Bowstrings & Velvet (Spellbound #1)

Chapter 25: Interrogation

How had she missed this? Shae stared at her lady-in-waiting. The disdain was oozing from every pore of her body as she stared up at them defiantly.

Felix let go of her hand as he flexed both of his. He huffed. "Brilliant. She's one of them."

Ornice chuckled darkly. "One of those who do not believe you deserve the throne upon which you sit? Definitely. It's nothing personal. No one should reign supreme over the other kingdoms."

Frustration etched lines in Felix's face as he stared up at the ceiling. "Why does everyone always conveniently forget that I never wanted to be High King? I was perfectly content as the Prince of Ler. This is more responsibility than anyone could ever want, and I can personally vouch for the fact that it should be no one's dream." He met the woman's eyes. "I did not choose this. Goddess Dhim told me I had to for the sake of the world. Had the Dark Disciple not killed the previous High King and his family, it would not have been necessary."

"They should have left the throne empty!" Ornice snapped, leaning forward, her face transformed by anger. "Each kingdom should be its own sovereign."

"Yes, because that worked so well in the past," Felix said sardonically.

"Usurper!"

Shae halted her instinct to take a step back from the vitriolic woman. She did not want to appear weak, and she was here to get answers. "If you want Felix gone... Why did you attack me? My death would do nothing for your cause."

Leaning back in her seat again, the other woman's face relaxed as she chuckled. "It is not only my cause. This is so much greater than an unwillingness to accept the Usurper as our sovereign. We are many who disagree with the state of the world, and we seek to right it."

A trickle of unease made its way down Shae's back. Something wasn't right here. "You never answered my question."

Felix must have shared her apprehension because he tensed by her side. "Who's we?"

A smile that was a little too wide spread across the former lady-in-waiting's usually pretty face, transforming her into someone Shae no longer recognised. "Wouldn't you like to know?" she taunted.

"I'm not playing games." Felix glared at the woman. "Who are you working with? Is your husband involved?"

She scoffed. "That fool? No, he knows nothing. I married him to gain access to the Royal Castle. I was told they needed me here, and he was an easy way to reach my goal. The old man was only too happy to get a pretty new wife after his old one died so tragically."

"Hold on." The unease grew into a ball in the pit of Shae's stomach as she watched the feline grin on Ornice's face. "Did you kill Councillor Drycken's previous wife?"

"Not personally." Ornice turned her head slightly to look up at her, looking so pleased it made her stomach turn. "But they saw to it that she passed on. Just a small amount of poison every day for some time, and she died from what everyone assumed was a poor heart."

"Who are you taking orders from?" Felix snapped, his patience running thin.

"Tsk tsk, such a temper." Ornice chuckled. "You will gain nothing with such tactics."

Flexing his hands again, he took a few steps back and drew a deep breath before turning back to their prisoner. "Why attack Shae?" he asked, his voice tempered. "How does that help you?"

"It's not about her," Ornice said dismissively, rolling her eyes.

"Then why do you keep trying to kill me?"

The woman grunted. "It should have been done weeks ago, but I will admit... I am not a trained assassin, and I've had to do my best. I came close, though. That Orc's Blood poison nearly did the job."