Poison: A Fate's Forsaken Prequel Novella by Shae Ford

Author:Shae Ford
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, azw3
Publisher: Shae Ford
Published: 2016-07-06T21:00:00+00:00

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“Good. You’ve finally recovered,” Garron mumbled as Olivia entered the study. He was hunched over his desk, scribbling away. He’d never even glanced up.

For some reason, the maids had hidden all of her dresses while she was ill. The only things Olivia had been able to find to put on were a pair of breeches and a man’s tunic.

The tunic was rather comfortable: she liked the way the soft material draped loosely over her skin. But the breeches were an entirely different matter. “I want my skirts back. I can’t breathe in these foolish things.”

“I’m afraid that’s out of the question, madam. If you’re going to learn how to fight, then you’ll need to wear a garment that allows for freedom of movement — and that isn’t likely to be snagged.”

Olivia wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly. “Fight?”

“Of course. As I’ve said on numerous occasions, I can’t allow you trot off to do the chancellor’s bidding without at least some notion of how to defend —”

“I didn’t know you wore spectacles.”

Garron scowled over the top of the small, half spectacles perched at the end of his nose. “I don’t. I only need them for numbers.”

“Oh? And why’s that?”

“Because numbers require a great deal more scrutiny than other written things,” he said testily. He folded the top page and set it aside. Then drew an unsealed letter from one of the compartments in his desk. “I’ve taken the liberty of drafting an explanation to Tristan on your behalf — he’ll be anxious to know why you’ve been absent for so long.”

No, he’ll be anxious to know whether or not I’ve killed you, Olivia thought.

Her eyes fixed involuntarily on Garron’s throat as he went on: “In this letter, you’ve explained that you were able to convince me to accept the council’s terms — it’s not as large a profit as I would’ve liked, but it’ll be more than enough to feed my village,” he explained when he saw her surprise. “You’ve also said that you realized I could be a very valuable ally, as I’m so well-connected to other Grandforest merchants. But though you certainly believe in my ability to bring the two regions closer together, you don’t entirely trust me. So you’ve requested to stay in the forest for the time being — to offer your services as both scout and spy.” He dipped his quill in a bit of ink and held it out to her. “All I need is your mark, madam, and I’ll pass this along to the next courier.”

Olivia smiled as she took the quill. Somehow, Garron had managed to weave a strand of nonsense so gilded that she was certain Tristan would fall straight into the middle of it. She didn’t care about the forest or the seas, or anybody’s profits: she would’ve signed her right arm away for a chance to stay in the forest for a while longer — clear of Lord Basset’s smothering gaze and out from beneath Tristan’s thumb.

“There,” she said, scrawling the last letter with a flourish.

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