Alaric POV

I must do everything to save the one who brings me peace. My chest felt tight. I looked at Sophie.

She sat beside me. She looked tired. Her skin was pale. I looked at the silver blade in her hand. The metal caught the morning light. It looked sharp. It looked final.

"I will talk to my grandmother." I said.

I stepped toward her. I reached for the blade.

"I will return this dagger to her now. She cannot hold your life over your head like this."

"No." Sophie said.

She stepped back. She pulled the dagger away from my reach.

"We should work together to find the culprit. Returning the dagger will not make the young prince well. If I hide from this, Isolde wins. If I fail to find the truth, the Prince dies. That is the real tragedy."

I looked at her. Her eyes held a fire I did not expect. She was not just trying to survive. She wanted justice.

I admired her strength. I agreed with her logic. I still reached out. This time, I did not ask. I wrapped my fingers around her wrist. I gently took the dagger from her hand. I tucked it into my leather belt.

"I will keep this." I said.

"I cannot forgive myself if you die after three days. I cannot let you keep the tool of your own death. If the time comes, I will be the one to face my grandmother. Not you."

Sophie sighed. She rubbed her wrist. She did not argue further.

She knew I was stubborn. I looked at her. I needed to focus. My brain felt slow from three days of hunger. I took a deep breath.

"Where do we start?" I asked.

"I know the food did not cause this." Sophie said.

She walked to the table. She touched the empty bowl of broth.

"You ate the same meal. We must check the ingredients again. We need to see if something was in the Prince's meal that was not supposed to be. Did he eat something else? Did he go somewhere before he came here?"

She looked toward the door. She was thinking like a detective.

"First we should ask Roland a question." She said.

"Did Young Prince Daemon visit anyone else that day? Did he eat anything else before he came to your table? We need a timeline of his day."

I agreed. I walked to the door. I pulled it open. Roland was there. He had been waiting in the hall. He looked at me with a question in his eyes.

"Roland." I said.

"I need you to move fast. Go make findings. Did the Young Prince visit anyone else on the day he dined with me? Did he eat or drink anything else in the palace? Talk to his personal guards. Talk to the maids in his wing."

Roland nodded. He did not ask why. He saw the intensity in my gaze.

"I will find out, Sire." He said.

He bowed. He turned and left.

I turned back into the room. I sent for Cassian. He arrived a few minutes later. He pushed past the guards. He looked at me. He looked at my messy hair. He looked at the half empty bowl of broth.

"Has His Majesty come back to his senses or is there." Cassian paused.

He saw Sophie standing by the window. His jaw dropped.

"How is she here? I thought she was in the depths."

"Quiet Cassian." I said.

I did not have time for his shock.

"I called you here for a task. You are my most trusted eyes. Go meet the royal doctor. Ask him for a list of things the Young Prince cannot eat. Some children have sensitivities. Some have allergies. Go to the palace archive. Search for the list of ingredients the young prince must not consume. Confirm whatever the doctor says. Do not trust his memory alone."

Cassian nodded. He looked at Sophie again. He saw the bruises on her face. His expression softened. He realized the stakes. He left the room without another joke.

I paced the floor. My boots made a heavy sound on the stone. Sophie watched me. She looked out the window. She seemed to be counting the clouds. Every minute felt like an hour.

Roland returned after some time. He looked grim. He wiped sweat from his forehead.

"The Young Prince did not visit anyone." Roland said.

"His guards confirm he stayed in his room all morning. He ate nothing else that day. He wanted to save his appetite for your table. He came straight to your chambers for the meal."

I looked at Sophie. I felt discomfort. This was not the answer I wanted. I did not believe her food was the cause. I felt someone was playing a hard trick. I felt a professional was at work. Someone knew the schedule. Someone knew the menu.

Thomas entered the room. He is the man of secrets. He usually stays in the shadows. He walked to me. He whispered in my ear.

"Your Majesty." Thomas said.

His voice was a low rasp.

