en
halt before the towering obsi
rock of the northern mountains, its colossal walls bea
e twin-headed dragon sigil fluttered
stone-faced man who introduced himself as Mr. Price, the castle st
is sunken eyes held the dull resig
s the vast, sil
ory, the fortress now felt hollow, ch
ked, pulling my woolen cloa
murmur. "Lord Carlisle... is in a critical state, my
of the main keep, stopping at the m
reinforced oak door, a suffo
ail of dried blood, festering f
d, her face draining o
anded quietly, keeping my voic
ped in
gloom, its towering windows b
assive four-poster bed carved with archaic drago
d. Boyce
mors had led me to believe-perha
sculpted, with high cheekbones, a sharp jawline, and pale, platinum-bl
wrought upon his b
iled wool blanket, a monstrous, jagged scar tore
edges, oozing foul fluids where primitive ointments had failed, wi
id not turn
n cold with intense,
rn surgery and trauma care, I recognized gro
ophic battlefield injury-this was deliberate,
ysiological indicators: shallow, erratic respirations, cyanotic nail beds in
there was an unmistakable foreign toxin suppressing his ce
Widow'
oxin my mother had detaile
ically destroying neural pathways while mimicking
im micro-doses for months, making sure
't a slow
ulated, cowardl
the motionless
d by our families, judged as worthless by a co
ambition ignite
him alive as a passive shi
rot, flush the venom from his veins, and reco
ad buried a dead beast, I would
Price stood hovering in distress. "Stew
. it is unfit for a noble bride. The smell alone is toxic!
d onward, his life, his room, and his medical care belong entirely to me. Now, listen carefully: bring me the cleanest boiled l
the command in my voice. He swallowe
turned back to the bed and gently pulled
gers lightly testing his faint pulse. "Your executioner
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