Poison Marked

By TJ Nichols

Kill his lover or disobey his king and instigate civil war?

As the feared court poison master, Nikko is sworn to do as his king bids. As the lover of the king's nephew, Lord Rodas, Nikko must hide his affection or risk being labeled a traitor and punished. A former thief who clawed his way into the palace from the filthy streets, Nikko longs to be deserving of Rodas's love.

A respected war hero, Rodas is in a delicate political situation. He is not the kingdom's natural heir, though many support his claim over the wastrel, Prince Fortin. The last thing Rodas wants is war. His highest ambition is for Nikko to openly wear the jewels he's bestowed on him as a public declaration of their love.

Neither man is prepared for the king to order Nikko to poison Rodas during the solstice feast or for the deadly intrigue they're plunged into, which exposes their affair and rocks the foundations of the kingdom.

• Language: English
• Publisher: TJ Nichols
• Release date: Jan 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393175186

Book preview

Poison Marked

Poison Marked

TJ Nichols

Contents

Poison Marked

Foreword

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Excerpt: Liminality

Excerpt: Warlock in Training

Other books by TJ Nichols

About the Author

Copyright © 2017 by TJ Nichols

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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Poison Marked

Kill his lover or disobey his king and instigate civil war?

As the feared court poison master, Nikko is sworn to do as his king bids. As the lover of the king’s nephew, Lord Rodas, Nikko must hide his affection or risk being labeled a traitor and punished. A former thief who clawed his way into the palace from the filthy streets, Nikko longs to be deserving of Rodas’s love.

A respected war hero, Rodas is in a delicate political situation. He is not the kingdom’s natural heir, though many support his claim over the wastrel, Prince Fortin. The last thing Rodas wants is war. His highest ambition is for Nikko to openly wear the jewels he’s bestowed on him as a public declaration of their love.

Neither man is prepared for the king to order Nikko to poison Rodas during the solstice feast or for the deadly intrigue they’re plunged into, which exposes their affair and rocks the foundations of the kingdom.

Foreword

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Chapter 1

Despite the cold, the men had stripped off their shirts. Their swords glinted in the sun, and their breath came in puffs of white clouds, as though they were breathing fire. There’d been weapons demonstrations and mock fights all day. There would be feasting all night.

Nikko glanced up at the clear blue winter sky. The frost that embraced the earth at dawn had melted long before lunch, and the sun was falling on the shortest day of the year.

This was the last battle, and the king’s son, Fortin, was fighting his cousin. Unlike the other fights, this one was staged. The winner would be Fortin.

Nikko was no swordsman. He knew enough to fend off an equally unskilled thief, but even he could tell Fortin’s strikes were sloppy. His footwork lacked grace, and his face was plastered with a dull smirk, as though he thought everyone around him a fool.

In front of Nikko, the king grunted and shifted in his seat, no doubt uncomfortable with his son’s lackluster performance. Nikko switched his attention to the king’s nephew, Rodas.

Usually he tried not to look at Rodas too closely, so he delighted in watching his lover openly today. Rodas’s dark hair was drawn back in a long braid. His focus was absolute, and there was no casual smile on his lips. It was the face of a warrior. While Nikko was familiar with his scars, seeing Rodas fight made his heart beat a little harder and his blood run a little hotter.

To Nikko’s left, someone whispered about one of the battles Rodas had led and won. Nikko had hung on to every bit of news about the border wars while Rodas was away. He’d returned a hero and almost everyone loved him.

Fortin had gone to war, but he stayed safe behind the lines—too valuable to risk on the field. Or was it no one would follow him, even if he tried to lead?

The muscles on Rodas’s back bunched and flexed with each parry and strike. His feet moved through the complicated footwork of the fight. Nikko had watched him dance many times and been jealous of all of his partners, male and female. But that jealousy only lasted until Rodas came to his chamber to spend part of the night.

They’d been sneaking around for three years. For a time it was exciting. Now it rasped over Nikko’s skin like a rough blade. He wanted more.

He couldn’t have more.

Especially not with a man of royal blood.

He was a nobody, an orphan taken in by a poison maker. He’d become an apprentice and eventually a master, and by chance he ended up in the service of the king. But ten years of loyal service could unravel in a few breaths if the king thought he was conspiring with Rodas.

Nikko tore his gaze away. The crowd gasped, and his attention snapped back to the fight. A thin line of red marred Rodas’s forearm. As planned, Fortin had drawn first blood—he was the heir and must beat his cousin. What happened next could’ve been excused as an unfortunate accident. Some would call it another of Fortin’s colossal errors, but others might say it was Rodas showing his exceptional skill as a swordsman.

Rodas’s front foot slid as though the ground were icy. He dropped to his knee and, with a flick of his sword, disarmed Fortin and put the tip of his sword beneath Fortin’s ample chin.

Not a noble breathed as they realized what had happened. Fortin had won, but Rodas had stolen the moment.

The commoners watching from the other side, those who could afford the quarter-lunix entrance fee, cheered. They didn’t care about Fortin’s pride. They wanted to see a good fight, and Rodas had given them that. If Fortin were smarter or less lazy, he’d have put on a better performance.

Fortin’s face flushed purple, which was much the same color as his father’s face. Rage pulled the king’s lips into a thin line. A vein throbbed in his cheek.

Well done, Fortin. First blood, a man beside the king said. He nodded rapidly, as though he could make his words fact.

Nikko bit back a smile. Someone was trying to curry favor, but the words had the desired effect and the tension dissipated. Nobles clapped. Rodas stepped away from the center and let Fortin claim his false victory. Fortin smiled and accepted the undeserved praise.

The king remained tightlipped. No doubt the blame would fall at the wrong set of feet. If Fortin had made the fight look good, it wouldn’t have mattered, but that was too much work for the prince. Fortin’s only real skills were drinking and gambling, and it showed in his soft body and fleshy face.

Nikko risked one more glance at Rodas.