Martha's head snapped up.
"Yes?" she called.
"It's Lucius," a calm voice answered from the other side. "May I come in?"
Martha looked at Elissa. Elissa, still gathering her thoughts, gave the smallest shrug. Martha huffed through her nose, then went to open the door.
Prince Lucius stood there, composed as ever, though his eyes flicked past Martha at once, searching for the bed.
"How is she?" he asked quietly.
"Awake," Martha said. "For now. Come in, then—but don't startle her, please."
"I'll keep that in mind," he said dryly.
She stepped aside and let him enter.
Lucius closed the door behind him and crossed the room. Skoll watched every step but did not growl, which Martha clearly took as permission.
Lucius stopped a respectful distance from the bed and inclined his head slightly.
"Princess Elissa," he said. "I'm glad to see you awake."
Her gaze, still a little hazy, settled on him. "Prince Lucius," she managed. "What are you doing here? "She asked confused.
"He's the one who helped to bring you in the room." Martha cleared her confusion.
"Did I.. fall?" Elissa asked.
"In a manner of speaking," he said. "You were under the effect of something. We've countered most of it, but I brought one more thing to steady the rest."
He reached into his coat and drew out a small glass bottle, already unstoppered. He nodded at the cup in her hands.
"May I?"
Elissa glanced instinctively at Martha. Martha gave her a short, firm nod.
"He knows what he's doing," Martha assured her. "So far, anyway."
Elissa offered the cup. Lucius took it from her, tilted the bottle, and let two drops of a clear liquid fall into the remaining water.
"That's enough," he murmured.
He handed the cup back to her.
"Drink a little more," he advised. "You don't have to finish it now. Small sips, with a bit of time between, will be best."
Elissa hesitated, eyeing the water as if it might bite her. Then she looked at Martha again.
Martha nodded once more. "If I thought he was poisoning you, I'd not allow it."
That, somehow, was more reassuring than anything else.
Elissa took two careful sips. The water tasted faintly different now—cleaner, sharper, with a coolness that spread from her tongue to the back of her eyes.
Lucius watched her closely, studying the lines of her face, the focus in her gaze.
"Good," he said softly. Then, without asking, he took the cup gently from her fingers and set it on the small table by the bed. "We'll leave the rest for a little later."
He pulled a chair closer and sat beside the bed, not too near, but not distant either.
"How are you feeling now?" he asked. His eyes searched hers, weighing the answer before she even spoke.
Martha, who had remained standing, lowered herself back onto the end of the mattress, watching both of them like a hawk guarding two particularly troublesome chicks.
Elissa swallowed, feeling the cool trace of the potion settle in her chest.
"How are you feeling now?" Lucius asked again, a little more gently.
She took a moment to find the words. "Heavy," she said at last. "Like my bones are made of wet sand. And my head…" She pressed her fingers lightly to her temple. "It's not spinning, exactly. Just…slow."
"Slow is an improvement," Martha said. "You were about as responsive as a sack of flour earlier."
Elissa blinked. "Earlier?"
"You don't remember?" Martha asked, watching her closely.
Images flickered at the edges of Elissa's mind. The corridor. The maid. The tray. The too-sweet smell.
"I left the dining hall," Elissa said slowly. "Kestrel went with her aunt. I went up alone. There was a maid. She almost dropped a tray. Water. Flowers…" Her brows drew together. "Something splashed on me."
Lucius's gaze sharpened. "On your wrist," he said quietly. "And your dress."
"Yes," Elissa murmured, looking down at the clean nightgown as if expecting to see the marks. "It smelled…too sweet. Like flowers left out too long."
Martha's mouth thinned. "You didn't mention this part."
"I didn't remember this part," Elissa said, a little sharper than she meant to. She winced and softened her tone. "I still don't remember what happened after that. Just…a window. And then…nothing."
Lucius exchanged a short look with Martha, then turned back to Elissa.
"What you smelled on your clothes was a potion," he said. "Whisperbloom oil. Mixed with something to keep you on your feet."
Elissa stared at him. "Someone…threw a potion on me? In the corridor? But why?"
"Not threw," Lucius said. "Spilled. It would have looked like an accident. But the choice of oil was not accidental."
"What does it do?" she asked.
"It softens the mind," he replied. "Makes you slow to argue. Slow to notice. Easier to guide. You would still walk, still talk…but with less…resistance." He chose the word carefully.
Elissa let out a breath that was almost a laugh. "So they didn't want me dead," she said. "Just quiet. That's comforting."
"It's not nothing," Martha said roughly, her hands curling in the blanket. "Someone wanted you dulled. Easy to handle."
"For the ball?" Elissa asked. "Or before that?"
Lucius's eyes didn't leave her face. "If you had stayed under its full effect, by tonight you would have agreed to almost anything just to make decisions stop."
Elissa's stomach flickered uneasily. "Who would—"
"Not now," Martha cut in. "You can chase culprits when you can stand without falling over. Right now, you need to know what's in you and what's been done about it."
Elissa looked back at Lucius. "Then tell me."