Page 171 of Esperance

Marriset choked. “Why would I have poisoned myself? That was Tam.”

“No,” Amryn said. She fought to keep her voice clear, though her lungs felt too tight due to Marriset’s pain. “Tam said it wasn’t her.”

Marriset’s brow grew lined. “Then who . . .?” Her words drifted as footsteps crashed down the hall and a crowd burst into the room.

Carver ran to Amryn, even as he took in the scene.

Jayveh was close behind him with her guards, as was the high cleric and Trevill.

Carver’s hand closed around Amryn’s. “Are you all right?”

She managed a short nod.

He looked to Ivan. “The guard you sent said Marriset killed Cora—and that she was going to kill Amryn next.”

The Wolf didn’t take his gaze off Marriset. “I went to Marriset’s room to confront her. She wasn’t there, but I found a collection of daggers.” He demonstratively lifted the knife in his fist. “They match the one that killed Cora.”

Carver still held Amryn’s hand as he eyed Marriset, who was slowly bleeding out from the wound in her stomach. He looked back to Ivan. “How did you know she’d attack Amryn?”

“Samuel and Sadia’s rooms are under heavy guard, and so was Jayveh’s. Amryn was the most vulnerable target. As I ran here, I passed a guard—I sent him to the high cleric’s office, to sound the alarm.”

“Do you have a confession?” the high cleric asked Ivan.

“She confessed,” Felinus said quickly. “She killed Cora and Darrin, and she was going to kill us.”

“She isn’t the real Marriset,” Amryn added. That drew every eye to her, but she focused on Carver. “She’s an imposter.”

“You.”

The fury in that single word vibrated through Amryn, but it wasn’t directed at her.

Everyone turned to look at Marriset.

Her eyes were on Trevill, who stood at the edge of their group. “You poisoned the tea,” Marriset rasped. “You poisonedme.”

The chancellor frowned, his expression confused. But under the surface, dread, fear, and guilt spiraled. “You’re mad.”

“You hired me,” Marriset choked, “and then youpoisonedme?”

Trevill stiffened. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Amryn squeezed Carver’s hand, her eyes hard on Trevill.

Carver’s fingers tightened in response. “Chancellor, I think you have some explaining to do.”

Panic flared inside Trevill. Outwardly, he huffed a hard laugh. “You can’t think anything she says is fact? She’s spinning lies to confuse us—divide us.” When he was greeted by silence, he singled out Jayveh. “Princess, you can’t believe this? It’s an insane accusation! I came to Esperance to help the peace succeed.”

Jayveh looked to him, then Marriset. “Did he hire you?”

“Yes,” she gasped. Her strength was fading. “I’ll tell you everything, just get a physician to save me.”

Jayveh gestured to one of her guards, who darted from the room. Then the princess stepped closer to Marriset. “Help is coming, but you need to keep talking. Tell me what he hired you to do.”

“Turn you against each other. Inspire hate, confusion, jealousy—fear.” Marriset leaned weakly against the wall, her pallor white as the snow that tipped the mountains of Ferradin. “I was told I could kill anyone except you and Argent. I started with Cora because she was an easy mark.”

Ivan’s fury was like ice.

Marriset’s eyes rose, focusing blearily on Trevill. “He hired someone else to play Marriset’s father. He hired guards as well. They helped me kill the real Marriset and her escorts—they never made it to the temple. Trevill said no one would know. That I looked enough like her, and no one here had seen her in years. But he never told me he would poison us.” She coughed, the sound guttural and painful. Her voice was more of a wheeze as she said, “I guess I wasn’t making enough chaos for his liking.”