Chapter 100

Chapter 100 Pray for Erika
CA SSANDRA
When I got to work that day, Becky was already hard at work. She was surrounded by a stack of books, along with a long line of vials and bottles. Her eyes were so focused on her work that she hadn’t even noticed my arrival.
“Becky?” I prompted her when she didn’t say anything. “Becky, is everything alright?”
My a*sistant finally looked up at the sound of her name, and her dark eyes grew wide.
“Sorry, Ca ssy,” she said. “I didn’t even hear you.”
“It’s okay,” I a*sured her, and I approached her desk. “What’s going on?”
“I found something strange about the venoms,” she explained, and she gestured at a few of the vials. “The ones that we couldn’t identify? I’ve been running tests all morning. Even though they’re all very different, their chemical structures are similar. If my hypothesis is correct, it seems like they were all produced. according to the chemical structures of Udosyn.”
“Does that mean that the other kinds of poisons were recreated using the base of Udosyn?” I wondered.
Becky nodded. “It seems like it.”
I stood there for a moment and considered what this meant. Did this mean that we could find the cure to the poisons if we studied further in this direction and recreated the cure to Udosyn?
The moment the thought crossed my mind, I asked Becky, and she gave a thoughtful nod.
“That’s theoretically possible,” she agreed.
It took a second for the idea to set in, and once it did, my a*sistant and I exchanged excited smiles. This was the first win we’d had in a while. I didn’t want to get too thrilled, but I couldn’t help it.
“Compared to Udosyn, these other poisons don’t have such a rigorous structure,” Becky continued as she smiled. “So what you’re thinking might actually be possible! We can study further and see if we can recreate the cures.”
We wasted no time and got to work right away.
As we threw ourselves into the research, I couldn’t help but smile. This new information brought light to our studies. We were in such great moods that Becky didn’t even complain about Lancel’s presence.
in seem a
Usually, she said that Lancel made the but she didn’t quip at the Alpha King’s guard for once. In fact, she said just the opposite.
“Maybe Lancel brought us back some luck,” she joked, and the two of us shared a laugh. I glanced over at Lance, who remained as serious and stoic as always. He didn’t have much for a sense of humor. He was always so focused and disciplined that I wondered if he ever laughed at all.
As we continued working, I thought of Asher. The Alpha King was the first person that I wanted to share this development with. We’d been working so long and hard to solve this mystery, and we were finally inching closer to some answers.
I hoped he would be proud of us, especially Becky. Making such an important discovery and working on a case like this would surely be enough to promote her to the position of a full-time royal healer. Sure, my a*sistant was young, but she was incredibly intelligent and hard-working. Her scientific mind would be a valuable a*set to the palace, and I would make sure to tell Asher that the next time I saw him.
Suddenly, I found myself missing him. Our night of pa*sion had meant more to me than I’d expected, and even though I knew the logistics would be nearly impossible, I wanted to be with him again.
No one had ever made me feel the same bliss that Asher had.
I had no idea what to do about Adalyn. As much as I wanted to pretend that Asher wasn’t married, I couldn’t deny her existence. I wasn’t sure what kind of future was in store for any of us, but I knew no matter what, things would get.
messy.
I forced myself to return to my studies. I could think about all of this later. For now, I needed to focus on the venoms.
Just as I threw myself back into my research, the laboratory doors flew open and Finnick ran in.
Thankfully, Lancel stopped the boy before he could run head-first into the tables full of dangerous chemicals and concoctions. I cast my protective eyewear aside and ran over to my son.
Lancel released his grip and stepped aside so we could speak.
“Thank you,” I said, and then I turned to Finnick. “Finnick? What’s going on? What are you doing here?”
Much to my surprise, Finnick’s lovely gray eyes were full of tears. I was taken aback. Finnick didn’t cry all that often. He was always so serious, like his father, but as he stood before me, he collapsed into s obs. I swept him into my arms at once and held him close.
“Finnick, what’s wrong?” I asked as Finnick’s b*dy shook beneath my touch.
He began to speak, but he was crying so hard that the words didn’t come out right.
“Honey, you need to breathe,” I said softly as I stroked his hair. “Come on, take a deep breath with me.”
Finnick nodded and then I demonstrated a deep inhale. He copied me, and after a few rounds of deep breathing, he managed to calm down.
“Mommy,” he whispered. “Oh, Mommy. They caught Aunt Erika. And they took her away.”
My heart dropped in my chest and my l*ps parted in surprise.
“Who?” I asked as I began to panic. “Finnick, who took Erika away?”
He sniffled and his lower l*p trembled. “Prince Marco’s mother and his grandmother. They came to the room and caught Aunt Erika. They said she was guilty.”
My eyes widened in shock and my heart began to race. Anger swelled within
Margaret and Adalyn.
They’d come after Erika, and they’d conveniently done it when I was away at work. Their cowardice knew no bounds.
Though I was enraged, I managed to present a calm front to Finnick. I carefully sat him down on the ground and continued to soothe him until he stopped crying. Once he was more relaxed, I turned to Lancel.
“Could you look after Finnick?” I asked, and much to my surprise, he didn’t object. He nodded his head and then glanced at the door. Though he didn’t say a word, I knew what he was trying to say, and I was grateful that he cared.
Becky ran over to us and gently touched my arm.
“Go, Ca ssandra,” she urged me. “We’ll handle everything here. Don’t worry about us. I’ll help look after Finnick.”
“Thank you,” I said, and then I looked down at my son. “Finnick, stay here, okay? I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Finnick nodded and wiped his eyes. “Okay, Mommy.”
I k*ssed the top of his head and then turned and rushed out of the laboratory,
and toward my chamber. As I thought of Margaret and her wickedness, my anger returned to me. She wouldn’t get away with this.
For the first time in a long time, I said a small prayer under my breath to the
Moon Goddess.
“Please let Erika be alright.”