Transmigrated as the Crown Prince's Mate-Chapter 153: Now’s Not the Time...

The first rays of dawn barely filtered through the heavy curtains when Damian stirred. His body felt warm and relaxed, yet his mind had already begun to slip back into wakefulness. He felt uneasy as Storm paced inside him. There was no immediate danger, but something felt off.

Beside him, Evelina shifted, letting out a soft sigh as she buried her face deeper into the pillow.

For a brief moment, Damian let himself watch her, the way her lashes fluttered as she hovered between sleep and wakefulness, and how her breathing stayed slow and steady.

His fingers twitched with the urge to trace the faint mark at the side of her neck—his mark, the one that bound them. Mine, his wolf growled possessively, but Damian forced himself to push the thought aside.

Now wasn’t the time.

Carefully, he moved to sit up, rubbing a hand over his face. There was work to be done, and he had little doubt that chaos awaited him outside those doors.

"You’re awake early," Evelina murmured, her voice still thick with sleep.

Damian glanced down, finding her watching him with drowsy curiosity. A slow smirk tugged at his lips. "So are you."

She huffed, rolling onto her back and stretching her arms over her head. "It’s hard to sleep when you keep tossing and turning."

His smirk faded. He hadn’t realised he had.

Evelina’s gaze sharpened slightly. "Bad dreams?"

"No," Damian admitted. "Just... instincts."

She frowned. "Instincts?"

He sighed, raking a hand through his hair. "Something feels off today. Probably it’s yesterday’s events and Oakenshaw but... I don’t know."

Evelina studied him for a long moment before she pushed herself up, drawing her knees to her chest. "Then we should be ready for whatever’s coming."

Damian watched her closely. It never failed to surprise him how easily she adjusted to situations, how she faced every new problem without hesitation.

Then again, she had no other choice.

After all, she was still fighting to prove her innocence.

After a short pause, Evelina spoke again, but this time, her voice was softer. "Damian."

He looked at her. "Hmm?"

"If I don’t find the proof to clear my name," she murmured, "will you kill me?"

Damian stiffened, his expression immediately hardening.

He had known this conversation would come eventually, but not like this—not in the soft glow of the morning, not with her looking at him like she already knew the answer.

He turned away, reaching for his shirt. "Don’t ask me that."

Evelina’s jaw tightened. "I need to know."

"You need to focus on proving your innocence," Damian countered.

"And if I can’t?" she pressed.

His hands clenched into fists. "Then you will."

She shook her head. "Damian."

He inhaled deeply, forcing his temper down. "I am not having this conversation."

Evelina narrowed her eyes. "Because you don’t have an answer? Or because you do?"

Damian gritted his teeth, standing to his full height. His silver eyes darkened as they met hers. "I won’t let it come to that." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"That’s not an answer."

"Because it doesn’t need to be."

Evelina held his gaze, unrelenting. "But if it did?"

Damian’s entire body tensed.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke.

Then—finally—he let out a slow breath. "If it came to that... then I would do what I had to do."

Evelina’s chest tightened at his words, but she refused to look away.

"Would you hesitate?" she asked.

His jaw ticked. "I don’t hesitate."

And yet, the way he said it, the way his voice wavered just the slightest bit, made her wonder if that was truly the case.

She swallowed, nodding. "Good."

Damian frowned. "Good?"

Evelina forced a smirk. "It means I still have time to prove you wrong."

Despite himself, he huffed a small laugh. "You’re impossible."

She grinned. "I try."

A knock at the door interrupted the moment.

Damian sighed, already knowing it was Jasper. "Come in."

The door opened, and Jasper stepped inside, his usual confident expression replaced with something unreadable.

Damian immediately knew something was wrong.

"What is it?" he asked, his silver eyes narrowing.

Jasper hesitated. Then, with a grim expression, he spoke.

"The horses," he said. "They’re sick."

Damian’s brows furrowed. "Sick?"

Jasper nodded. "All of them."

Evelina and Damian exchanged a glance before both of them stood.

"Show me," Damian ordered.

Jasper turned and led the way.

As soon as they stepped outside, the tension in the air was obvious. Stable hands hurried back and forth, speaking nervously to each other. A few knights stood nearby, keeping a close eye on the horses with serious expressions.

