The Blood Heiress They Sent to Her Death Chapter 04
He rounded on me, eyes blazing. “Seraphina -do not think I cannot see your game. You are buying minutes, hoping something will save you. Dream on.”
He jabbed his finger toward the corrupted water, then toward Old Marta. “My Lord -the evidence stands before your eyes. There is no need for another Rite. She will only find another way to twist the truth.”
I had known Corvin would crack if pushed. I stepped forward, voice ringing. “From the very start, Corvin, you
have attacked me at every turn, desperate to see me dead. Your eagerness betrays you. Who would believe you and Mira have no secret between you?”
“I say it is YOU who conspires with traitors, plotting to seize the Night Court for yourself!”
The accusation struck home. His face flushed crimson. “Seraphina, you dare smear MY name?! I am loyal to this House-a loyalty you, impostor, cannot question!”
“Then who are YOU to question the Elder’s decision?” My voice rose to a roar. “The Elder has spoken -another Rite. Would you defy his command?!”
The charge was too heavy. Corvin’s mouth opened and closed. He pointed at me, sputtering, but no words formed.
The Elder’s patience had burned to ash. He ordered fresh sacred water drawn by his own personal guard. Corvin and his conspirators went pale. Sweat ran freely down their faces. Their feet shifted on the stone like men standing on crumbling ground.
But then Mira’s eyes hardened with something desperate and venomous. She let out a wail and threw herself before the Elder.
“FATHER! Forgive me -there is something I have kept hidden!” Her entire body trembled. Tears streamed. “On the day Lady Elara died… I SAW Seraphina pour powdered silver into her healing cup. She -she is the one who murdered your beloved!”
My eyes widened until they burned. Murderer of my own mother? The woman who gave me life?!
“Because you feared she would one day discover I was the true heir! So you silenced her -forever!”
Mira crawled toward the Elder on her knees. “Father -Seraphina studies the old healing arts. She understands the ways of toxic substances, the art of making one remedy become another’s poison. The day your beloved died, she sent me to the apothecary to fetch two specific compounds. Combined, they create a lethal venom. Check the records if you doubt me!”
The Elder’s face was a storm front. After a long silence, he spoke one word. “Check.”
The apothecary’s apprentice returned in what felt like moments and confirmed -yes, Seraphina had indeed requisitioned both compounds on the day of Lady Elara’s death.
The Elder’s expression turned lethal. My blood ran cold. She had forged even the apothecary records.
“Father.” My voice broke. “Please…”
“SILENCE!” He would not hear another word. The look he gave me was fury and grief twisted into one.
“Guards! By my command throw Seraphina into the Silver Cells. When the full truth is uncovered, she will face judgment.”
The Blood Memory screamed. [NO! Corvin knew the Elder would not order immediate death. They have
already paid assassins to wait inside the Silver Cells the moment she enters, they will strike! They will stage it as a guilty suicide, and the Elder will never question it.]
The guards seized my arms. They began to drag me toward the doors. And then in the space between heartbeats -a thought cut through the darkness like a silver blade.
“WAIT!”
“FATHER’ I have proof -absolute proof -and I can give it to you NOW!”