When the physicians arrived, they immediately began examining both Kaliantha and Ulrich.
Kaliantha had told them, more than once, that she was unharmed and that their attention should be given to Count Rubenhart. It made no difference.
She was the Queen.
She had been at the center of a demonic assassination attempt. Five demons had crossed the floor toward her with blades in hand, and a barrier had sealed her away from her guards. No royal physician would accept her word alone after witnessing the blood on her gown and the bodies still lying across the marble.
"Your Majesty, please remain seated," one of the women said.
Kaliantha sat in a high-backed chair brought from the edge of the ballroom. Her posture remained straight, though exhaustion had begun to show in the faint paleness beneath her eyes. The physicians moved around her with care, examining her wrists, arms, throat, and the places where blood had stained her gown.
Camellia stood close beside her mother.
