I had? “You had the cure and managed to give it to Ryne and the others during your school reunion before spreading the plague.”

“Correct. And you already know what the cure is.”

I mulled it over. My blood cured the new plague, so following the logic... “Your blood!”

“Correct. I discovered my life magic infused my blood with curative properties while doing my research at the Healer’s Guild. Along with the fact that about a third of the people didn’t contract that plague either by avoiding exposure or just a natural resistance—a happy side effect as a king needs subjects. Besides, it would have been incredibly stupid to release the plague without a cure.”

“Do you have a cure for the new plague? The one Wynn stole?”

“Of course. However, I developed that one to be more difficult to spread—to use more for assassination than mass exterminations. Your death magician was kinder to that traitor than I would have been. I’d planned for Wynn to experience a great deal of agony before she died.”

My thoughts spun. He’d gone to such lengths to be a king—the more I learned, the sicker I felt. At that moment, I gave up trying to figure out this horrible business of war. Spies, double crosses, ambushes, and strategic military positioning; how did anyone keep it all straight?

Then I realized it wasn’t my job to keep track. It was Ryne’s and maybe I should have just trusted him to do his job and I should have focused on my job—healing patients. Interfering with Ryne’s strategy had only landed me here with Tohon.

Tohon guided me inside his tent. The fabric hung low on its frame and water dripped from the edges. They had soaked the material to keep it from burning. Lovely.

He pushed me into a chair then ignored me as he sent for his officers. No one, except the guards at the entrance, paid me any attention. Even if I slipped past them, I doubted I’d get far.

“Any signs of Prince Kerrick’s team?” Tohon asked one of his lieutenants.

“No, sire.”

“Keep vigilant, they could strike at any time. And spread the word, all patrols are on duty. No one sleeps tonight.”

“Yes, sire!”

Tohon noticed my interest. “You don’t really think I believed all your information? I was pretty confident about you, but once you told Kerrick about our dreams, I’d be a fool to trust anything he said.”