A guard entered the room a moment later, dressed in green Teripin regalia. He handed her a cup of tea. If it was being given to her by anyone other than a gruff-looking hunter, Stella might not have hesitated.
She held the steaming cup to her nose and sniffed.
“You have to drink it before the inquiry starts, my lady,” the man said when she didn’t immediately sip it. He nodded to it. “It’s not going to harm you, but I have instructions to stay until you finish it.”
“Before the inquiry?” She sniffed the tea again and the faint spicy aroma clicked a memory into place.
Truth tea. They were giving all the competitors truth tea so they would be more forthcoming for the interrogation. It didn’t so much force the truth as it loosened the lips. Stella took a bracing breath and knocked the tea back in one gulp.
The guard took the empty cup and left the room.
Stella stared out at the garden, trying not to panic. She immediately drew up all her memories of truth tea: how to brew it, the herbs used to make it more potent, and how to mask its scent. But she had no memory of any way to prevent or lessen its effects.
Panic rose in her chest as she pulled up memory after memory, searching for any way out of this mess. But the more useless experiences she called to mind, the more anxious she felt.
The door creaked open, and she turned, only to come face to facenot with a hunter captain or one of the king’s advisors, but with the god of war himself.
Endros crossed the space in a few short strides. He reached for her hand with a knife-sharp smile on his face. “Welcome, little goddess. We’ve not formally met, but I knew your mother. I think it’s time you and I speak.”
17
TEDDY
Whiskey was a mistake.
It took Teddy a while to realize that the pounding in his head matched the pounding outside of his head. Someone was at his bedroom door. Someone who clearly wanted to be punched in the face.
He groaned, squinting into the bright morning light that poured through the curtains he’d forgotten to close the night before.
“I’m coming.” His voice was ragged from sleep, his mouth too dry to say more. He stood, his muscles screaming with the remnants of the previous day’s battle.
He stumbled across the room and cracked the door open.
Jalen leaned against the doorframe, looking impatient. His face split with a smile when he took in Teddy’s appearance.
“Oh, Ted. You look rough. Are those yesterday’s clothes? Did you sleep with your shoes on? Alex said you would be feeling it this morning, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen you in such a state,” Jalen said.
Jalen’s effusive energy this early in the morning was overwhelming even when Teddy wasn’t hungover. It was certainly way too much for the state he was in.
“What do you want?” he snapped. “What time is it?”
Jalen grinned wider. “It’s half-eight. You slept in.”
Teddy groaned and rubbed his temples to ease the ache.
“I’d let you sleep later, but there’s an inquiry. You need to come downstairs for questioning,” Jalen said, stepping into Teddy’s bedroom. “Gods, you reek. Did you drink the whole bottle?”
“No. Alex drank half.” Teddy was joking, but by his mental accounting, he realized it might have been true.
When he was young, his parents had taken him to a healer who magically enhanced senses. Her work had granted him sharper hearing, eyesight, and senses of touch, smell, and taste, but it also meant that he healed faster. Not as fast as Stella, who had godly magic in her blood, but faster than a typical person.
He also metabolized alcohol faster. And yet, he still felt rotten.
“It’s so rare that I’m the prince who has it the most together and I’m kind of enjoying the self-righteousness that comes along with it,” Jalen said. “No wonder you’re so insufferable all the time.”
Teddy grimaced at his brother. “I could still kick your ass.”
Jalen laughed. “If I didn’t enjoy seeing you delusional, I might be offended. You’re clearly hurting, but Endros wants all the competitors questioned to check their involvement with the death of Victor Schwoebleman.”
