"Poisoning the queen?" Brendan grabbed my arm as we burst through the brothel's doors into the misty morning air. "Evangeline, you can't just make accusations like that!"
"I'm not accusing anyone—yet." I yanked my arm free, my heart pounding against my ribs. "But I know what I smelled that day at the palace. It's the same as Therese's tea."
Brendan's face paled as understanding dawned. "You think someone's preventing the queen from having a child? That's—"
"Treason? Yes." I glanced frantically up and down the street. "I need your carriage. Now."
Without another word, Brendan sprinted ahead to where his small carriage waited at the corner. I lifted my skirts and ran after him, my mind racing faster than my feet. The implications were staggering. For years, gossip had swirled about Queen Seraphina's inability to produce an heir. Some blamed the king, others the queen, but no one had considered deliberate sabotage.