"I found Eunuch George's charcoal. He used it for writing his reports. I found it just outside the border of the Kingdom. In the dirt near the old road."

I looked at him with shock.

George was the one who recorded the kitchen logs. He had been missing since the night of the dinner.

"Does that mean someone took him?" I asked.

"Yes." Thomas said.

"The ground looks like someone dragged him. It was a struggle. I followed the trail for miles. I saw one of his shoes by the path. Then the trail stopped at the rocky pass. The person doing this is trained. They are a professional. They did not leave a single footprint after the rocks."

"Stay on it." I said.

"We must find the truth about George. If he is alive, he should know what happened in that kitchen."

Thomas bowed. He vanished back into the hallway.

Cassian came back. He held a piece of parchment. He dropped the list on the table.

"I found the medical records." Cassian said.

"The doctor was hesitant to share. I reminded him who pays his salary. I must go back to the archives to check the seal on the records. Something feels off."

He left quickly. I called the maids.

"Clear this place." I said.

"We start the investigation now."

The maids cleared the plates. They moved in silence. They knew the mood in the room was dangerous.

Sophie brought the list of ingredients she used for the meal. She wrote them down from memory. We compared the two lists. We at my desk. We looked at the medical restrictions for Prince Daemon.

None of the ingredients she used were on the restricted list for the Prince. There were no allergies listed. There were no warnings.

"There is nothing here." Sophie said. She leaned back. She looked at the ceiling.

"If it was not the ingredients. And he ate nothing else. Then how did he get sick?"

"Maybe it was the quantity?" I suggested.

"No." Sophie said.

"He ate a normal portion. You ate more than he did."

We looked at each other. The sun was setting. Everything we tried led to a dead end. Every lead was a cold trail. The missing Eunuch was gone.

The clock was ticking in my head. Sophie had two days left. Two days until she was expected to use the dagger in my belt.

I looked at her. I saw the fear she was trying to hide. I saw the way her hand trembled as she reached for the list again.

"We are missing something." I said.

"Someone is smarter than us. Someone wants us to see a dead end."

I stood up. I walked to the window. The kingdom looked peaceful below. But inside these walls, a war was happening.

A war of poison and secrets. I felt the hunger in my stomach return. It was not a hunger for food. It was a hunger for the truth.

Alaric POV

A knock on the door woke me. It was Roland. I opened my eyes.

Sophie slept on the chair near my desk. She looked peaceful. I saw the steady rise and fall of her chest. Her presence brought me soothing relief. I did not want to disturb her.

"Come in softly." I whispered.

Roland walked into the room. He stepped lightly on the floor. He opened his mouth to speak. I raised my finger to my lips.

"Shhhh." I said.

I pointed at Sophie.

"Speak quietly. Let her sleep."

"Alpha the elders are gathered in the hall." Roland whispered.

"They demand to see you. They want to discuss the palace security and the Prince."

"I have something more important to tackle." I said.

I looked at the morning light hitting the floor.

"Tell the elders to come back tomorrow. I will not see them today."

Roland nodded. He bowed and left the room. I turned to Sophie. I remembered the deadline. We did not have much time left.

I reached out and tapped her shoulder. She woke up instantly. She looked around the room.

"Have you found any clue?" Sophie asked.

She rubbed her eyes.

"No." I said.

"I do not think staying in this room will give us any answers. We need to visit the young prince. We must see how he is doing. We need more information directly from his mother."

Sophie stood up. She smoothed her blue silk dress. She agreed with my plan.

I arranged my tunic. We headed for the quarters of Queen Mother Isolde.

The maids announced my arrival. Isolde ran out of the inner chamber. Her face was red with anger. She saw Sophie behind me.

"What are you doing here?" Isolde shouted.

"Have you come to finish what you started? Have you come to watch my son die?"

"Watch your mouth." I said. My voice was low.

"I have come to see how my brother is doing. I am the Alpha King. No one tells me where to go in my own kingdom."

