Everything happened so quickly that she almost reached him before the baron's guards rushed forward. Her rage gave her terrible strength, and it took four to subdue her, one of whom was slashed across the arm while trying to wrest the makeshift weapon from her hands. At Peto's order, she was carried kicking and screaming from the dining hall to her chambers.

Servants tied her to her bed. Someone pried open her clenched teeth and poured a liquid tasting of honey and poppy down her throat, but the elixir brought no comfort. She screamed in rage. More liquid followed. This time she bit down on a hand, and blood filled her mouth.

The taste of an enemy! The taste of vengeance!

The baron's face hovered above her. She growled, spit blood and saliva at him and screamed again.

She felt as if she were buried in the belly of some terrible beast, her emotions magnified in its primitive mind, her hidden urges propelling it to act, but her bonds making action impossible.

Another sweet infusion. This time the potion made her sleepy but did little to calm the burning in her mouth and throat, which seemed to be spreading through her body, borne in her blood.

Peto stood at the end of the bed and looked down at Ilsabet. She lay with her arms and legs tightly tied to the four posts. Even through the heavy woolen gown and underskirts, he could see how thin she was. As he watched the healer go about his work, the potions calmed her but did nothing to neutralize the poison in her system. He felt a tremendous guilt.

The sweet she had stolen from the plate had been meant for him. Ilsabet coughed, her eyes still watered, and her lips were turning a pale shade of ash blue.

"What's happening?" Peto asked the healer.

"Her throat is swelling shut," the man replied. "I'm doing what I can."

Not enough! Peto thought. Fearful of the outcome and the terrible future of his conscience should she die, he turned to Shaul. "Bring Lord Jorani here," he ordered. He spoke loud enough that Ilsabet could hear him, then moved out of her line of sight, hoping his absence would help calm her.