Dragon Blood (Completed)

Framed

Chapter 24

When his message was delivered, he went to seek out Lavender. When he was a few feet from Lavender's door, Ryder stepped out. His fiery eyes landed on Zane, full of anger and pain.

"I knew you would hurt her."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Zane said just as coldly.

"Do you think she will stand by while you throw yourself at that girl?"

"I have not thrown myself at anyone."

"Maybe you just don't see what you are doing because you've never had to before. They all just rushed to you, hoping you would grace them with one of your famous smiles. I guess Paige is just too tempting a challenge. The first girl who does not care that you are the future king. The only girl who has not seen you first for your title, and she wants nothing to do with you."

"I don't want Paige!"

He scoffed at Zane's adamant declaration. "You wanted them all. I tried to warn Lavender that you would never commit to her. She didn't believe me. You had her so thoroughly convinced that she was the one, but now she sees. Now she knows what I was trying to tell her."

"If you have said anything to interfere with my relationship with Lavender, when I'm king, you and your mother will be cut off. That precious allowance my father gives you will disappear."

"I didn't have to say anything. Your actions are shouting to the whole kingdom. Her eyes are just open now that she has seen you in action."

"In action? What are you talking about?"

"You. Running off to save her, then holding her in the courtyard in front of everyone like that." Ryder grabbed Zane's arm, his orange eyes burning with anger. "Don't you even care how she feels having to watch you with the queen? If we lived in the world the way it was supposed to be, you and Paige would have been paired off. She would have been your betrothed from the moment she was born. How do you think Lavender feels knowing that?"

"What?" Zane was baffled by his brother's thinking.

"Oh, come on. This has never occurred to you? She never would have been queen. Your father would have worked out a deal with the king of Bluescale, guaranteeing your Desma to the precious dual-natured dragon the second she was born.

"No," Zane said honestly. "This is our reality. The only reality I care about is the one where Lavender and I are joined as companions. The fairy-tale you are talking about is irrelevant because it's not real. This is real. Besides, if her family had never been sent to the Earth realm, she wouldn't even have been born yet. You heard how many children Drake killed."

"Why don't you remember that?"

"I do. You and Lavender are the ones acting like I don't."

Zane walked away, not bothering to try talking to Lavender. He knew with the mood she'd been in over the last few days, she wouldn't listen to anything he said. Instead, he went looking for Alva. He needed to do something productive to distract himself from his own troubles.

He found Alva in the queen's suite with her team investigating the attack. "What have you found?" Zane asked, stepping into the chilly sitting room. Every window and door was open to air the place out.

"To be honest, Lord Prince, it's a little strange." Alva handed Zane a small clay pot that looked like it held no importance.

"What is this?"

"It's the container the talon gas was mixed in."

"Talon gas?" Zane sniffed and wrinkled his nose. It had a noxious odor that could make someone terribly sick before they passed out. It was not deadly. It was used as a tool for distraction, to give the illusion that a fire was burning.

"What is the point of using talon gas on the queen?" Zane mused.

"I would guess it was someone who wanted to scare her, but not actually harm her."

"Who has access to talon gas?"

"Any of the royals could have brought some with them. Also, Byran keeps a store in the guard's armory, but none of his is missing."

"Could someone have brought it in from outside the castle, like one of the staff?"

"Miss Alva," Beatha said, approaching. "This was found in the fire. It may help us identify the one suspected of this crime."

It was a chain made of several long thin strands of gold woven together. Zane recognized the intricate weave. He balled his hands into fists, trying to stay calm.

"Was anything disturbed, like the papers in the workroom?" he asked stiffly.

"No."

"I'll be interested to know what else you find." Zane handed the gold chain back to Alva.

"Yes, sir."

He made a hasty exit, heading straight for Lavender's suite, barely able to maintain the appearance of being a rational man.

"Leave us," he ordered their guards when he entered her sitting room.

"No, I don't wish to be alone with you."

"Lavender, please. Something has happened and we need to be careful about who we trust."

"I have complete trust in my guard."

"Are you sure? The attack on the queen tonight is being blamed on you."

"Me? Why would anyone blame me? I've never been in her rooms." She looked at him. "You're not blaming me, are you?"

"No, but your bracelet was found with a container of talon gas. It looks bad."

"My bracelet?"

"The one I gave you for your birthday."

"How would that end up in the queen's room?"

"I don't know. That's what we need to figure out."

"Oh, Zane." Her eyes started to water and her voice was saturated with fear. "You don't think I'm capable of something so horrible, do you?"

He pulled her into a comforting hug. "No, love. It could not have been you. We were together before the attack happened." He knew Lavender didn't like Paige, but she would never do something like this to another royal. She might say mean or unpleasant things, but she was not violent or vindictive. Zane knew her well enough to be assured of his opinion of her innocence.

"Where is the bracelet now?"

"Alva has it." He rubbed her back as he mused. "I just don't understand why anyone would attack Paige like this. She is already so weak, so why would anyone go to the trouble of playing what amounts to a cruel joke?"

"Oh, her again? You don't care that someone is trying to make me look like a monster?"

"Of course I care about you. But you are strong, and you have me on your side. She has no one."

"She has you."

"Only as a friend. You are my companion." He kissed her, but could feel that her heart was not in it. She was not returning his affections. "We need to go talk to Alva together. It would be best if we found her first.