The Poisoned King

Pure rage consumes Anya as she insists on her father’s innocence. She scratches at those restraining her as they lead her from the ballroom to her bedroom. There, Madame Elena burns dried somulent leaves under Anya’s nose. Anya falls asleep as the royal gaganas flock to her bed.

Anya wakes with a burning thirst that water cannot quench. Despairing, she hides under her covers, but the gaganas force her up, refusing to allow misery. She feeds Koo, whose vulnerability gives her courage. Anya tells Gallia and Coren that her father was framed. She decides she must learn the poison’s origin.

Anya dresses in soft blue silk to appear sweet and unassuming. In the corridors, she overhears two privy council members discussing her fate. They speculate that Claude, now regent, will send her to school and rule until she turns 18 and becomes queen. One remarks, “the gloves will be off” now that Claude is king (60), sparking a flicker of recognition in Anya.

Dr. Ferrara tells Anya that the poison used to kill the king is unknown in the Archipelago and could be from the Outerlands. The physician reveals that since the Immortal’s Flight, some waybetweens have remained open year-round. The New York route is guarded by a chimaera, and the Scottish route by Frank Aureate, a human. Dr. Ferrara mentions Frank’s grandson, Christopher, who is celebrated in mermaid songs.

Anya tries to see her imprisoned father but is turned away. She bursts into Claude’s study, interrupting a meeting with Chancellor Rillian Gerund and military officials, and requests access. Claude refuses, announcing plans to send her to school. Anya argues that the poison’s likely origin in the Outerlands proves her father’s innocence, but Claude dismisses this.

Anya notices Claude quickly hides a small black book. Asking for a hug, she steals it. Later, Anya discovers the book is written in unknown runes, and an inscription reads “EST HIC LIBER MUSEI METROPOLITANI ARTIUM” (69). She decides to investigate her grandfather’s chambers.

Anya navigates secret passages by phoenix-feather light to break into her grandfather’s locked bedchamber. Royal custom requires the body to lie in state for 70 hours. Outside the door stands Captain Roegan, the guard who shot Felin. Coren crashes into a chandelier as a distraction, and Anya uses rascovnic to unlock the door.

Inside, she pulls back the sheet covering her grandfather’s body, terrified by his anguished expression and the metallic scent of poison. She cuts a piece of cloth bearing poison from his collar for evidence, then kisses his forehead in sorrow. While searching the room, she discovers Claude’s signature white gloves, stained with poison, hidden in the chimney. She realizes with certainty that Claude murdered his father and framed Argus, the rightful heir to the throne, by planting the vial during their embrace. She recalls seeing Claude near the secret passage with a spiderweb on his face. The gloves are just out of reach. As Anya fetches a chair, Claude and the guard arrive at the door.

Claude enters the seemingly empty chamber and threatens Captain Roegan into leaving. Anya watches from the balcony as Claude retrieves the gloves and burns them in the fireplace, destroying the evidence. Murderous rage fills her. Claude notices the cut collar and searches the room. Anya escapes by dropping to a balcony below and then to the ground. She hides behind a tree as Claude scans the garden, then runs back through the castle.

Anya collides with Dr. Ferrara, who is being escorted by two guards. The doctor explains that Claude has summoned her for questioning in the middle of the night. Anya begs to speak privately, but Dr. Ferrara promises to return at first light. Early the next morning, Dr. Ferrara discovers Anya’s room empty, the bed unslept in.

Chancellor Rillian Gerund wakes Anya before dawn, announcing she is being sent immediately to a boarding school on Lithia. Gerund avoids her eyes, and Anya realizes he will not disobey Claude’s orders. She packs quickly, hiding Koo in a wool-lined tin with her last rascovnic stems.

Three soldiers escort Anya on horseback, including Captain Roegan and a man named Samvel. Instead of heading to the docks, they ride into the forest. When they halt, Samvel offers Anya strawberry cordial. She smells the metallic scent of poison and refuses. The soldiers draw swords, revealing their orders to kill her and make it appear she died fleeing home. Anya realizes Claude needs her dead to secure the throne. Gallia attacks and is wounded, flying off into the forest.

Anya convinces the soldiers to let her drink the poison herself to spare their guilt. When they untie her hands, she smashes the glass into Roegan’s face, grabs his sword, cuts her ankle ropes, and runs.

Anya flees through the forest pursued by the soldiers. When one grabs her hair, she cuts off her own plait to escape. A flock of gaganas, summoned by Gallia, attacks the soldier. A herd of al-mirajes (golden-horned hares) charges Samvel, delaying him while Anya climbs a tree and leaps from treetop to treetop. She drops to the ground and sprints toward the great lake, hoping to reach the castle and call for help. Samvel and the bleeding Roegan corner her at the lake’s edge. A winged sphinx with a boy on her back flies in and lands beside them.

Anya secures Naravirala’s help by answering a riddle. As Roegan aims his crossbow at her, the sphinx attacks. Roegan fires a bolt that strikes the sphinx’s leg as she tears away the weapon and his thumb. Christopher pulls Anya onto the sphinx’s back, and they take flight. Naravirala commands Christopher to extract the barbed arrow from her leg.

Christopher introduces himself. A tiny dragon named Jacques sits on his shoulder. The wounded Gallia flies up to join them, and Anya embraces the old bird. She checks on Koo, who is safe, and tells Christopher her story.

After an hour of flight, Anya begins shaking uncontrollably from the cold and shock. Naravirala lands on a promontory on the island of Edem so she can drink, and they can rest. They encounter a herd of centicores, goat-like creatures with swivelling horns. Christopher milks one, giving the milk to Anya; as she drinks it, warmth spreads through her body. Anya notices an apple-shaped mark on Christopher’s cheek and realizes he is the guardian from the mermaid songs. Christopher confirms his identity, explaining that Jacques summoned him to investigate why the dragons are dying. When Anya asks if he knew the Immortal—an eternal soul who is reborn after each death—Christopher touches his scar and says he knew and loved Mal Arvorian.

Jacques suggests continuing to Sarkany’s cave, but Christopher insists on helping Anya. Jacques reveals that Fidens Nighthand, a Berserker with a volcanic temperament, and Irian Guinne, a nereid woman, are on the islet of Glimt. They decide to seek refuge there. Naravirala leads Anya to a freshwater spring, but drinking does not quench the burning in her throat. The sphinx tells her the thirst is not for water but for truth, justice, and “something darker.” She warns Anya not to let this consume her heart. Anya understands that the burning is a thirst for revenge, and she resolves to kill her uncle.

They fly to Glimt, and Naravirala lands in a clearing. Instructing Anya and Christopher to sleep, Naravirala covers them with her wings for warmth. The sphinx stands watch over the sleeping children, then eats the pigeon she caught.