I walked past her. I did not wait for her permission. I headed for the bed. Young Prince Daemon lay there. He was struggling for his life. His breath was a shallow rattle. I looked at the maids standing by the wall.

"Who did he visit before and after he dined with me?" I asked.

"He was with Queen Mother Isolde before he visited you." A maid said.

"He came back to her after he dined. He did not visit anyone else."

I scanned the room. I looked for anything unusual. My eyes met a small sack on the side table. It was made of thick linen.

"What is that?" I asked.

"It is his medication." Isolde said.

She stepped closer to the bed.

"He takes it every evening. That is the only thing he took after dining with you."

"Who supplies the medication?" I asked.

"Grand Prince Magnus supplies it." She replied. She narrowed her eyes.

"Are you implying that the Grand Prince wants to kill my son? That is madness."

"I only asked a question. Why are you been so defensive?" I asked.

I looked at the sack.

"Give me one of the medicine. We need to check it. We already checked the ingredients Sophie used. The problem is not there. We must examine the medication. It was the only other thing he consumed."

"The Grand Prince examines the ingredients well." Isolde said.

She shook her head.

"He has been suppling this for a long time. Magnus has no motive to kill my son."

I smiled at her. It was not a friendly smile.

"I am not accusing anyone." I said.

"We just want to be sure."

I took the medication from the table. I grabbed Sophie's hand. We headed back to my quarters. We sat at the desk.

I opened the linen sack. I poured the medicine out. They were different ingredients in it. I broke took one of the ingredient. I tasted it. It was bitter. It tasted like rat poop. It had a foul smell.

"Look at this." I said.

I showed the black thing to Sophie.

"This tastes like waste. This is rat poop. It smells rotten."

"It cannot be rat poop." Sophie said.

She leaned in to smell it. She frowned.

"It must be an ingredient we are not familiar with. It is a strange compound."

Sophie looked at the sack. She looked at the darkening sky outside the window.

"I will take some of this to my quarters." She said.

"I need to continue the investigation. I will check what that is. I will find out if it is used for medicine. If I find anything, I will let you know immediately."

I watched her leave. She carried the samples in her hand. My heart sank as the door closed.

It was the end of the second day. We still had nothing. No cure. No proof.

Tomorrow is the last day. Sophie dies if we cannot find what is wrong with the young prince.

I looked at the silver blade sitting on my table. I became restless.

The wolf inside me wanted to tear the palace apart.

Sophie POV

I left the Alpha chamber. I walked down the hallway. I headed for my quarters. I held the linen sack tight.

I met Martha on my way. She stopped. She sniffed the air. Her nose wrinkled in disgust.

"What is that foul smell around you?" Martha asked.

I looked at her. I opened my hand.

"I am carrying the medication Young Prince Daemon took." I said.

"I am investigating it."

Martha followed me to my room. She wanted to help.

We entered the small space. I placed the sack on the wooden table. Martha took the medication. She smelled every piece of ingredient used.

Martha has the nose of a dog. She identifies spices from across the kitchen. She found a tiny black object. It looked like rat poop. She made a sound.

"Why does this smell like rat poop?" Martha asked.

"Alaric said the same thing." I said.

"I think it is an ingredient we do not know."

"I do not think so." Martha said.

"Nature does not make medicine that smells of rot."

Martha left for her room.

I sat all night. I looked at the black ingredient. I tried to remember every herb I ever studied. I did not get a good answer. My eyes grew heavy.

I slept for a few minutes. A loud voice woke me.

"Sophie!" Cassian called.

I sat up. My neck felt stiff.

I opened the door. Cassian looked frantic.

"The Alpha is sick." Cassian said.

I rose to my feet in a hurry. My heart hammered against my ribs.

"What! He was okay when I left him last night." I said.

"He cannot get on his feet this morning." Cassian replied.

"He is burning with heat."

I adjusted my dress. I ran to the Alpha chamber. I pushed past the guards. The royal doctor stood by the bed. He held a cold cloth.

"What is wrong?" I asked.

