HEIR OF THE DRAGON

CHAPTER 11

"I can do this, Roseanne. I promise."

Lalisa wouldn't have blamed her wife if she'd rolled her eyes at that. She'd made a similar claim when they'd first been told of Ser Eunwoo's capture and promptly fell back asleep. This time, though, she meant it. She was better rested, she'd changed into a fresh gown, and she'd even managed to gulp down some soup. "Healthy" was still a ways off, but she was much improved.

What's more, she needed to do this. All her life, she'd been taught that she could trust the knights of the Kingsguard. Her father had drilled it into her from the day he took the throne: if you're in trouble, run and find a Kingsguard. And now one of them, a man she'd picked for induction, her own sworn shield, might have tried to kill her. Lalisa had to have answers before she could rest comfortably.

Fortunately Roseanne understood. She reached across the bed to take Lalisa's hand and brought it up to her lips, kissing the knuckles. "If you're sure, I won't try and stop you. But if it's too much, I'm having Eunwoo sent right back to the dungeons. He'll still be there for us to question tomorrow."

Lalisa smiled up at her wife. "That's fair."

A message was passed along to Prince Qoren and while they waited, Lalisa kept turning the events of the last few days over in her mind. "I don't think he's the one who poisoned me," she told Roseanne. "Eunwoo's not that subtle. If this was his idea, he would've used his sword."

"If he'd stabbed you, he could hardly have pretended that it wasn't murder."

"I know, but I still think it's more likely it was Tylin. A maester is the kind of person who'd use poison, not a knight." She drummed her fingers on the blankets. "The problem is, I don't know what possible reason he could have to want me dead. Maesters serve lords and ladies, they don't kill them."

"Someone else would have to be behind it," Roseanne agreed. "And we know it's not the Dornish."

"You may be right," Lalisa said, but a knot formed in her stomach as she considered who that mastermind might be. There weren't many people with both the influence and the incentive to do this and most of them were too close to them for comfort. Not wanting to give voice to those thoughts, she decided instead to say, "Hopefully Eunwoo will tell us more."

"Do you really think he'll speak to you?"

"I don't know but I always thought he was an honorable man. Some part of him has to feel guilty."

Roseanne ran her fingers across the back of Lalisa's hand. Though she claimed to be fine, it was obvious she was still shaken from her alpha's ordeal, eager for excuses to touch her. Not that Lalisa could blame her wife. If it had been Roseanne so close to death, she would've been out of her mind with worry.

"When we spoke, he couldn't meet my eyes," she told Lalisa. "But he also said horrible things about you. That female alphas were inherently sinful, that you would eventually leave me for someone else and make their child your heir instead..."

In spite of her weakness, Lalisa picked herself up far enough to take hold of Roseanne's shoulders. "You can't believe I would ever do that."

Roseanne leaned down and kissed her reassuringly on the lips. "I didn't and I don't. But I think he did. He acted as if it was good for me that you were dying. When I told him I didn't want anyone else as my mate, he actually seemed disappointed."

"Fucking idiot" Lalisa snapped, failing to control her rage. How could anyone, especially someone who'd spent so much time with them, believe she would betray her wife like that? Why couldn't the Seven Kingdoms be as reasonable as Dorne? She didn't have any answers, but she needed to come up with some. Otherwise she'd spend the rest of her life dealing with this bullshit.