Chapter 87: Poisoned
Damon watched her fall.
One moment she was standing there, speaking to Cassian, that glass in her hand while Celeste’s voice droned somewhere behind him like an insect he could not be bothered to swat. The next, blood poured from her nose and then she was falling. Cassian caught her, sinking to his knees with her body cradled against his chest, her head lolling back like a broken doll.
Screams erupted through the banquet hall.
Damon was moving immediately and Ares met him at the same moment, both of them crashing to their knees beside Cassian, who was already pressing his palm to Ayla’s cheek.
"What happened?" The words tore from Damon’s throat.
"I don’t know." Cassian’s voice was raw and shaking. "We were talking and then...the next thing I knew, she just..."
Ares picked up the shattered glass and brought it to his nose, his eyes darkening. "She has been poisoned."
"Poisoned?" Damon gasped. His gaze swept the hall, catching Willow slipping out through the doors, moving with the rest of the fleeing guests.
"We need to get her to the healing chambers now."
Damon reached for her purely on instinct but Cassian was already rising, cradling Ayla to his chest.
All three of them rushed through the corridors, not stopping until they got to their destination.
Master Aldric was on his feet the moment they burst through the healing chamber doors, his face shifting from surprise to grim recognition in the space of a heartbeat.
"Help her!" Ares thundered.
"Lay her down, gently" he ordered, gesturing to the only bed in the room then he began checking her pulse. Her pupils were white, her mouth and nose still streaked with blood and white foam.
"What happened?" he asked.
"She was poisoned," Ares supplied, handing him the glass, which still held a little wine.
Master Aldric took it from his hand and smelled it. His eyes widened in shock.
"What is it?" Damon inquired.
"I do not know." he answered.
"I would need to run tests," he said. "Determine what poison this is, then begin brewing an antidote. It will take time."
"Get on it, then!" Cassian snapped.
Master Aldric nodded once, his hands already busy. He took a thin metal tool and carefully extracted the foam from the corner of Ayla’s lips, transferring it to a glass slide.
"Is she alive?" Damon heard himself ask.
"Yes but barely." Master Aldric answered. "I need to work fast."
Ares moved toward the bed, his hand reaching for Ayla’s. Damon watched his brother’s fingers close around hers and his shoulders drop like he was holding himself together but barely.
Damon turned for the door.
"Where are you going?" Cassian called after him.
"To catch who did this." he answered, walking out the door.
Cassian followed him. "What do you mean, you know who did this?"
"Who else would have done it?" Damon spun around to face his brother, rage nearly blinding him. "It is fucking Willow. I saw her slipping out the moment Ayla collapsed. You of all people know how much she hates Ayla."
He turned and strode down the corridor with Cassian at his heels.
As soon as they rounded the corner, they saw Willow.
She was moving quickly, her skirts gathered in her hands and her head down. She was heading for her room, clearly hoping to slip away unnoticed.
"Willow!" Damon barked.
Her head snapped up and her face went white. For a moment, she looked like she might run, might bolt down the corridor and pray she could outpace them but there was nowhere to go.
She turned around slowly, her hands dropping to her sides, a weak smile trembling on her lips.
"Cassian. Damon. I was just...I was feeling unwell, I thought I should..."
"Save it." Cassian’s voice was flat and terrifying in its lack of emotion. He closed the distance between them in three strides, his hand shooting out before Willow could blink, wrapping around her throat.
She made a choked sound, her hands flying up to claw at his wrist. He slammed her against the wall.
"What did you do?" Cassian’s face was inches from hers, his grip tightening around her neck. "What poison was it?"
"Poison?" The word came out as a strangled wheeze. "I...I don’t..."
"Do not play coy with us, Willow." Damon’s voice came from behind him. "We are not in the mood."
Cassian’s hand tightened and Willow’s face began to purple, her nails raking uselessly at his fingers, her feet kicking against the wall as she struggled to breathe.
"I did not..." she gasped, her words were barely audible, her throat crushed beneath his palm. "I did not..."
"You fucking liar." Damon stepped closer.
Willow’s lips moved soundlessly, her eyes bulging with terror as she tried to force words through Cassian’s grip.
"It was..." she choked. "It was Celeste."
Cassian’s grip didn’t loosen, but his eyes narrowed. "What did you say?"
Willow’s hand tapped frantically against Cassian’s wrist.
He finally released her and she slid down the wall like a puppet with its strings cut. Her hands clutched at her throat, dragging in gulps of air.
"What did you fucking say?" Cassian demanded.
"Celeste," Willow rasped. "She had to have done this. She said...she said she was going to kill Ayla. But I thought..." she glanced at Damon. "I thought she was just mad that you rejected her. I did not think she would actually..."
Damon stared at her, his chest heaving.
Celeste? He thought.
It made sense. If the poison had been in the wine then her little act of jealousy and theatrical display at the banquet had been a distraction to slip whatever poison she had into Ayla’s glass.
"You are lying." Cassian cut her off. "You are lying to save your own skin."
Willow shook her head violently.
"I am not. I swear on my mother’s grave, I am not."
"I do not think she is lying, brother." Damon said.
"What?" Cassian’s forehead furrowed in confusion.
"I think she is telling the truth and Celeste is responsible for this" Damon glanced at Willow who was nodding her head in agreement then he turned away and began walking.
"Where are you going?" Cassian called out after him.
"To find her." Damon’s voice was ice. "And when I do, I am going to make her wish she had never been born."