Page 25 of Ties of Deception (Tethered Hearts)

Chapter

Twenty-Five

I sat alone in my room for an hour, rolling the vial of poison between my fingers. Then I made up my mind—I had to confront Charity. She couldn’t get away with this. Even if I didn’t have enough evidence to publicly accuse her, I could still lay the blame on her privately and remove her as a threat. And maybe somebody else would find additional evidence later. Maybe they could get the servant to talk about who had given her orders, though I couldn’t imagine who could be more effective at interrogation than an Aida.

I kept my eyes down as I entered Charity’s room. One wall was mostly taken up by an open balcony offering stunning views of the palace garden, city, and distant azure sea. It let in a cooling breeze and the odd scarlet leaf from the vines that climbed the walls.

I bowed my head and waited to be offered a seat, but Charity left me standing. “I must say, Purity, that your visit is most unexpected. Especially after the mess you made of your banquet. What is it you’re after?”

I held out a box of ebony and mother of pearl. “A gift for you, Charity.”

Charity didn’t speak for a moment, and I lifted my eyes, catching the flicker of confusion that crossed her face before she smoothed out her expression. She motioned for one of her maids to take the box. I handed it over, and the silent maid took it to Charity, then opened the catch for her. Inside was the single vial, half full of dark purplish liquid.

Charity’s brows dipped. “Is this what I think it is?”

I smiled sweetly. “It’s distilled nightstar.”

Charity went pale and stood up, jabbing her finger at me. “How dare you present this to me. Is this a threat? Will it be in my drink next time? How did you even get hold of it?”

I sat down, though I hadn’t been invited to. “I know this was in the ambassador’s drink. And I know it was you who ordered a maid to give it to him. This is merely what was left over. I am returning it.”

“This is ridiculous.” Charity went very still. “And what makes you think it’s mine?”

“I have a witness and a confession from the person who put it in his drink,” I lied.

Charity gave the slightest frown and licked her lips. “If that is the case, why did you bring this to me and not the empress?”

I gave a small shrug as if it was a trivial matter. “I thought we might be able to solve this amicably. I’m returning the incriminating evidence. In return, withdraw from Fierro and never interfere with other Graces or the palace again. The servant girl will take the fall alone and refuse to say who gave her orders. I wish for our final result in this competition to be fair. If you continue to use immoral means to attempt to destroy me, I will tell the empress everything I know.”

Charity looked at me for a long moment, and I wondered if she believed I had truly cornered her. A flicker of fear crossed her eyes. “You’ve made your point clear, Purity.”

I nodded to the box and the poison within. “A helpful reminder then, and a gesture of friendship.” I stood. “May the best goddess win.”

Charity said nothing as I saw myself out. It wasn’t much in the way of justice, but I didn’t have enough evidence. And maybe now she would leave and stop bullying others.

My eyes were already shut when a thud of staggering footsteps made me sit bolt upright in my bed. That was not the usual graceful sound of Ethen sneaking into my rooms. I grabbed my dagger from under my pillow and slipped out of bed. The curtains billowed from one wall like dancing ghosts. And through them came a short, dark figure.

My breath seized as I raised my dagger, parting my feet and preparing to scream.

“Purity!” The person lifted her hands to stop and calm me. “Purity, it’s me. It’s Ava.”

I lowered the dagger, but my eyes narrowed. “Is everything all right? Has something happened to Ethen?”

She shook her head. “No, nothing is all right. Things are too dangerous. You need to leave. Now. Travel wherever you want. Be free. The Aidis is moments away from forcing you to go with him to the Unseen Lands whether you want to or not. I’ll help you. But if you continue like this, you’ll get yourself killed. Again. For once, don’t be reckless. Live, Purity. Live the life you truly want. You used to be so full of vitality and energy before he sucked it all away from you. Be free.”

I swallowed. “If they try to do anything to harm me, Ethen will rescue me. He can overpower anyone here.”

She made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat. “Your faith in him is blind and foolish. Why are you so dependent on him? Can’t you see he’s using you?”

I shifted. “He’s not using me. We’re doing this together.”

Her face twisted in anger. “Did he ever tell you about his parents? Do you know his mother wasn’t a Fated? She was just a normal Grace that his father got to know during his time in Atos.”

My breaths became lighter. No, he hadn’t told me that, though I’d guessed something had gone wrong. I’d seen Ethen’s fear and the pain when he spoke of his father’s trial to find his Fated, but hadn’t realized… “What happened to his Fated lover?”

