Heart Bond by Grayce Tara

Author:Grayce, Tara
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sword & Cross Publishing
Published: 2023-05-01T00:00:00+00:00

Jalissa paced across the suite. What was taking Edmund so long? He had just gone to have a drink with the king. Perhaps discuss a little politics. How long could that take? It was not like either Escarland or Mongavaria was going to budge.

She had such a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. She could not explain it, but it was there all the same and no amount of telling herself that everything was fine could banish it.

Sarya leaned against the wall, not commenting on Jalissa’s restlessness. James was guarding the outer door while Alvin was in the guards’ room, resting before another night of snooping.

Finally, the door opened, and Edmund stepped inside, followed by James. Edmund’s face had a white, almost scared look to it that she had never seen before, not even when Edmund had been shot by the spy-assassins.

She raced to him. “What happened? What is wrong?”

He held up his sleeve, its end damp. “Could you examine this with your magic? Don’t touch the damp spot.”

That bad feeling in her stomach worsened. She gripped his sleeve above the damp spot and sent her magic into it. She could sense the cotton of the fabric, the apple of what was probably an apple brandy based on the smell, and…and…

Something she was all too familiar with after her time in Kostaria.

Castor beans. Ricin.

She lifted her gaze to meet Edmund’s. “It is poisoned. Ricin.”

Edmund nodded, his expression going even more taut, as if she had simply confirmed what he had already feared. “I thought so.”

She drew in a deep breath and tried to force herself to calm. “Ricin is unlikely to be absorbed through skin contact. As long as you wash before eating anything, you will be fine. This is fine.”

“Jalissa, amirah.” Edmund’s tone was gentle, though he did not reach out to touch her. “I didn’t have a choice. I drank some of that brandy. I’ve been poisoned.”

Her stomach lurched as it dropped into her toes. For a moment, it was all she could do to breathe through the tightness squeezing her chest.

She could not lose Edmund. She just could not. They had only been married a little over two weeks. They were supposed to have more time to enjoy their happy ending. This could not be happening.

“I’m going to be fine, Jalissa.” Edmund’s voice remained far too steady for someone who was dying. “We have the medicine from Rheva. Hopefully it will be enough to reach an elf healer.”

Yes, yes, that was right. They had the medicine. Edmund would be fine. She was not going to lose him.

She drew in a deep breath and pulled herself together. This was not the time to panic. She was an elf princess. She could think about this logically.

She would not let Edmund die. That was all there was to it. She would cling to Edmund in the heart bond—because they simply had to have a heart bond—and not let him go. Just like Essie with Farrendel. And Farrendel with Essie.

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