Scarlette Romanov

Sierra stood outside Macha's door and stared at the engravings that decorated the finely polished wood. In her hand, she squeezed the piece of paper that had the type of poison the assassin used written on it. Below the poison's name were instructions on how to obtain the antidote.

Earlier she had gotten into an argument with Alcinous about handing this knowledge over to the King. He vehemently argued that Freyr did not need to know this information right now. He said they could just pretend that Francis's patron gave him the poison. In the end, she had won because she threatened to reveal that he was withholding facts.

As she stared down at the crumpled paper she held, she grew unsure of what Freyr's actions would be. Before she could regret her honesty, she hurriedly knocked on the chamber's door.

There was no sound for a few moments. She raised her fist to knock again, but Freyr's hollow voice called, "You may enter."

Sierra opened the door. The suite leading up to the bedroom was dark, except for the soft glow of the bedside lamp. When she entered the bedroom, she saw the King sitting on the bed with a solemn expression on his face. He looked disheveled and barely resembled the man who usually lit up a crowd with his presence.

Her amber eyes fell on Macha's sleeping form. Since last night, the medics had healed the small woman's arm, but they could not pull out the toxin that coursed through her blood.

Clearing her voice, Sierra handed him the paper and stated, "We found out what poison the assassin used." The Sathar did a thorough job of sifting through Francis's memories. He targeted many high profile figures throughout the years and seemed to have worked for only one person.

For the first time in hours, Freyr stood up. He quickly grabbed the report and read it. His brows furrowed as his eyes skimmed down the paper. "Get the airship ready. We are leaving within the hour," he commanded. Now that there was a way to cure Macha, he wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"Your Majesty, you can't. I'll go." This had been what she was afraid of. The whole trip would take a little over a month with the royal aircraft. She worried that word would get out of his absence. He also needed to deal with Francis's patron, which was another uneasy topic she desired to talk about with the King.

He gave Sierra a puzzled look. This was not a request he was making. After everything that happened, he would personally ensure that Macha received the antidote. The woman he loved was hurt, of course, he would do anything within his power to save her. Looking beyond his affection, he also felt responsible for the situation and wanted to right his wrong.

Freyr gazed at Macha and moved to exit the room. He glanced over his shoulder at Sierra and explained, "I cannot entrust anyone else to carry out this task but myself. Despite the spell, time is still ticking for her. Do you really expect me to sit back while I send others to save her?"

Sierra chased after him, not caring if he was entering his chamber to change. Desperate to stop him, she blurted out, "We also found out who hired Francis. You need to deal with her. I can get the antidote, do you not trust me?"

He had not left Macha's side since they returned, so he did not have a shirt on. He rushed over to his dresser and pulled out a tunic. As he did this, he thought about how to answer his friend.

His head popped out of the blue tunic's collar and he decided, "Have the Sathar take care of whoever it was." After pulling his arms through the long sleeves he added, "Sierra, I am sorry. The assassin made his way into the courtyard. It is not like this happened on the streets. I trust you, but not enough to save her. This is more important to me than my life."

The words stung her pride. As soon as the attack hit, she realized she had been remiss in her duties. She had been too focused on the other areas and let her guard down when it came to the headquarters of the Obsidian Dragons.

He saw that she still made no move to prepare the airship. His voice grew firmer, "Sierra, I order you to ready the ship and assemble a team to go out with us. 𝘕𝘰𝘸!" Every day that passed for them equated to a second of time for Macha. She had already spent a few minutes with the poison in her system and he worried that she could die while he was away.

Sierra closed her eyes and shook her head with regret. Alcinous had been correct in his prediction. He realized the King would personally travel to acquire the antidote.

If Freyr left, then the Sathar would deal with the traitor however they pleased because it fell under their jurisdiction. While the King's life was in danger, they had full authority to do what they wished unless the King declared otherwise.

The Romanov family was one of the more powerful families in the country and she understood that Freyr was close to the leader, Scarlette. The woman had acted as a mentor who watched him grow up and had been a devoted friend of his father. Scarlette and he were so close that he stood by her side when she was caught committing adultery.

Before leaving, Sierra needed to inform him of Scarlette's treason. She hoped he would choose to stay behind to deal with the woman. Without thinking, she blurted out, "Scarlet Romanov acted as Francis's patron for years. She ordered the assassin to kill many people." She wanted to break the news to him with more tact, but she was too unsettled right now.

Freyr stopped changing and stared at her. "What?" His eyes grew wide with disbelief. He almost considered Scarlette to be on the same level as his own family. She was closer to him than his own Aunt Hrod.

Sierra immediately felt guilty for how she disclosed the information. She lowered her gaze, "I'm sorry. The Sathar found out an hour ago, and I needed to tell you. I figured you would want to deal with her personally, but if you go, then Alcinous will..."

The betrayal hurt him as much as when he discovered that Arawn led the drug problems in Marseille. Scarlette had been one of the last people he imagined would be behind his assassination attempt, but he knew the Sathar would not lie about this.

He turned his back to Sierra so she could not see the tears that formed in the corner of his eyes. In a soft voice, he commanded, "Get the airship ready."