“But not impossible.” Her shoulders drooped, as if she’d been hoping he would argue with her and convince her she was wrong.
He wished he could, but once the seed of doubt was planted, it took root. “Good people can do the wrong thing for the right reasons,” Ven said slowly. Plenty of champions were upset when their heirs died and Daleina emerged. Many thought she was unqualified and unworthy. He’d heard rumblings . . . Nothing to suggest that anyone meant her harm, but enough to know she had few fans among the champions. They’d yet to be impressed with her. She’d been careful with her power ever since being crowned and very careful after falling ill, and while the people might have seen her as cautious, there were those who saw her as weak. “Still, these are your champions we’re talking about. You shouldn’t doubt us. I can. But I’m a bitter, jaded old man, and you’re the fresh face of hope and light.” He shook his head. Now that she’d introduced the idea, he couldn’t help but cycle through each of the champions, evaluating them: Piriandra, Cabe, Ambir . . . No, it was unbelievable that he was even considering this.
“It’s not a likely enough possibility for me to spare an investigator,” Daleina conceded. “But I thought perhaps you could question them, if only to lay our worries to rest.”
“I can’t approach them in the middle of training. They’d think I was there to poach their candidate, or at least disrupt their training. You need a neutral party.” Ven paced harder, his feet grinding into the amber floor. He knew the other champions. He’d never succeed in cracking through their secrets. “Not neutral. Someone who is loyal to you alone. Captain Alet.”
She sank into her throne. “Yes. Of course, yes. She’s perfect.”
“Tell them she’s there to assist, in the interest of fairness. All of them know she assisted me. Or that she’s there to evaluate them, to determine if their candidates are ready for the trials. Either way, they won’t suspect the truth.” And if, however unlikely it was, Alet were to uncover the killer, at least she could defend herself, unlike an ordinary investigator. She was one of the few who stood a chance to survive such a discovery. She’d be able to report, even subdue the guilty party and secure the poison. He’d seen enough of her skills to know she could bring down a champion. He felt a chill, thinking of anyone taking down a champion, revealing them as a traitor and a murderer . . . “Daleina, you realize we’re grasping at straws here. The poisoner is far more likely to be a disgruntled political enemy or some heartbroken citizen than a hero of the realm.”
Softly, the queen said, “I know. But Ven, don’t you see? There’s hope now. I can’t let it slip away. I have to do everything I can.”
“I know,” he said. “And we will.”
Telling Ven her suspicions hadn’t been so hard. Asking Alet to spy on the heroes of Aratay would be harder. Daleina wasn’t going to order her to do it. She wanted this to come from a friend, not a queen. She didn’t know why that mattered to her, but it did. It was such a ridiculous idea that she couldn’t make it a royal command.
Given that, she didn’t want to talk to Alet in the Sunrise Room. She’d rather discuss it in her quarters. Coming back, she’d expected to find her sister, but Arin hadn’t returned. Just as well, she told herself, because this conversation isn’t for her ears. Still . . . maybe she shouldn’t keep sending Arin away. She missed her. She’s safer if she’s not with me, Daleina reminded herself.
Captain Alet shut the door behind them. Daleina saw her eyes sweep over the chamber, cataloguing the points of entry and searching out any dangers. Ven did the same thing every time he entered the room—it must have been something in their training, a constant alertness. Daleina did it too, but she scanned for spirits, not humans. That may have been her mistake.
She wondered where the poisoner had caught her. Had the poison been in her food or drink? Had she been pricked by a poisoned blade, so slight that she didn’t notice? Was it spread on a surface that she touched, like her pillow? It could have been dusted into her dresses. She could have breathed it in. Others could have been infected as well.
She’d ask Hamon later if his mother knew how the poison had been delivered. She’d have him look into any other cases of False Death that had been reported recently . . . That was actually a good idea. If others had been poisoned, perhaps they could find a pattern . . . The poisoner could have experimented, or simply had other targets as well.
“You’re thinking,” Alet said. “I know that look on your face. I will be outside if you need me.”
Daleina shook her head and suddenly all the thoughts felt as if they were screaming inside her mind. She crossed the room to Alet’s side. “Don’t leave.” In a rush, she said, “I’m not sick.”
Alet’s eyes widened, and her mouth parted.
Daleina suddenly realized how that sounded. “I’m still dying. But I’m not sick, not naturally. I’ve been poisoned.”
Alet’s mouth shut and then she asked, “Are you certain?”
“Experts told me it was true. And I want to believe it’s true.”
“You do?”
“Because poisons have antidotes.” She suddenly felt herself smiling, as if the sun were beaming down through the trees. She pulled Alet across the room to the balcony into the sunlight. Only a sliver of it had beat its way through the thick canopy of leaves, but that patch was enough. “Look, it’s a metaphor for hope! Feel that!”
Alet was staring at her. “I’ll fetch Healer Hamon. Delusions could be a side effect—”
“Hamon told me this himself,” Daleina said. “Don’t you want to believe it’s true?”
“What I want and what is true seldom have anything to do with each other,” Alet said, pulling away. “It’s too good to be true, especially if Hamon has the antidote. Does he?”
“Not yet. First we need to find the poisoner. Determine exactly what kind of poison was used. We don’t even know yet how it was delivered. Still . . . there’s hope.” Daleina pointed to the ray of sunshine again, and when Alet didn’t step into it, she tugged on her friend’s hand again.
“I don’t want you to have false hope,” Alet said, not moving. “That can be even more painful.”
“If it’s false hope, I’ll be dead,” Daleina said, “and nothing will be painful anymore.” She wasn’t going to let go of this feeling. She was going to chase every idea she had, follow every clue, do everything she could to keep living. “So I’m going to proceed as though it’s not false. And I want you to help me.”
“Always, my queen.”
Daleina took a deep breath. “The royal investigators are speaking with everyone who had access to me who could have had motivation . . . but there is one group they won’t be approaching: the champions.” She held up a hand to forestall any objections. “I know, it’s ridiculous to even consider suspecting them. But I can’t leave any stone unturned.”
Alet merely nodded. “All right.”