Alaric POV
A knock on the door woke me. It was Roland. I opened my eyes.
Sophie slept on the chair near my desk. She looked peaceful. I saw the steady rise and fall of her chest. Her presence brought me soothing relief. I did not want to disturb her.
"Come in softly." I whispered.
Roland walked into the room. He stepped lightly on the floor. He opened his mouth to speak. I raised my finger to my lips.
"Shhhh." I said.
I pointed at Sophie.
"Speak quietly. Let her sleep."
"Alpha the elders are gathered in the hall." Roland whispered.
"They demand to see you. They want to discuss the palace security and the Prince."
"I have something more important to tackle." I said.
I looked at the morning light hitting the floor.
"Tell the elders to come back tomorrow. I will not see them today."
Roland nodded. He bowed and left the room. I turned to Sophie. I remembered the deadline. We did not have much time left.
I reached out and tapped her shoulder. She woke up instantly. She looked around the room.
"Have you found any clue?" Sophie asked.
She rubbed her eyes.
"No." I said.
"I do not think staying in this room will give us any answers. We need to visit the young prince. We must see how he is doing. We need more information directly from his mother."
Sophie stood up. She smoothed her blue silk dress. She agreed with my plan.
I arranged my tunic. We headed for the quarters of Queen Mother Isolde.
The maids announced my arrival. Isolde ran out of the inner chamber. Her face was red with anger. She saw Sophie behind me.
"What are you doing here?" Isolde shouted.
"Have you come to finish what you started? Have you come to watch my son die?"
"Watch your mouth." I said. My voice was low.
"I have come to see how my brother is doing. I am the Alpha King. No one tells me where to go in my own kingdom."
I walked past her. I did not wait for her permission. I headed for the bed. Young Prince Daemon lay there. He was struggling for his life. His breath was a shallow rattle. I looked at the maids standing by the wall.
"Who did he visit before and after he dined with me?" I asked.
"He was with Queen Mother Isolde before he visited you." A maid said.
"He came back to her after he dined. He did not visit anyone else."
I scanned the room. I looked for anything unusual. My eyes met a small sack on the side table. It was made of thick linen.
"What is that?" I asked.
"It is his medication." Isolde said.
She stepped closer to the bed.
"He takes it every evening. That is the only thing he took after dining with you."
"Who supplies the medication?" I asked.
"Grand Prince Magnus supplies it." She replied. She narrowed her eyes.
"Are you implying that the Grand Prince wants to kill my son? That is madness."
"I only asked a question. Why are you been so defensive?" I asked.
I looked at the sack.
"Give me one of the medicine. We need to check it. We already checked the ingredients Sophie used. The problem is not there. We must examine the medication. It was the only other thing he consumed."
"The Grand Prince examines the ingredients well." Isolde said.
She shook her head.
"He has been suppling this for a long time. Magnus has no motive to kill my son."
I smiled at her. It was not a friendly smile.
"I am not accusing anyone." I said.
"We just want to be sure."
I took the medication from the table. I grabbed Sophie's hand. We headed back to my quarters. We sat at the desk.
I opened the linen sack. I poured the medicine out. They were different ingredients in it. I broke took one of the ingredient. I tasted it. It was bitter. It tasted like rat poop. It had a foul smell.
"Look at this." I said.
I showed the black thing to Sophie.
"This tastes like waste. This is rat poop. It smells rotten."
"It cannot be rat poop." Sophie said.
She leaned in to smell it. She frowned.
"It must be an ingredient we are not familiar with. It is a strange compound."
Sophie looked at the sack. She looked at the darkening sky outside the window.
"I will take some of this to my quarters." She said.
"I need to continue the investigation. I will check what that is. I will find out if it is used for medicine. If I find anything, I will let you know immediately."
I watched her leave. She carried the samples in her hand. My heart sank as the door closed.
It was the end of the second day. We still had nothing. No cure. No proof.
Tomorrow is the last day. Sophie dies if we cannot find what is wrong with the young prince.
I looked at the silver blade sitting on my table. I became restless.
The wolf inside me wanted to tear the palace apart.
