Chapter 4

I'm draped in nothing but a silk slip, looking up at Aldric through heavy lashes. My voice comes out low and sweet. "Are you going to go to her?"

His eyes are glazed over. He stares at me like the rest of the world just... stopped existing. "With you right here... I can't even remember her name."

I press my hand to my mouth and laugh — quiet, teasing. It's just us in this room. Just candlelight and him looking at me like I'm the only real thing left.

His breath is hot against my neck. His fingers trace my collarbone. And then — just like that — he's out cold.

On his forehead, a pale pink Mindworm is still wriggling its way deeper.

I roll him onto the bed. Pull the blankets up to his chin.

"Sweet dreams, Your Majesty. I made this one special."

Then I slide the pin from my hair and prick my fingertip. A few drops of blood onto a silk cloth — the rest goes straight into his mouth.

Can't waste the good stuff. This amount won't kill him. Not yet. But give it time — night after night, drop after drop — and it'll eat him from the inside like rust on iron.

And here's the beautiful part: no healer in this world can cure it.

Only me.

The moon's directly overhead now, pouring silver through the window. I sit on the edge of his bed, counting minutes.

A scratch at the windowsill. A spider — no bigger than my thumbnail. One of the thousand tiny spies I've seeded throughout this castle.

She's coming.

I stand. Smooth my clothes. Walk outside.

Seraphina is standing at the foot of the steps with what looks like half the castle's staff behind her. Servants, stewards, guards — a whole damn army.

This isn't a jealous wife checking on her husband. This is a siege.

I stand above her on the steps. Slowly — deliberately — I sweep my hair to one side, baring the fresh red mark on my neck.

Moonlight on my skin. A smile on my lips. Sweet as sugar.

"The King's asleep. Maybe try again tomorrow?"

Her face twists into something barely human. "You filthy — I will kill you with my bare hands!"

I point — lazy, casual — at her belly. "Careful, Your Majesty. You don't want to upset the baby."

She freezes. Mid-scream. Like someone hit pause.

Here's the thing about Seraphina. Aldric once promised her — give me a son, and I'll make you the most powerful woman in the kingdom. Official. Permanent.

Five years of marriage. Nothing. Not even a scare.

She's tried everything. Every healer, every remedy, every folk cure in every corner of the continent. Nothing works.

And if she can't produce an heir soon, that promise dies.

"Guards! Drag this whore out of my sight and BEAT HER TO DEATH!"

Yeah. I hit a nerve.

I shake off the hands grabbing at me. "Your Majesty — take a breath. Maybe call a healer? Have them check?"

I pause. Let the silence build.

"Because this baby? I'm the only one who can keep it alive."