Neve ran as fast as he could.
But Ryker ran faster.
The tiger prince reached the hut first and pushed the straw curtain aside with enough force that it ripped slightly. What he saw inside made him freeze completely.
The young beastman that Neve was speaking to just a few minutes ago was lying on the floor.
His body was convulsing slightly. His eyes were rolled back. His breathing was shallow and getting shallower. He was dying. Not slowly. Fast. The kind of fast that meant minutes at most before his heart stopped.
Neve burst through the entrance right behind Ryker.
He rushed forward immediately, his hands moving to the man's body, checking for a pulse, for breath, for anything that said he could still be saved.
Ryker grabbed him and held him back.
"Don't get close to him," Ryker said. His voice was certain. His experience with poisons was clear. "He can't be saved. Isabella must have poisoned him with golden frog poison."
Neve pushed himself off Ryker.
