The Way We Fall

Chapter 15 (Roche)

The royals could all get poisoned for all Roche cared. She balanced precariously on an electric ladder rigged with sensors that adjusted to her movements. She slammed books onto the shelves angrily. Her cheeks were still hot at the prince's accusation.

Her, a traitor? It was laughable. She already had an illegal substance running through her veins, she didn't need to become a political enemy of the state on top of that. Roche slid down the ladder, the impact of the stone floors painfully rocketing up her ankles. She grumbled to herself and stalked off towards the broom closet to get the cleaning supplies.

It hadn't been the first time someone had used her Irulian roots to insult her or blame her for something because of what she looked like, but she'd thought that in the city where views were more forward that it would happen less often. She squeezed her eyes shut. It had been a foolish thought. Whatever. The royals could choke on a datura flower.

The thought was so venomous that it gave Roche pause. Her mind drifted back to the datura flower and the Council of Seven. She wandered back to Verita's quarters. Verita hadn't returned yet, she was still discussing the plague with Leinos. Roche shook her head. She couldn't believe that they'd been married once and now had to work together. Talk about awkward.

Roche thumbed through a few more books about datura, but none of them mentioned much about enchantments. The closest she'd found was an ancient tome from around the birth of the Faultless Kingdom a few centuries ago, warning that the poisonous effects of the datura flower could be enhanced, minimized, or changed with inkblood enchantment. Roche nearly threw the book across the room. No shit, she thought bitterly, That's what enchantments were for! This was ridiculous. There was no way that this library had anything about inkblood or enchantments. Verita had told Roche, with no small amount of disappointment, that such books had been used as kindling for the pyres for inkblood wielders.

The door swung open and Verita entered, her face lined with worry. She unclasped her robe with a sigh, hanging it on a hook on the wall. Roche clambered to her feet.

"What happened?" she asked. Verita ran a hand over her face.

"Leinos got a few more reports this morning of this illness from his couriers in Irulia. Princess Tigris managed to wheedle more information out of the ambassador, but the symptoms don't match anything we've seen before."

Roche's heart sank. "So... is the ambassador lying?"

"No," Verita bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. Her eyes were hazy with thought. "The reports of illness can't be falsified. Some of the Faultless Kingdom's garrisons at the borders have been infected. Whatever this illness is, it's spreading faster than anything we've seen."

Roche didn't even know what to think. "The timing is too convenient. The king-"

"I'm not sure what he's going to do," Verita murmured, "But whatever he does, he must do it quickly. The Faultless Kingdom will be overrun in days if this continues. And I think I know what might be causing this illness."

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"So this illness is serious," the King didn't have a calculating glint to his eyes anymore. He looked serious and concerned. The ambassador lowered his head respectfully. The room was dead silent.

"Correct, sire. The victims show no symptoms until they just... drop." the ambassador explained. The king glanced at Leinos, who nodded gravely.

"This matches the descriptions I've been given, sire. It appears to be a nervous illness, but the method of transmission cannot be determined. It is unnatural."

"Unnatural?" the king repeated curiously, leaning forward in his seat. The cunning gleam returned to his eyes, and Roche's stomach twisted nervously. That can't be good. "What do you mean by unnatural?"