Chapter 2

I stumbled out the door, and he tossed me a paper package. When I opened it up, I saw my favorite honey cake inside.

I looked at Winston, hoping he'd finally say he wanted to marry me. But he just kept his eyes on the little elderberry tree in the yard and mumbled, "Some of them are ripe."

He had planted that elderberry tree himself the year I came down with that cough. He'd heard elderberries were supposed to be good for your lungs, but honestly, he was hardly ever here.

I was the one who watered it and kept the bugs away every single day. But I loved it, because every time I saw that tree, it felt like Winston was right there with me.

I was still rambling about how much work I'd put in when he cut in, "Grab a cloth, will you? Thalia loves elderberries. We're picking every last one today."

My heart sank. Thalia Valmont was Winston's wife, the sixth princess. She outweighed me by far, in every way that mattered.

Winston noticed the change in me. He plucked an elderberry and gently popped it into my mouth with a smile. "Don't worry, Lia. Next time they're ripe, they'll all be yours."

I nodded meekly, then pulled out the blood contract from behind my back, my voice trembling as I begged, "Sir, you promised you'd marry me. Please, I implore you to keep your word."

Winston's face darkened, his brows furrowing as he shot up from his seat, irritation clear in his voice.

"That's enough, Aurelia Everly! What's so terrible about your life now? Let me be straight with you. When I said I'd marry you, it was just to use your lowly status to make the empire look merciful and push those rebels to surrender sooner!"

He grabbed the contract from my hand and flung it to the back of the house without a second thought.

I tried to go after it, but he roughly shoved me against the wall, his eyes flashing with menace as he threatened me, "Be a good little caged bird for me. Make another scene, and you'll be on the first carriage back to the brothel."

With that, he snatched up some elderberries, leapt onto his horse, and rode off without a backward glance.

I scrambled up and rushed to the back of the house, desperate to find the contract.

No matter how hard I looked, it was nowhere to be found. My heart raced with panic. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my chest, and I coughed up a mouthful of blood.

I slumped against the wall, my heart heavy. I started counting the days on my fingers.

The doctor said I only had seven days left. Winston only showed up every ten days. I may not make it to see him one last time.

In that case, I have to go after him!

Maybe he meant what he said today, and maybe he had his own reasons. Regardless, I just wanted to see him as much as I could before I died.

Winston's General Estate was up in the north of the city, while the place he'd set me up in was way down south. Even on horseback, it would take four hours to get from one to the other.

I asked around as I went, wandering the streets all night before I finally made it to the General Estate.

By the time I got there, it was already morning. I bought two biscuits and sat down by the gates, waiting for Winston to show up.

As I waited, I overheard some folks at the ale cart chatting idly. "Hey, did you hear? General Laurent went out to Wildhound Hollow again to dig up herbs for Lady Valmont himself."

"Yeah, he's head over heels for her. Every time he goes, those poison ants almost do him in. He ends up bedridden for ten days, and as soon as he's back on his feet, he's out there digging again," another man chimed in.

My heart ached as I listened. I dropped my biscuits and ran straight to Wildhound Hollow.

Wildhound Hollow was up north, where all the sick animals were buried. The stench was overwhelming, and venomous bugs were everywhere.

Nobody lived within five miles of the place. But people said that somewhere deep under all that rotten earth, there was a legendary herb that could cure any disease, and only those truly devoted would dig for it with their bare hands.

When I arrived, Winston was bent over in the middle of a heap of dead animals, digging through the filth and ignoring the stench. Poison ants were crawling all over his arms.

My heart twisted with worry as I rushed over, frantically swatting the poison ants off Winston with my sleeve.

He saw the panic all over my face and barked, "Who told you to come here? Get out of here, now!"

But I ignored him and knelt down, digging through the dirt to help him.

When he realized I wouldn't listen, he scooped me up and carried me to an open spot. He carefully brushed off the last poison ant from my clothes, then pointed at me, furious. "Who told you to come here? Do you really think I won't send you back to the brothel?"

My eyes brimmed with tears as I looked at the angry welts on his arms, bitterness flooding my heart.

"I believe you," I whispered.

My mother was a real expert in medicine, and I'd picked up a lot just from growing up around her.

Ordinary medicine could only dull the pain from those poison ants, but lovemaking was the only way to truly draw out the poison.

He once lied to me, saying the sores on his arms were just arrow wounds from training in the army.

I was such a fool, I had believed every word. I felt so bad for him that I'd run all over the south side of the city, hitting every apothecary to get medicine for his "wounds." I had twisted my ankle more times than I could count.

But in the end, maybe he only saw me as a way to heal up fast so he could go back out and dig herbs for Thalia since the poison would be removed from his body with every release.

The doctors had searched every medical book and still couldn't figure out why and how I had been poisoned. But maybe now, I finally knew why.