Free The Queen by Suzanna Lynn Page A

holding. She began frantically pulling books down
from the shelves, trying to find the one that would lead her in the
right direction on how to counter the poison.
    “Luana,” Keon said, facing her from the
other side of his worktable. “We have no way to make an antidote.
Without some actual Dragon Fire, we are hopeless.”
    “It would actually require the exact Dragon
Fire,” Luana said, reading text below the picture of the dragon.
“It must be from the same source.”
    The old physician looked over at the King,
who had already fallen back into slumber. “What would you have me
do?”
    “First, someone should search the maid
Johanna’s room,” Luana said, pulling out a mortar and pestle. “If
the gods are with us, we will find the vial and be able to make an
antidote.”
    Master Keon looked over his shoulder to one
of the guards. The guard nodded and hurried out of the room.
    “Without the vial, we will have to make due.
Let’s try and draw out what poison we can,” Luana said, grabbing a
book of herbs and searching the pages. “We can make a mixture of
wood ash with—”
    “Wood ash?” Keon interrupted. “You would
force His Grace to eat ash?”
    “If he wants to live? Yes,” Luana said, her
gaze serious and unmoving. “Now, as I was saying, if we make a
mixture of wood ash, egg whites and water along with the echino
flower—”
    “Echino?” the physician questioned. “I have
never heard of this flower.”
    “It’s a purple flower with a black or dark
brown spiny center,” Luana said, grabbing a small handful of
crumbling, charred wood from the nearby hearth and dropping it into
the large stone mortar on the table. She pushed the pestle down,
grinding it into a black dust. “I believe some call it a conehead
flower?”
    “Yes,” Master Keon said, writing
instructions down on a small scrap of parchment. “You there!” he
called to one of the guards. “Get the contents of this list to me
within the hour. We haven’t a moment to lose.”

Chapter Thirteen

    Baylin sat in the war room, drawing up
strategies on a map of Grasmere.
    A young steward came in carrying a tray of
bread, cheese and wine. “Your Grace, the Queen asked that I bring
you something to eat.”
    “Ah, yes,” Baylin said. “Just sit it down
here.” Mother is constantly fretting over me, even now that I’m
a grown man.
    The steward turned to leave but hesitated.
“Your Grace?”
    “Yes?”
    “Is it true that your bed wife actually
saved His Grace, the King?” the young man asked with a nervous
smile.
    “Yes, she did.” The Prince returned the
smile.
    “I heard she was the one to create the
antidote!” The steward blushed at the display of his excitement.
“Apologies, Your Grace.”
    “No need to apologize,” Baylin said. “It was
an impressive show of bravery and intelligence. Luana and Master
Keon managed to reverse the poison with herbs until they were able
to create an antidote from a vial found in the maid’s chamber.”
    The steward smiled. “Well, lucky we have her
then.” He turned and hurried from the room.
    Yes, lucky indeed. Baylin smiled to
himself.
    Baylin’s heart swelled as he thought of the
maids and stewards discussing how Luana found the traitor and
healed the King. Her plan to save King Ashmur not only succeeded,
but he was actually well on the mend.
    Baylin continued to make battle plans for
another half hour in the war room. He felt like he had not seen his
bed in months. I should be holding my son, not studying
maps.
    “Still at it, I see?” King Ashmur’s voice
broke the deafening silence in the room.
    “Father?” Baylin jumped to his feet and
crossed the room to the door. “Should you be up and moving about
already? Does Master Keon think it wise?”
    “Stop your fussing, boy,” Ashmur said,
waving away his words. “I’ve been through worse than this.”
    Always so strong, even when he knows
everyone knows he lies. Baylin laughed to himself. “Of course,
Father.”
    The