Sunset of the Wandering Souls
Chapter 26

Innin stood hidden in the shadows, tucked between the bookshelf and wall. I had one chance to prove Lady Oglin’s part in this, if I failed I’d fall directly into her hands. I held my audience with her in my bedroom, letting her think I was weak, hoping she’d slip up, reveal something Innin could arrest her for. She sat by my bed, taking inventory of my room, half her face hidden by her fan. Her yellow eyes finally met mine as she crossed her legs at the ankle.

I didn’t speak, I wanted to give her the illusion she had control over me. I wanted her to lead the conversation so I could pull it away from her in a show of force. She tapped her fan against her upper lip, glancing down. “I’m relieved you’re alright, Your Highness.” She wiped an imaginary tear away from her eye. “When they told me I couldn’t see you, I feared for the worse.”

I took a breath, kept myself calm. Aggravating her at this point would reveal nothing. “The dose wasn’t lethal.” I forced my voice lower than hers, ignoring everything I remembered I’d learned about how to convey my status at court. “It was as if…” I let my thoughts hang in the air, she raised her painted eyebrows at me. “My thoughts have been…muddled from the poison but I…can’t help but think they knew their way around poisons.” Lady Oglin’s eyebrows lowered, she moved her fan into her other hand. “There is one thing that’s bothering me.” She sat up straighter, I looked at my lap and scrunched up my brows. “Why poison me before my coronation?”

“Perhaps,” I turned my head to look at her, “they see you as a…threat to their mission.” She uncrossed her ankles, falling into comfortability.

“Perhaps.” I kept my eyes on hers, watching for any reaction to my words. “They feed me a poison from the Planes—from what is now Diatessia—to make me appear weak to them and to my subjects?” Her hand moved slightly, as if she were going to snap her fan shut. I let my voice rise. “What is it you want?” Her eyes darted around my room once more. “There’s no one else here, no need to appear so antsy.”

Lady Oglin closed the small gap between us, taking a seat on my bed. She held my chin between her thumb and forefinger. “Dear, the world is changing.” She snapped her fan shut. “I will do everything in my power to allow it.” She brushed a strand of hair from my forehead. “If I must force the Crown Prince to be in a wheelchair for his coronation,” she planted a kiss on my cheek, placed her mouth by my ear and whispered, “so be it.”

“Where…Where is your sister?” My mouth felt dry, and I had to prevent every instinct from glancing to where Innin was hidden.

She opened her fan once more. “In my bedroom, mixing up some more…medicine for you.” She wiped at a place under my eye, her gloved hand dragging against my skin. “I’ve heard your limbs are starting to work again…it’s quite too soon.” She gave me a small pat on my cheek as she stood. “Rest well, Your Highness.”

Only a moment or two went by in complete silence after she left. Innin came out of the shadows as I started to hyperventilate, wiping furiously at the place she kissed with my sleeve. He removed my hand, licked his finger and wiped the spot for me. “Do not eat or drink a single thing without a taste tester present for the rest of the day.” He pulled me into an awkward hug, and I buried my face against his chest. “I’ll arrest her. I’ll keep you safe.” When he released me, he asked, “I take it your memories returned?”

I nodded, “When she poisoned me.” I gripped my bedding with my left hand. “I’ll have to speak with the war council after the coronation.” I felt Innin stroke my hair as I spoke. “I have to finish my…conversation with Pili…we should remove House of Xelu from their nobility status as safety.” I let out a sigh, “Do you think Mommy will be furious the wedding’s to fall through?”

“She’ll be furious at herself,” he said, “that she didn’t believe you.”

I laid down, Innin’s hand returning to his side. I didn’t like the idea of marrying a woman, of hiding a part of myself from my subjects and court. There had to be Reissu woman with similar inclinations to me. If I could replace her, convince her, maybe it would be tolerable. “Please tell Mommy not to replace Lady Oglin’s replacement yet,” I said. “I’d like the chance to speak with her first.” Innin left me to stare at the ceiling or Argak who’d emerged from somewhere in the large bed.