"War," Noelle repeated, as though the word were foreign, unknown to her. It's what they'd all been working toward. Hours of training militant soldiers, hours of battle plans, weeks and months of discussions - most long before Noelle or any of them arrived.

"It's inevitable," Roman said, nodding even as his brows furrowed. "That is what we're doing here, right? Mav?"

Maverick hadn't looked at them, his fists still clenched as he stared at Gwen. "Who would kill their own sister?"

A chill ran down Noelle's spine. He wasn't asking for an answer, his eyes shone with tears of fury.

"Who sends an assassin after his own niece and nephew?" Maverick continued. "Who could be so cruel, so evil as to go after their own family just to win?"

"Mav..." Roman stretched out a hand, and Maverick rounded on him.

"He stole Eric from his parents - raised him with lies about who and what he was. He had Eric's men murder my parents, and would have done me in if Eric hadn't stabbed me first." Maverick grabbed hold of the foot of the bed, and the wood cracked beneath his grip. Noelle jumped.

"Hey," she kept her voice low, placing her hands on top of his, looking him in the eye. "Breathe for me. Can you do that? Breathe."

Maverick sucked in a few steadying breaths, and Noelle nodded.

"There we go. Breathe. I understand why you're so upset. I understand that the world is never what you think it is and no one has been honest with you. I know you're angry, you're hurt, and everything feels like it's falling apart. Your sister isn't here, and you don't know if she's okay; you just woke up from a coma; the woman you just discovered is your cousin has the right to take the throne over you and she might die before she even gets the chance."

Roman sidled up to Maverick, placing a hand on his shoulder. "They're going to pay. The people who did all of this won't get away with it. We're here for you."

Noelle felt her throat constrict at the pain in Maverick's expression as he nodded.

"We need to get a healer," Noelle said, looking at Gwen. "We can't keep this a secret any longer - her illness I mean." She pointed at both Maverick and Roman. "No one tells anyone what we know about Gwen's heritage."

"Why?" they asked together.

"She has the right to the throne. They should know that," Maverick said.

"And someone tried to kill her for it - the only other person who knows, most likely. So until we flush that person out, we keep this between us." Noelle crossed her arms, waiting, but neither of them did anything. "Well? Go! Roman, find the healer. Maverick, go to whatever meeting you're supposed to be at. You need to catch up on all the plans."

"What are you going to do?" Roman asked, backing toward the door with Maverick.

"Isn't it obvious?" Noelle placed a hand on top of her head, steadying her breathing. "I'm going to take control of this situation and smoke out whoever the poisoner is before they strike again."

"You seem very confident," Roman said, eyeing her with a quirked brow.

Noelle gave them a wry smile. "I spent my entire life trying to outplay a psychopath. I think I can handle a rogue assassin."

Her remark drew a small grin from Maverick. "If you could survive Aundreya, I'm betting you're right."

#

Noelle sat with Gwen until Roman returned with the healer. The stooped old man shuffled in, a younger assistant at his side. Noelle moved away as the old man stepped up to Gwen's bedside.

"Lily poison, the boy says," the old man wheezed. "I should have been called at once." He turned to his assistant. "Bring the leaches. We'll cleanse her."

Noelle and Roman waited in the main sitting room while the healer and his assistant did their work. Noelle checked everything they brought in before allowing them to use it, asking Roman to help her search for anything dangerous. Aside from the leaches - which disturbed her greatly - nothing seemed outside the ordinary.

"How long will this take?" Roman asked, pacing back and forth, glancing at the closed bedroom doors every few minutes.

"I don't know why you're asking me." Noelle poured over her notes. She'd collected parchment and sat at the desk in the corner, writing down the names of all the people they'd met. She'd have to get the rest somehow, as there were hundreds of people she didn't know in the least.

"I'm asking you because I feel trapped." Roman marched over to the desk. "What are you doing, anyway?"

"I'm making a list of people in the Militia - especially people who would have had the opportunity to poison the drink." She set down the quill and rubbed her eyes. "This would have been a lot easier at the Osha castle."

"Why's that?"

"Because there, the servants are the servants. Here, everyone rotates jobs. There's no way of knowing who was in the kitchens that day."

"I'm guessing the person who did this was counting on that." The sound of the bedroom door opening caught both of their attention.

The assistant stood with his hands clasped in front of him. Noelle tried to ignore that he was tinged with blood. She'd insisted that they not remove Gwen's shirt 'for the sake of her modesty,' afraid they'd see her birthmark.

"What is it? Is she going to be all right?" Roman rushed the assistant, grabbing onto him with a hopeful expression.

"She's going to survive. The Healer's cleansing rituals have brought the worst out. She should wake within an hour."

"Praise Adonai," Noelle said, getting up and crossing into the bedroom. The old man stood with his fingers around Gwen's wrist, his head cocked to one side as though listening for something.