Ava scrunched her small nose in disgust. “He failed to protect her. She died. Our king took years and years to find her, and by then she already had her own new life. Things…went wrong. She was incredibly powerful, the most powerful Grace in Atos. Of course, the empress didn’t want her to leave. The Aidis was pulling her toward her past vows and the Unseen Lands while her new life and her duty to Atos pulled her the opposite way. Things got nasty. And guess what? She ended up dead. Her soul destroyed forever. She would have been fine if he’d just left her alone.” She narrowed her eyes at me, giving her words a chance to sink in. “He didn’t save her, Purity, he did the opposite. You shouldn’t rely on your Aidis to save you. You have a new life now. A new start. Don’t make the same mistakes you did as Snow.”

I stared at her. No wonder Ethen had been so eager to find me quickly. And no wonder he kept such a careful watch on me. Yet despite his fear, he still wanted me to choose my future.

A noise behind Ava made me raise my eyes. Ben leaned casually on the balustrade. Ava scowled at him. “Here to spy on me? You know I wouldn’t harm her. I’m the only one here who wasn’t complicit in her murder.”

Ben folded his arms but said nothing. Ava turned back to me and held out her hand. “This is the only chance I’m giving you, Purity. Come with me now. Save yourself.”

I stared back at her, unflinching. “I might not know everything about what happened between Ethen and Snow, but I’m not a coward. I won’t leave now when I still have a chance to find out why they’re stealing souls and stop them.”

She shook her head as if disappointed. “Fine.”

She turned on her heel and gave Ben one final glare before climbing over the balcony. Ben nodded his head to me before disappearing after her. Ava had come here and waited three years in an unfriendly country just to warn me against Ethen. She truly believed the words she spoke.

I put my dagger back under my pillow and rubbed my arms. There was a cold edge to the sea breeze that I’d never noticed before.

I couldn’t sleep at all that night and rose early, rubbing my gritty eyes and wishing I could Bless myself with a bit of good fortune. Flavia woke when she heard me open the door. She helped me dress then left to fetch an early breakfast from the kitchens.

I stared at the gardens and the red roofs of the city from my balcony, struggling to find calm. I turned the simple gold band Ethen had given me around and around on my wrist.

The door crashed open, startling me, and I turned. Flavia ran into the room, flustered. She didn’t have any food with her. She closed the door quickly behind her.

I stood up in surprise. I’d never seen her like this before. “What’s the matter? What is it?”

She was gripping her hands with white knuckles. “It’s Charity. She’s unwell.”

I frowned, struggling to comprehend. “But she’s a Grace. She can’t be unwell.”

Flavia was pale. “I know.”

“So that means…You don’t think…” It couldn’t be. My stomach contracted, and I felt sick.

A knock sounded at the door, and Flavia opened it to reveal a serious-looking Amazone. She gave me a curt nod. “Lady Purity, the empress has summoned you to the council room. Please come at once and allow me to escort you alone.”

I threw a worried look at Flavia and followed the guard out of the room.

My heart thundered as the Amazone strode silently in front of me. I struggled to keep pace in my floor-length dress. Despite the early hour, there were servants everywhere, and the palace was filled with a strange frantic energy. I looked around for any sign of Ethen, but he wasn’t in the corridor or in any of the adjoining ones.

Had somebody poisoned Charity? Another Grace in the contest? Or somebody trying to cover their tracks after poisoning the ambassador? Maybe somebody had forced her to do the crime. Or was she could be faking the illness to gain sympathy now that she knew that I’d discovered her guilt. Surely she hadn’t willingly drunk that potion? Had a proper physician examined her?

The Amazone stepped to one side and gestured for me to enter a grand door flanked by ornamental pillars with glimmering golden veins. I had never been in the council room before and paused to take in the sparkling marble floor and red velvet chairs, orienting myself before being ushered to stand with a selection of maids and another dozen Graces along one wall. Only Charity was missing.

The empress sat impeccably straight-backed in an imposing gold chair on a raised platform. Her golden gown was made from multiple strips of fabric that were splayed out around her legs and tumbled down the steps. Her braided hair was clasped in gold bands and gathered in an elaborate twist above her head, adding to her height.

The empress cleared her throat and tilted her face down in a superior, thunderous expression as she looked at each of us in turn. “There has been a most disturbing incident in the palace, and no one will leave this room until we have reached the bottom of it.” She pointed to the quiet maid I had seen in Charity’s room who had taken the box with the poison from me. “Come forward.” The maid stepped to the center of the room, her hands clasped over her grey overtunic and her head bowed.

The empress softened her voice a little but was no less threatening. “How is your mistress? Has Lady Charity regained consciousness?”

The maid’s shoulders trembled a little. “She is recovering, Your Majesty. But an hour ago, we weren’t sure if she was going to make it. She was as pale as death.”

