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“A day!” Bria exclaimed. “No wonder I feel tired!” As she sat up, the room spun and she reached out for Terran. He steadied her with a firm hand on her shoulder.

“Shall I get the herbalist?”

“Herbalist?” Bria’s mind reeled as a torrent of memories flooded back to her. Running from Kenric. A slap. Kenric forcing the poison into her mouth. She gasped, grabbing Terran’s strong arm. “Terran, Kenric poisoned me.”

Terran nodded. “Just rest right now.”

“He had your herbalist make a poison and killed Odella. I saw him kill the old woman, your herbalist. That was when Mary was taken. I ran away. He tried to kill me because I saw him!”

“Shh,” Terran soothed. “Don’t worry. You have to rest.”

“Terran, you have to believe me. He said Odella knew too much and that was why he poisoned her,” Bria said.

A scowl crossed his brow. “Too much about what?”

Bria’s troubled gaze met Terran’s. She didn’t know. She didn’t have the answer to the puzzle. The more she thought about it, the more exhausted she became. “Please be careful, Terran,” Bria finally said. “Kenric might try to kill you.” She lay back on the bed, weak from fatigue.

Terran bent over her to lightly kiss her lips. “I will, my dearest,” he promised. “You rest.”

Bria’s eyes closed and her worries faded away beneath a blanket of blissful sleep.

Terran entered the Great Hall to find Kenric lounging near the hearth, laughing with Sir William, Terran’s captain of the guard. A dark scowl crossed Terran’s features; his fists clenched tight at his sides. He moved toward his cousin.

Kenric turned to him, his smile fading. “M’lord, how is Lady Bria?”

Terran ignored him. “I would have a word with you, cousin.”

Kenric nodded stiffly, if a bit apprehensively, and Sir William moved away.

“She said you poisoned her,” Terran said through clenched teeth.

“What?” Kenric gasped. “Me? I would never... you can’t believe that!”

“Did you poison her, Randolph?” Terran demanded.

“Why would I poison her? She is my lady!”

“Did you poison her?”

“No!” Kenric shouted, drawing stares from the others in the room. He lowered his voice. “Don’t you see what she’s doing? She is trying to turn us against each other.”

“There’s no reason for her to do that.”

“No reason? The Midnight Shadow is her reason! They’re working together against us. I’m trying to stop him, and all she does is defend him. She’s trying to distract us. We must stay focused on getting rid of that thief.”

Doubt settled in Terran’s mind. The Midnight Shadow. He wasn’t Bria’s lover. What was he to her, then?

“Has she told you who he is?” Kenric persisted.

Terran looked away.

“How can you believe anything she says if she won’t give you the name of your enemy?” Kenric asked. “Women are dangerous creatures, m’lord. Never to be trusted.”

Terran glanced at Kenric. His cousin was right. While the Midnight Shadow still lived and breathed, he could never truly trust Bria. She still keeps secrets. How can she expect me to believe her? Randolph wouldn’t have poisoned her. She poses no threat to him. But who had? And why?

“Lord Knowles!” a voice boomed from behind them.

Terran turned to see two men marching toward him -- two familiar men. Terran faced them.