"She's stronger than she looks," he said as Noelle approached. "Should have died. Bless the stars."

"Thank you, sir." Noelle resumed her place at Gwen's side, ready to wait.

#

Maverick returned almost an hour later, and Noelle looked up at his entrance.

"How was it?" Roman asked, sitting at the other bedside with a book.

"For having missed as much as I did, I didn't miss anything. Everything is exactly as it was. However, they were all insistent that you return next time. I hear you have a military mind."

Roman rolled his eyes. "More like a 'let's just get this done so I can leave' mind. I sped them along."

"As is your nature," Noelle said with a grin.

"Either way, we're set to go - in fact, there's no reason not to leave as soon as we're ready to mobilize." Maverick leaned against the fourposter. "Helena's already given the word for everyone to start packing things up."

"It's real, then," Roman said, shaking his head. "It's time."

"Whatimsit?"

Noelle jumped as Gwen mumbled her first words in almost a week. Her eyes were half open, bleary, but a bit of color had returned to her cheeks. At the sight of Noelle, Gwen's eyes snapped open. She looked about, fear and confusion mingled on her face.

"Where am I? What's going on?"

Noelle placed a hand on Gwen's shoulder to keep her from trying to rise. "Hold still, you were poisoned. You've been unconscious for almost a week."

Gwen's mouth popped open and she groaned. "That's why I feel like death."

"You almost met your end," Maverick said, not moving from his spot at the end of the bed. "I'd be surprised if you felt anything else."

"Who poisoned me?"

"Us," Maverick corrected her. "And we don't know yet. But we know why."

Gwen's gaze slid out of focus for a moment. "Those drinks. I thought they tasted funny."

"Isn't your gift food?" Noelle asked.

"Food. Not drink," Maverick and Gwen said together.

"They poisoned us because of you?" Gwen asked, shifting to see Maverick. "To try and get to the heir?"

"Heirs," Maverick said. "We know who you are, Gwen - who your father is."

There was a beat of silence, and then Gwen groaned. "No, no one was ever supposed to know." Her face paled. "You didn't tell anyone, did you?"

"No," Noelle said. "But obviously whoever poisoned you already knows. Can you think of anyone who does?"

Gwen gave a feeble shake of her head. "No. I knew Bainon would try and kill me if he knew Tarvril had a child."

"He wants us both dead," Maverick said. "But we're going to stop him."

"What do you remember from that night?" Roman asked, moving so he sat on the bed. "How did you get those drinks?"

"Someone was bringing them up - one of the kitchen rotations." Gwen's face screwed up in concentration. "I asked him where he was going and he said your rooms."

"Maybe he didn't intend it for you, then," Noelle said. Gwen shook her head.

"No, he said 'same as you - the king's chambers.' He knew where I was headed. I asked if he wanted me to take them the rest of the way, and - " she broke off, her face darkening. "He acted so casual. Hesitated for just a second before letting me have the tray. There were already two glasses on it."

"Did you know his name? Would you recognize him if you saw him again?" Roman asked.

"It's all so blurry. He had...well his hair wasn't dark. He wasn't too tall or too short. He - oh I can't even remember his face."

"Maybe we can just call everyone together, shout 'Bainon is the best' and see who shouts in agreement?" Roman suggested, splaying his hands.

Maverick snorted a laugh. "We're going to have to be even more careful now. Everything we eat or drink will have to be inspected."

"I told you, you need a royal tester," Gwen said, trying to sit up. Noelle helped her, propping pillows behind her. "I feel disgusting, and sore. I need a bath."

"What you need is to tell us why you're in hiding, even from the Militia." Maverick arched a brow.

Gwen frowned at him. "I don't want anything to do with my father's legacy. I told you that."

"You didn't tell me your father was my insane uncle."

"Because that would have gone over well." Gwen laughed, a small, painful chuckle. "Oh by the way, your birthright is actually my birthright, and everything you've done to work toward this moment could be shot down by me at any second. Surprise!"

"They'll want you on the throne," Roman said. "They want the heir of Tarvril."

"They're settling for me," Maverick agreed.

"No. I meant what I said. It was time for my family to be done ruling. Tarvril was a monster. I'm not following in his footsteps."

"So you don't think I should be on the throne, either?"

"You're a Knight, not a Tremaine. You said it yourself. I came here that night to see if you were the right man for the job. I wanted to see if you were just doing as you were told, or if you had what it takes. I think you can do this, Maverick. But don't ask me to."

"Still," Noelle cut in. "Someone knows. Our first priority should be to find out who."

We're almost to the end of this book. Can you believe it? I can't. We've got a major confrontation to go, but we have more behind us than we have ahead!

Gwen's awake! Are you excited? What do you think about her confession of not wanting the throne? What do you think about Noelle taking charge on this poisoner issue? Think she can figure it out?

Tell me things. MUAH!