Revel: Twelve Dancing Princesses Retold (Romance a Medieval Fairytale Book 4) by Demelza Carlton

Author:Demelza Carlton [Carlton, Demelza]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-03-29T16:00:00+00:00

Twenty-Three

The princess seemed a lot more human in daylight. More like an innocent young woman who had lived a sheltered but privileged life in the palace than last night's moonlit vision.

Yet she'd managed to make him speak Dokia's name aloud for the first time since the day she died. There was just something about her…

Something that made him follow her into the house and to the dining hall, to share a meal with her instead of heading for the kitchen and the servants' table, where men of his rank belonged. She smiled at him as she sat across from him, for all the world like they were equals, and his heart warmed at her welcome.

She is a princess and I am nothing, he reminded himself, tucking his boots under the table, but they bumped into something. He peered into the shadows. "Does your dog normally sleep under the table?" he asked.

"He's not my dog. He belongs to my sister, Brenna. I don't know where he usually sleeps, but last night I think he drank too much wine, and drifted off into sleep where he lay." She broke off a piece of meat and tossed it before the animal's nose. "Wake up, boy. Food for you."

The dog didn't move.

She nudged the animal with one slippered foot, but it didn't respond. Puzzled, she reached a hand under the table to stroke the dog. The moment her fingers touched its fur, she snatched her hand back as if scalded. "He's cold," she said, her eyes widening with horror.

Vasco dragged the bench back and crawled beneath the table. He scooped up the dog's limp body and set it on the bench. After a quick examination, he confirmed his first verdict. "The dog is dead. He must have died in his sleep, he appears so peaceful."

A tear slid down Bianca's cheek as she shook her head. "Oh, I told Brenna wine was bad for dogs. He drank too much and it poisoned him, I know it!"

Poison. The thought chilled him to the bone. Poison was a woman's weapon, like an axe was his. "I've seen men die from drinking too much liquor. This looks like some other poison."

"But who would poison a defenceless dog?" the princess whispered. "It makes no sense."

"Perhaps the dog wasn't the intended victim," Vasco said gravely. "What did he eat last night?"

"I don't know," she said tearfully. "I only know he drank the wine before he fell asleep."

The wine. Wine one of the girls had poured into his cup, before he bumped her and spilled it on the floor. No wonder Kun had told him not to drink the wine, if it was poisoned.

"Who drank the wine last night?" he demanded.

Bianca stared at him. "None of us. I mean, we do not…the wine is Cousin Efe's, from the cellars. Only at very special celebrations do we have wine, but it's not the same. Ours is lighter and sweeter and…"

Vasco huffed out a breath at his own stupidity. He'd drunk poisoned wine, despite Kun's warning.

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