bChapter /bb209 /b

    ra’s POV

    “Elder Randy!” My voice broke through the chaos like a sudden p of thunder.

    The ss slipped from his fingers, shattering into a million tiny shards, as though the universe had cracked in that instant. The next moment, his massive body hit the ground with a sickening thud.

    Silence. Absolute, heavy silence.

    Then, a piercing scream sliced through the stillness. “Ahhh!!!”

    I couldn’t breathe. The air felt thick.

    I leapt over the table, heart pounding, my legs barely keeping up with the frantic pace in my mind. I dropped beside Elder Randy, my hands shaking as f

    tried to assess him.

    His skin was ashen, almost ghostly. His breath rattled, sharp andbored, like something was choking him from the inside. His body trembled violently, his limbs jerking as though gripped by an unseen force.

    “He’s poisoned!” The words left my mouth before I could even process them.

    A gasp. A rush of movement.

    Elder Pierre’s face turned ashen. He mmed his ss to the ground in a panic, the beer spilling out like a dark omen. The grass beneath it sizzled, curling and wilting as if it were dying on contact.

    “Somebody help him!” Pierre’s voice cracked, desperate.

    I tore open Elder Randy’s cor, trying to give him space to breathe, but my hands betrayed me, trembling with panic.

    His pulse was gone.

    Gone.

    I pressed a trembling finger to his neck, searching, but it was like pressing against stone. Nothing.

    A firm hand caught my wrist, stopping me in my tracks.

    “I got this,” Dorian whispered, urgency in his voice.

    He knelt beside me, his hands moving with practiced precision. He tilted Elder Randy’s head back, lifting his chin to open his airway, then beganpressing his chest with fierce determination. His breaths came in sharp, rapid bursts, the rhythm of life against death.

    I watched, frozen, my chest tightening with each passing second.

    After what felt like an eternity, a sharp inhale of breath cut through the air. Elder Randy’s chest rose.

    “It worked!” Pierre gasped in disbelief.

    I pressed my finger under his nose, waiting. Finally, I felt a faint pulse of air. It was weak, but it was there.

    “We need to get him to the hospital,” I said, voice shaking.

    Dorian’smand was immediate. “Guards!”

    The soldiers rushed forward, lifting Elder Randy with swift, practiced movements, and the crowd parted like ba /bbriver /bbaround /bthemb, /bbevery /bbface /betched bwith /b

    fear and shock.

    Dorian wiped his brow, his grim expression making his next words even more chilling. “I’ming with you.”

    1 nodded, heart still racing, as we made our way across the garden. What had started as a lively Spring Ball was now nothing more than a twisted nightmare.

    By the time we reached the clinic room in the castle, Elder Randy had already been rushed into the emergency room. Doctors and nurses surrounded him, their faces masks of focused urgency.

    Momentster, a doctor approached us, his steps heavy with bad news.

    “We just finished the initial exam. He was poisoned,” he said, his voice low.

    I clenched my fists, my nails biting into my palms. One of the senior elders–poisoned in front of all of us? Whoever did this had no fear. No respect

    “Is he going to make it?” Dorian’s voice was low, strained.

    The doctor hesitated, ncing at the other medical staff as though seeking approval. “We’re taking his blood to theb to identify the poison, but…m

    afraid we won’t have a cure in time.”

    Dorian’s eyes darkened, his rage barely contained. “Then you’ll find a way. I’ve brought the best doctors in the Lycan world to this room, and you’re telling me you can’t cure him? That’s uneptable.”

    The doctor visibly flinched, shrinking under Dorian’s presence. “There are very few poisons that can cause this much damage to a Lycan. We’ll need to study the poison first, and by the time we do, his liver will fail.”

    “HOW LONG DOES HE HAVE?” Dorian’s voice thundered through the room.

    The doctor’s words hit like a p to the face. “In the best case, he has days. But liver failure… can happen in minutes.”

    I felt like the air had been knocked from my lungs.

    “I don’t care about your best–case scenarios!” Dorian snarled, his jaw clenched in fury. “You will save him. That’s an order from the King!”

    The doctor stepped back, visibly shaken by the weight of Dorian’smand.

    At that moment, the sound of a monitor ring sent a jolt through me.

    “His blood pressure is dropping!” a nurse screamed.

    “Heart failure!” another shouted.

    The room erupted in chaos.

    Then, the door burst open. Elders flooded in, and at the front, Amara stormed forward, a small bottle clutched tightly in her hand.

