"I just know. My body reacted." Lin Yue pressed a hand to her stomach. "Please fetch Physician Vethra. And send word to Prince Uriel. Tell him something is wrong with my breakfast."
The maid hesitated only a second before nodding and running from the room.
Lin Yue sat back against the pillows, her hand never leaving her stomach.
The baby moved beneath her palm, a small flutter, completely unaware.
[YOU HANDLED THAT WELL. THE MAID SUSPECTS NOTHING.]
"Who would do this?" she whispered.
[THAT IS WHAT THE PRINCE WILL DISCOVER. THE TOXIN WAS POTENT. DESIGNED TO KILL THE BABY AND YOU BOTH. THIS WAS NOT RANDOM.]
She closed her eyes and waited.
Vethra arrived first, her fox ears sharp and alert, her medical scanner already in hand.
She took in the scene with a single glance, the spilled water, the tray of food, Lin Yue's pale face.
"Do not touch anything..." Lin Yue said. "The water made me dizzy. I think it was poisoned."