The empress lifted her eyes back to us as muttering broke out around me. “As you all know, Graces can’t fall ill. There is only one substance that can harm her, and it is banned from the empire. Nightstar is rare and can only be grown in the Unseen Lands. It appears Lady Charity has been poisoned by this substance.” Despite the empress’s stern gaze, the shocked murmurs only heightened. The empress clapped her hands, and they died at once. She turned her attention back to the maid. “Who gave her the poison?”

My heart sank. I could see where this was going. The maid bowed her head as if scared of her own words. “It was Lady Purity.”

I desperately tried to think of the best way to deal with this. The empress raised an eyebrow. I took a step forward. “I did present the poison to Charity.”

The empress slammed her palm flat on the table, and I flinched without meaning to. “You admit to trying to murder another goddess? Were you aware that this poison can affect even those who are immortal?”

I swallowed feeling like my chance to speak was being stolen from me. “I was aware, Your Majesty. But I hadn’t expected her to take it. I had given it to her as evidence. It was meant to be a…a warning.”

The empress stood, incredulous. “A warning? A warning for what? That you would poison her if she didn’t do as you said? Did you learn nothing from Serene? It doesn’t always take much to push somebody too far.”

Charity’s maid crumpled, rubbing tears from her cheeks and stealing the empress’s attention before I could reply. “Lady Purity said it was a gift. I wonder if the pressure of winning the heart of the prince was becoming too much for them.”

The empress touched her fingers to her forehead. “I can’t believe what I am hearing.”

I fell to my knees and spread my arms. “Your Majesty, please listen, this isn’t what you think.”

The empress’s anger only rose. “You presented poison to Charity as a gift, intending it as a warning ? And only shortly after somebody was poisoned at your banquet? You were already under suspicion. What else could you possibly mean by this?”

I blew out a shaking breath. I didn’t have enough evidence to convict Charity. If I accused her of being the one who poisoned the ambassador, would it make the situation worse? Would the empress believe I was throwing around meaningless accusations to cover my back?

I closed my eyes and forced myself to reply in a calm, clear voice. “I believe the ambassador was poisoned by nightstar, Your Majesty. I surmised that the poisoner may have used it because she wasn’t sure if he was the child of a Grace, as many nobles are.”

The empress narrowed her eyes. “You said ‘she.’ Do you know who the poisoner is? And what has this to do with Charity?”

I stood up from my kneeling position and raised my chin, deciding honesty was my only way forward. “I’ve been investigating the incident due to my role as banquet host, and I found the kitchen servant who put the poison in his drink. She still had part of the bottle left over. Since she used to be Charity’s servant, but I had no solid evidence, I took the poison to confront Charity and to warn her not to act in such a way again, even if she didn’t get caught.”

The empress’s face darkened. “If you found the servant involved, why didn’t you bring her straight to me with the evidence of the poison? Don’t you understand that the mere possession of nightstar is enough to get you banished from the capital?”

I swallowed. “I…I wanted to find the real person behind it, Your Majesty, and to do that I believed I needed to act quickly.”

The maid threw herself to her knees. “Your Majesty, Lady Charity would never poison anyone. What could she possibly have to gain from killing somebody as important as an ambassador? She wasn’t even at that banquet.”

She paused, gesturing to me with a frown. “Then Lady Purity appeared with this bottle in her possession, saying she had a witness willing to accuse Lady Charity of the poisoning—even though she didn’t—and hands her the nightstar. What was Lady Charity to think other than that Lady Purity was the murderer and was about to frame Lady Charity unless she conceded to her wishes? Lady Purity was even getting rid of the evidence, by placing the poison bottle in Lady Charity’s possession. She was deeply, deeply distressed when Lady Purity left. She didn’t want to be framed for something she hadn’t done.”

No, no, no, this was not what I had intended. Had that really been how Charity had interpreted my words? Was she actually innocent? The maid spoke so well, I wasn’t sure of anything any more.

The empress narrowed her eyes at me again, her fury deepening. “This servant girl who you took the poison from—what was her name?”

I opened and closed my mouth. Ethen hadn’t told me. “I believe she is currently being questioned.”

“By who?” The empress leaned forward. “Did you personally take the vial from her possession? Have you personally heard her confession?”

No, it was Ethen. But I couldn’t say that. If I said I’d received this information from him, it would be clear that we were working together. They would identify me as the Fated Grace, and all of our plans would be ruined. We would be separated and Ethen would be blamed for the murder of the ambassador. But if I didn’t say he was the one who had questioned the servant and confiscated the poison, I would be tried for murder. Neither was an option.

My chest constricted. I needed to think. There had to be something clever I could say to solve this. But the more I thought about it, the more panic bubbled up inside me. With the empress’s eyes glaring at me as the rest of the room held its breath, I was well and truly stuck.

Beneath me, the beautiful marble tiles began to crack.