9 Chapter 8: Murder

I swallowed audibly as I became aware of the Prince's presence. He wore his usual smirk and leaned casually against the wall on the other side of the terrace. He gestured to my tousled hair and bare feet.

"I think I prefer you this way. Nice and tousled." He took another drag. I rolled my eyes and walked over to him.

"What are you doing out here away from all of the adoration?" I asked, looking around for the gaggle of women I always saw following him.

"I snuck away, for the time being. Are you ready to give me your name?" He sounded relieved. I examined him closer, the tense line of his jaw, the way his shoulders hunched. He really didn't enjoy being at this party. Maybe I overestimated his joy for the attention.

"Why did you come back to court?" I asked him earnestly. He paused and looked at me, he seemed to think the question over.

"It was expected of me. I felt I'd put off my 'duty', as father puts it, for too long." He said simply. I nodded though, I understood having things expected of you that you couldn't put off. Also, I could imagine what his father was like behind closed doors. A murderer.

"Why did you finally decide to come to court?" He asked when I was silent. I swirled the shoes in my hands as I thought, Fae could detect a lie a mile away.

"I didn't have much choice. It is the law. I also must admit I want to learn more about my heritage." I answered. He nodded thoughtfully.

"No fantasies about finding your soul mate. Dreams of frolicking amongst your seasonal court?" I could hear the smile in his voice. That was the answer that was commonly given among the young Fae females. Dreams of romance, intrigue, being swept of your feet by overpowering devotion. I cocked my head to the side and raised a brow at him.

"I'm still not sure I believe it's possible to have a soul-mate." I said softly, walking forward to lean against the railing and stare out at the scenery. I felt him come up beside me and place his hands on the rail.

"There was a bonding just yesterday. Two new initiates felt it all slide into place. Their emotions open to one another." He sighed wistfully, and I stared at the way his eyes stared longingly up at the moon. Maybe he was lonely and wanted that for himself.

"I don't know if I like the idea of sharing my mind with someone. Or having a pull so strong it defies all reason. I have a lot of learning about myself to do first." I answered honestly. The idea of meeting someone and having to share my life with them suddenly, was overwhelming. I didn't even know who I was.

"What about dalliances?" His lips quirked up into the familiar smirk. I stared over at him and blushed. In the human realm, I hadn't had many dalliances. Every man I'd attempted to date throughout university, something ended up happening to scare them off. I just shook my head.

"So, no one has broken past those barriers you erect so well?" He whispered, and he leaned closer to me. I looked into his eyes and bit my lip, shaking my head no. He tucked a stray hair behind my ear.

"Maybe it's time you let someone in." He said, placing his hand on my waist. His body was close now, I could once again feel the heat radiating from him. These blue orbs darkened with desire, his lips were close enough for me to reach up and kiss. Instead, I placed my hands on his chest and pushed him away slightly.

"Wren." I bit my lower lip and smiled up at him. He smiled wide and gave me a characteristic wink.

"Nice to finally meet you, Wren." He bowed low before me, I chuckled and curtsied.

I heard a commotion coming from the main doors that led into the banquet hall. A crowd was gathering in the doorway, and shouting was coming from inside the room. I looked at Rayne and we both ran over, trying to push and shove our way through the crowd of people. Rayne was aggressive in his entry; I ducked behind him and followed the path he forged. As we emerged on the other side of the crowd, I froze at the scene before me.

A man lie face down on the ground, it didn't appear as if he was breathing. The king stood above the man, with a crowd of people surrounding him. The king was holding a glass in his hand, and they appeared to be examining the contents. Whispers and titters broke out amongst the crowd. I heard echoes of "poison". A man was dead. Rayne pushed his way over to his father.

"What happened here?" Rayne addressed his father and the royal guards. I noticed now that Kellen was standing there with the king. His face was set in a grim line. The king looked up at his son, his eyes slightly shocked, but he held himself calm and collected.

"Iron. Someone spiked the drink meant for me with Iron." I gasped quietly; Iron poisoning was a cruel way to die. It festered in your blood and burned you from the inside out. It was agonizingly painful and shut down our organs. This was bad, someone at the party had attempted to kill the king. My eyes darted up, and I clenched my hands to keep from shaking. I searched the room for my mother or Alan. I met my mothers gaze across the room, she almost imperceptibly shook her head. No, she didn't do this. She wouldn't try in such a public place, in front of so many people, not when I hadn't learned anything yet.

Everyone in the room began looking at each other with suspicion. The crowd began segregating into separate courts, no one wanting to be accused. The royal guards began canvasing the room, asking questions of those who were inside and may have witnessed any tampering with the king's drink. The bartender was being heavily questioned.

"Who is this?" The question snapped me out of my reverie, and I realized I was still standing relatively close to Rayne as he had approached the king. I curtsied low and bowed my head. I could feel his eyes on me, his brow raised questioningly. He looked at me with suspicion. Rayne stepped in.

"Father, this is Wren. Her and I were talking on the balcony when this happened." He qualified; I could not have been in the room. Kellen frowned looking between Rayne and I. The king turned from me, seeming to have dismissed me, I sighed in relief and stepped back, turning to go find my mother. Her and Alan were talking with a guard along the back wall. I approached slowly. The guard nodded to them and walked away as I approached. My mom wrapped her arms around me.

"Oh sweetie, thank goodness you're okay!" She sighed and brushed my hair with her fingers. I nodded and gave her a light squeeze.

"I was outside with prince Rayne when we heard the commotion." I explained. My mothers head snapped up and her eyes narrowed. She nodded.

"Good, you were with the prince. There's no arguing your alibi." I gasped and pinched her arm to quiet her. I wasn't comfortable with her even implying I had anything to do with this.

"Any ideas on who could be responsible? Did you hear anything?" I asked her in a whisper. She shook her head slowly. She bit her lip nervously and looked at Alan.

"They think I might have done it, sweetie. Because I was away from court in hiding for so long. They have suspicions about my loyalties." I gasped and shook my head.

"No! They'll do an investigation, and see you had nothing to do with it." I stated. Alan looked at me and sadly shook his head.

"Maybe, but they want to avoid a panic, they are going to be looking to pin this on someone at least publicly quickly." Alan said and placed his hand on the small of my mother's back. She leaned her head on to his shoulder. I rubbed my mother's shoulder and tried to smile for her. We would think of something, there's no way they could think she did this. We headed towards the exit of the banquet hall, to retire to our rooms for the evening. As we made our way toward the exit, I felt a hand on my arm.

"A moment, lady Ryder." I looked up to see Kellen at my side. His face was serious. I waved Alan and mom to go on without me. Staring up at Kellen I smiled, the corner of his lips lifted, but it didn't meet his eyes.

"What can I do for you, Kellen?" I asked him. He rubbed the back of his neck and then crossed his arms over his chest.

"I just wanted to warn you to be careful, around Rayne. He tends to make his way through the new ladies. Also, I must inform you, the king has requested a formal questioning tomorrow. He has some people he wants to interrogate about tonight's events." I raised a brow at the first comment, and a second brow at the last. A formal questioning made sense, and the more investigating they did the more likely they were to find out that mother had nothing to do with it.

"I think I can handle Rayne, don't worry, he's been a gentleman so far. As for the questioning, I hope he finds some answers." I said. Kellen sighed and wiped his hand across his face as if he was tired. I'm sure it's been an intense night for him.

"Wren, one of the people he has asked to formally question is you." He stated. I froze.