When they exited the chamber Ann noticed it immediately…the palace smelled wrong somehow.
Ann couldn't name it at first , it wasn't smoke, not blood. Just wrong. Subtle enough that no one else seemed to notice, sharp enough that Maeve stirred in her chest the second they stepped into the east corridor.
"Something's off," Maeve muttered. "It's too quiet. Like...like the feeling right before an ambush. Keep your eyes peeled Ann…I don't like this."
"I know, don't worry. I feel it too. At least we have guards this time though."
"It's a good job really seeing as how we can't fight for shit while we're carrying these triplets." Maeve grumbled in irritation.
Ann didn't flinch. She walked steadily, her mask still firmly in place even though inside that terrifying coil of anxiety was starting to wind around her even tighter.
Adam shadowed her right side, while Brad lingered two steps behind. Six guards flanked them, their boots echoing on polished stone. Even if something was going to happen now, she was far better protected than she had been in the gardens.
Her skin prickled in anticipation and she knew what was going to happen, before anyone else did.
They turned the corner, and there he was, a man in servant's clothes with a tray balanced delicately on his hands, with silver lids. It was a perfectly ordinary sight, except that Ann had never seen him before.
Adam saw it too. His aura surged sharp enough to make the nearest guards stiffen.
"Down!" he barked.
The guard in front slammed into Ann, driving her hard into the wall just as the tray crashed where she had been standing only seconds before. As the glass shattered, a sickening hiss filled the corridor along with the stench of acrid, chemical, burning.
Ann's eyes stung instantly and she coughed violently as her lungs protested.
Brad's coat was over her nose and mouth before she coughed.
"Don't breathe it in," he snapped, "Whatever that is, it's not good for you or the pups." His hand pressed her head down, shielding her.
The not-servant ripped something from his sleeve and two of the guards lunged. One went down with a shout and Adam was already moving, a blur of black fury, slamming the man against the pillar so hard the marble cracked.
A second vial glinted in the assassin's left hand.
Brad's boot came down fast, grinding it into powder before it could break.
Ann shoved the coat aside, coughing, forcing her voice steady.
"Alive. I want him alive."
Adam's wolf roared furiously as his claws punched through skin, digging into the man's throat. For a heartbeat Ann thought he'd ignore her. Then he snarled, twisted the man's arm until bone snapped, and shackled him instead of tearing it out of its socket.
The corridor reeked of chemical burn and the guards rushed to pry open windows, dragging in fresh air. Ann's chest still felt as though she had been scorched from the inside.
"Secure him," she ordered, her voice raw but firm. "Shackles, gag, the fucking lot! Strip him to the skin. I want every mark catalogued."
The guards dragged the man upright and as his shirt lifted from the movement, his ribs were on full display, showing that he had been branded. A crude circle slashed jagged through the middle.
Ann's stomach dropped and Adam caught it too.
"Coven." he spat, his voice dangerously low.
Brad leaned closer, his eyes narrowing.
"I feel like whoever sent him…they wanted us to know where he came from."
Adam snapped his head around, his growl rumbling dangerously from his chest in warning.
"I don't remember anyone asking for your fucking opinion."
"Enough!" Ann said softly but the cold anger in her voice caused both men to go completely still,resorting to glowering at each other across her like two teenagers that had just been caught fighting.
The assassin laughed delightedly, his teeth stained red with blood that splattered in front of him at the sudden movement.
"You're nothing but flesh!" he rasped, "And flesh can be twisted and shaped to my masters will!"
Adam's claws twitched, his wolf howling for the man's blood and the assassin saw this, and laughed louder.
"Just you wait, you'll soon realise that everything precious will be taken from you…you've already lost something that you treasure far more than anyone knows, you just don't know it yet!" He cackled wildly.
Ann's eyes burned as her hand automatically went to her belly, resting protectively over the pups. And although her stomach lurched, her voice didn't waver.
"Don't listen to him. We can use him for information so don't torture him and create any lasting injuries."
The guards hauled the man away and silence followed, as thick as the chemical stench.
Ann pressed a hand flat against the wall, just for a second. Her ribs ached and her lungs still stung.
"You're shaking," Maeve whispered.
"I know," Ann thought back.
Adam was in her space a second later, voice ragged with fury.
"No more corridors. You don't move without triple security. No meals without checks. No..."
"No cages," Ann cut in, sharper than she meant. "I'm not turning this palace into a tomb just because Ely wants me paranoid."
"He's testing your defenses and he wants us to overreact. If you lock this place down, then you hand him all of our blind spots and make Ann an easy target because he will know exactly where she is at all times." Brad said, his disdainful glare challenging Adam openly.
Adam's head whipped toward him, murder in his gaze.
"Shut your…"
"Both of you!" Ann's voice roared "You still want to play this game with each other? After everything I said yesterday?! Growling at each other like hormonal teenagers while someone just tried to poison me in my own hall? How the fuck does this make me or my pups any safer?!"
The silence was suffocating. Adam's chest heaved and Brad folded his arms in that familiar stance, both of them with their mouths clamped firmly shut. Neither spoke.
"Well done," Maeve drawled. "Alpha daycare, day two. Can't wait for snack time."
Ann forced her spine straighter.
"We're not panicking. We're not hiding. We're tightening rotations, we're checking every name on staff, we're pulling entry logs for the last week. I want every kitchen worker, every cleaner, every supplier verified by nightfall."
The steward had appeared at some point with his face pale and he bowed deeply.
"Yes, of course My Queen."
Adam's fists clenched.
"We're handling this too softly. If they can walk in here dressed as staff, they'll do it again."
"Then we find out how he got in as staff," Ann snapped. "Not slam the doors shut until we suffocate ourselves."
Brad's gaze flicked between them, unreadable.
Ann turned on him next, eyes narrowing.
"And you. Don't think for one second I didn't see you step in front of me again. Adam's right about one thing, you don't get to put yourself between me and him. Not ever."
His mouth twitched.
"I put myself between you and the poison..."
Adam's growl rolled out like thunder.
Ann cut it off.
"I said enough."
She adjusted the crown on her head for what seemed like the millionth time that day and scowled.
"We're not canceling court. Not locking down. Not hiding. If Ely wants me rattled, he can choke on my composure."
Adam stared at her like she'd lost her mind.
"Ann…he's going to try again."
"Yes," Ann said. "And next time, we'll be ready."
Her chest still burned and her hands still shook. But her voice didn't.
You're lying, Maeve said. You're rattled to the bone.
"I know," Ann whispered inside.
But out loud she spoke with confidence.
"My duties don't stop just because of a failed attempt on my life. Council in one hour."