Damian’s stomach twisted.

The sight before him was worse than he expected.

Every horse in the stable was affected. Some lay on the ground, their sides heaving. Others remained standing but barely, their legs trembling, eyes dull.

Evelina moved past him, crouching near one of the fallen horses.

Her fingers gently pressed against its neck, checking its pulse. Then, she examined its mouth, frowning.

"This isn’t normal illness," she murmured.

Damian kneeled beside her. "What do you mean?"

Evelina looked up at him, her brows knitting together. "They’ve been poisoned."

Damian’s breath stilled.

Jasper cursed under his breath. "You’re sure?"

Evelina nodded. "There’s no fever. No sign of infection. But look." She pried the horse’s mouth open slightly, revealing a faint discoloration along its gums. "This... whatever it is, it was ingested."

Damian’s mind whirred. "Who would do this?"

Jasper exhaled sharply. "That’s the question, isn’t it?"

Evelina stood, dusting off her hands. "We need to act fast. If this spreads, we could lose them all."

Damian clenched his fists. "And if this was intentional?"

Evelina’s expression darkened. "Then someone is sending a message."

Jasper ran a hand through his hair. "I can start questioning the stable hands. See if anyone noticed anything suspicious."

Damian nodded. "Do it. And get the palace healers down here—now."

Jasper was already moving before the words were fully spoken.

Evelina turned back to the horse, determination settling into her features. "I can try to slow it down, but I need supplies."

Damian exhaled, his mind racing. "Then we’ll get them."

As he looked out over the stable—over the sick animals, the worried servants, the rising tension in the air—one thing became clear.

This wasn’t just an accident.

This was an attack.

And whoever was behind it?

They wanted Arcadia to suffer.

************

Evelina moved swiftly, already running through the list of supplies she needed. "I need charcoal, vinegar, and a mix of specific herbs—something to counteract whatever toxin they ingested."

Jasper returned within seconds, his expression tense. "I sent for the palace healers, but they’ll take time." His gaze flickered between Damian and Evelina. "If this really is poison, do you think this is connected to—?"

"To me?" Evelina finished for him, arching a brow. "Maybe. Maybe not. But if it is, someone is getting bolder."

Damian’s jaw tightened. He hated the thought that someone would go this far just to shake his kingdom’s stability.

"Whatever the case," he said sharply, "we handle it. Now."

He turned to Jasper. "Find out who had access to the stables last night. I want names."

Jasper nodded, already moving.

Evelina turned back to Damian. "I need to start treating them immediately."

"I’ll get you what you need," he said without hesitation.

The two of them moved quickly, heading toward the apothecary storage within the palace. Servants were already awake, setting up for the day, but Damian’s presence made them step aside without question.

Evelina’s mind was running through calculations. If they were lucky, this was something common—a poison she already knew how to counteract. If not...

She didn’t let herself think about that.

Inside the storage room, she immediately grabbed the necessary items, filling her arms with ingredients. Damian took half the load without a word, carrying them effortlessly as they made their way back to the stables.

By the time they arrived, a few palace healers were already there, kneeling beside the sick horses, murmuring in worry.

Evelina dropped to her knees next to the nearest one and got to work. She ground charcoal into a fine powder, mixing it into water with vinegar before tilting the horse’s head up to make it drink.

"Come on," she whispered, rubbing its throat gently to encourage swallowing.

Damian stood beside her, arms crossed. He hated standing still, hated waiting. His kingdom was under attack, and right now, all he could do was watch as Evelina tried to undo the damage.

After a few minutes, Jasper returned, his expression unreadable. "I spoke to the stable hands. Nothing unusual—except one thing."

Damian’s silver eyes locked onto him. "What?"

Jasper hesitated. "One of the guards reported seeing movement near the stables late last night. He assumed it was just another servant, but... he said he didn’t recognize them."

Evelina paused, looking up. "Did he see their face?"

Jasper shook his head. "No. But he said whoever it was moved too quietly. Too deliberately."

Damian exhaled, his fists clenching. "Then we have a saboteur in the palace."

The weight of his words settled over them.

Whoever had done this wasn’t just attacking the horses.

They were coming for Arcadia itself.

And Damian wouldn’t let them get away with it.