"The Alpha has a high fever." The doctor said.

"How?" I asked.

"Probably from lack of rest and stress." The doctor said.

"That is not enough to cause this." I said.

I stepped to the bedside. I touched Alaric on the arm. His skin felt like fire.

I remembered Martha's words. I looked at Alaric. His face was pale. His eyes were glazed. He looked at me but he did not speak.

"Did you eat anything apart from my meal?" I asked.

"I only eat food from you." Alaric said. His voice was a rasp.

"But you tasted the prince's medication." I said.

Alaric looked at me. He understood my point. I turned to the royal doctor.

"The prince ate my food." I said.

"He took his medication. Now he has a high fever. Alaric only tasted the medication. Now he has a fever too. The Young Prince took a whole portion. That is why he is dying."

"How would you know the problem is the medication?" The doctor asked.

"There is an ingredient like rat poop in it." I said.

"It has a foul smell. It sits in the linen sack on my table."

The royal doctor laughed. He shook his head.

"That is not rat poop. It is squirrel droppings. It is a rare ingredient. It is good for medication. It only causes trouble if it meets the wrong ingredient like ginger."

I shouted. "There it is! I put ginger in all my food. The prince ate my food containing ginger and took the medication. Alaric ate my food containing ginger and tasted it."

"That is right." the doctor said.

"The two chemicals fight in the blood. They create a heat that burns the brain. How did you find the problem so quickly?"

"Is there a cure?" Alaric asked.

He tried to sit up. He winced.

"I will make an antidote for you immediately." The doctor said.

"I am not talking about me." Alaric growled.

"I am talking about Prince Daemon."

"The Prince is critical." The doctor replied.

"He took the mixture for a long time. We need a stronger antidote to flush his system. It must be potent."

"Go." Alaric said.

"Bring both antidotes here. Do not stop for anyone."

The doctor hurried out. Alaric looked at me. The fever made his golden eyes look dark.

"Thank you for finding a solution." He said. "At least I will not lose you again."

I smiled. I felt a wave of relief.

"Rest your head before the antidote comes." I said.

I pushed him to lie down. He did not fight me. He grabbed my hands. He dragged me toward him. I fell on his chest. My face was an inch away from his. I tried to get up. He pulled me closer.

"Please stay for a moment." He said.

"Someone might come in." I whispered. My heart beat fast.

"Shhhh." He took his hands to his mouth gesturing I should be quiet.

I laid there. I watched him breathe. I felt the heat of his body.

The guards announced the doctor after a while.

I stood up quickly. I adjusted my dress. I smoothed my hair.

The doctor came in with two bowls. Alaric drank his. I thought about the situation. This was not a mistake. Someone added that ingredient. That person knows I use ginger in my kitchen.

"Where is the antidote for the prince?" Alaric asked.

"It is here." The doctor said.

"I wanted to give you yours first."

"I want to be there when you give it to him." Alaric said.

"You are not strong." the doctor said.

"I am fine." Alaric replied.

He stood up. He walked to the door. We followed him to the quarters of Queen Mother Isolde.

The Grand Queen Mother was there. She stood by the window. She stared at me. Her look said my time ended today.

"I brought the antidote." The doctor said.

"How?" Isolde shouted. She stood by her son.

"You do not know what is wrong."

"The Chef solved the mystery." The doctor said.

"An ingredient in the medication reacts with ginger. It causes high fever. The food had ginger. The medicine had squirrel droppings."

Isolde looked at me with hate. She did not want to thank me. She wanted her son back.

"Help him sit up." The doctor said.

"He cannot swallow." Isolde said.

"Do it." The Grand Queen Mother commanded.

"Unless you want him dead."

Isolde sat him up. She forced his mouth open. His teeth were locked tight.

The doctor poured the liquid in. They forced him to drink.

The prince started to jerk. His body shook hard. He looked like he would snap in half.

"They have come to finish him!" Isolde screamed.

"They have come to kill my son! If my son dies, Alaric and this girl will go to the grave with him!"