34. The Garden

[ELARA]

A few minutes pass in silence before Alistair walks towards me. “Do you trust her?” he questions me, but there’s an edge to his voice as if he wants to add something more but is holding back.

I shake my head but not really in denial. “Morgana confuses me. But she provided the magic we needed to save him. She’s right. He needs her.”

There’s a pause where Alistair sighs, thinking deep on something. I gather the ends of my gown and sit myself on the edge of the bed, folding my knees.

“Do you think anyone can really barge in and attack us here?” I make myself ask.

He shakes his head. “It’ll be too risky if I’m being very honest. A poisoning while indiscreet can still be ambiguous.”

“Can you tell me about this garden?”

Alistair lowers his head as he explains, “Prince Magnus’ mother was poisoned. Since then he has been very hesitant to readily eat anything. He only eats at banquets or with the queen mother in the grand dining hall. Among crowds, where there’s very little chance of