    “I–I have the cure!” she shrieked, her eyes wide with desperation.

    She thrust the bottle into the hands of one of the nurses. “Hurry! Give this to Elder Randy!”

    The nurse didn’t hesitate. She rushed

    to

    Elder Randy’s side, administering the liquid as the others looked on, uncertainty hanging in the air.

    “Where did you get this cure?” Dorian asked, his voice a mixture of disbelief and suspicion.

    Amara wiped at her eyes, tears flowing freely now. “Nora… remember? He died of food poisoning. Ever since that day, I’ve carried this with meb–/bbjust /bbin /bcase. Oh god, poor Elder Randy…”

    A hush fell over the room.

    One of the elders, draped in a grey cloak, spoke up, his voice cold and using “You can’t be sure that cure will work on Elder Bandy and right poison?”

    Amara faltered, shaking her head. “No, father…”

    “I think we need to find the person who poisoned Randy,” Elder Briar boomed, his voice rising with authority. “And they should be the one to provide the

    cure.”

    Dorian nodded, his gaze steely. “We’ll have the soldiersb the garden for any suspicious activity. We’ll check the security footage.

    But Elder Briar’s words cut through the air with icy finality. “You can do that, but I think the criminal is standing right here.”

    A gasp rippled through the crowd.

    I froze, my heart stopping for a moment as Elder Briar’s gaze locked onto me.

    “What is he saying?” I whispered, my voice trembling.

    “This is nonsense!” I shot back, my voice trembling with shock and anger.

    Dorian’s voice, dark and full of warning, rang out behind me. “Careful, Elder Briar. That’s my Queen you’re pointing at.”

    Briar stood taller, his chest puffing up with arrogance. “I know exactly who she is. But she was the one who carried the barrel of beer into the venue. Everyone saw her bring it in. She’s the best suspect.”

    My mind raced. “That’s your evidence?” I snapped. “I was just helping a maid with the barrel. She couldn’t lift it alone!”

    “Where’s the maid, then?” Briar pressed, his gaze hard.

    I shot a quick nced at Dorian. “You saw her, right? When you came up behind me?”

    Dorian hesitated for a beat, his gaze flickering briefly. “I didn’t see her with my own eyes.”

    I stared at him, disbelief crawling up my spine. The maid had been right there. How could he not have seen her?

    “Where is Eliza? She was with me! She saw the maid!” I turned to Amara, panic creeping into my voice.

    Amara rushed out, returning momentster with Eliza.

    “Eliza, you saw the maid, didn’t you?” I asked urgently.

    Eliza’s gaze dropped, her body trembling.

    “I… I don’t know what you’re talking about, Lady ra,i” /ishe whispered, her voice barely audible.

    “What?” My heart stopped. “You were the one who said-”

    But Eliza only shook her head, her hands trembling.

    Amara wrapped an arm around her, offering herfort. “It’s okay, Eliza. You told the truth. You’re brave.”

    I took a step back, the weight of what was happening crashing down on me.

    “Truth?” I spat. “This is a lie! This is all a setupi! /i

    Amara‘ voice was calm, almost too calm, as she lifted her tear–streaked face to mine. “Maybe it’s time you own up to it. Maybe bthe /bKing will be merciful if you do.”

    The words cut through me like a de,

    b3/4 /b

    I finally understood.

    It was a trap.

    Eliza’s lie confirmed everything. Amara had manipted her.

    I turned to Dorian, my eyes cold with fury. “Do you believe me?”

    His jaw clenched. “…You have a motive,” he murmured, the words more an usation than a question.

    I stared at him in disbelief. “What motive? I barely know the man!”

    Dorian leaned in, his voice low and cutting. “I think you’re trying to y me. Do iyou /ithink that killing one of my elders will free you from our deal?”

    I couldn’t believe it. “Is that what you think?” Iughed bitterly.

    Dorian’s eyes locked onto mine. “Yes. Because that’s how smart I think you are.”

    He leaned closer, his whisper meant only for me. “Hand over the cure, and I’ll protect you. But if not… you’re on your own.”

    My body shook with anger, my fists clenched so tightly that my nails dug into my palms.

    How could I hand over a cure I didn’t even have?

    The moment hung between us like a ticking time bomb.

    Then, just as I thought I was going to lose it, a voice rang out from outside the room.

    “Hold on! I have a witness!!!”

    bAD /b