quickly kill the animal before neutralising, leading to rich, juicy venison. They’d hold special feasts for such hunts,” Jerrem Denar continued. “But in low amounts, the poison would act slower. Hunters who were unlucky enough to accidently prick themselves with the arrowheads would die a painful death from haemorrhagic shock, resulting in its nickname.”
“Hunter’s Bane,” Katryna finished. The dots suddenly began to connect in Katryna’s head, but Finn beat her to it.
“Rowan has been out hunting several times these past few weeks,” Finn said shakily.
“He doesn’t happen to use poison-tipped arrows when he hunts, does he?” Katryna asked.
No one in the room responded. They all shrugged, unsure. Katryna spotted sweat lining Jerrem Denar’s sun-spotted, faded hairline.
“My lord, what is it?” Katryna said.
Jerrem Denar took in a long breath. “Some months ago, Prince Rowan came by my quarters, looking for a book in my collection regarding Camridian flora. He claimed it was to research floral arrangements for his upcoming wedding to Lady Ofelia. I’m sure the book would have contained information on the blood lily and its properties. That is why I have been worried so. I am afraid of the possibility.”
This next link in the chain was enough to make Katryna’s skin crawl. She was expecting such things but hearing them did nothing to ease her discomfort.
“However, blood lily is a rare flower to find, and I have not heard of hunters using it in hundreds of years,” Jerrrem Denar said. It
