The Castrofax by Jenna Van Vleet Read Free Book Online

struck.
    “My Lady, they go well,” he answered,
straightening in his seat. “General Calsifer is…eager to teach me.”
What he truly meant was Calsifer was eager to see Nolen go. No one
hated the Prince like the General who took orders from him.
    Aisling smirked and raised a brow, thinking
his statement bold though tactfully put. Miranda did not notice
right away. They gave her a moment.
    “Nolen will not be pleased to let go of the
army,” Miranda sighed quietly.
    Aisling gave her a look of subtle horror.
Nolen would do whatever the Queen commanded; a point Miranda
never learned. “I would not worry yourself over it.”
    “You know how much the boy loves his power,”
Miranda sighed and played a finger on the rim of her silver goblet.
“I do not know what he would do.”
    “Perhaps Princess Robyn will be generous and
keep him on as council,” Aisling offered. Balien quietly spat back
his wine as his throat closed on the swallow. Not if his little
sister listened to anything he said. She already knew of their
cousin’s antics and Balien’s opinions on them.
    “Yes, perhaps,” Miranda said dreamily. “Oh,
it is getting late,” she stood smoothly and pressed the wrinkles in
her black-and-white striped dress down. “I am having tea with the
Medextris House.”
    “Please tell Lady Katlyn I send my fondest
greetings,” Aisling smiled as she and Balien stood to give formal
bows. Miranda promised as she swept out.
    Aisling kept her composure well, clasping her
hands and fixing Balien with her cool eyes. However cold she wished
to appear, he saw the warmth in them and was rather proud to call
her his closest confidant. “How fares Nolen?”
    Balien played innocent. “My Lady, I could not
say.”
    The young serving boy entered with a tray of
cakes, and again he pulled the onion and cheese back to offer them
the apple or mushroom.
    “I think the cheese has spoiled,” Balien
whispered, and the boy did his best to keep his smile back.
Aisling’s hand hovered above the mushroom, but with a second
thought she pulled it back.
    “If you have one poisoned, they very well
could all be,” she stated and motioned for the boy to leave.
    “My Lady, I do not know to what you infer,”
said Balien.
    She gave him a condescending smile. “The
barrel of nutmeg from Shalaban was not meant for you?”
    “I am sure it is the kitchens’, good
Lady.”
    “And the vials of calla-lily oil are not
yours?”
    “I am not a man who enjoys flowers, no.”
    “How unusual they should find their way here.
I shall see the nutmeg gets to the kitchens.” She smiled again.
    “It is best you do.”
    She gave a bow of her head. “Very well,” she
walked to the doors. “You know, just the other day I noticed how
many foxgloves we have in the surrounding countryside.”
    “Yes, it has not escaped my attention.”
    “You are an observant one,” she nodded and
left him to his wine.
    He turned to the windows with a smirk. The
Lady missed nothing, and she would keep his secret as well. While
he watched Nolen take the position as Commander-Prince of the army,
a command that should have been Balien’s, he had plenty of time to
research ways to take his unlucky cousin down. A decade ago he
collected all the information he could find on poisonous plants and
devoted his life to making sure they got into Nolen’s food. He had
been poisoning his cousin since Nolen came to Anatoly City and had
many advocates in the kitchens.
    The foxglove caused irregular heartbeats and
digestive upsets. The calla-lily swelled the mouth and throat. When
Balien was feeling devious, a little extra kept Nolen on the privy
for hours. His favorite was the nutmeg, causing nausea and memory
lapses, but the trick was masking the taste. The Mistress of the
Kitchens blended the distinct flavor with cinnamon.
    He was sure the Prince would not know the
difference between either spices.
    Nolen and his mother thought the dusty air of
the City provoked his ailments, so the