All eyes moved to Isabella.
In the span of a single moment, her accusation had flipped. She was no longer the victim telling the truth. She was the suspect—the one who had poisoned the man and tried to frame Neve for it.
"Don't listen to him," Isabella said, her voice taking on a desperate edge. "There's no way I would harm a member of the leopard tribe. I'm a princess, and my father was the chief."
"Princess, my foot," Ryker said flatly. His disgust was clear. "Neve and I were together. There's no way Neve would even harm anyone. There's no reason for him to harm anyone."
"Oh, Ryker," Isabella's voice softened. She was trying a different approach, appealing to sympathy rather than authority. "You have to trust me. Please."
Ryker only looked at her with more disgust.
Soren stepped forward. His expression had shifted from confused to cold. The look of a chief deciding on his tribe's security.
"Don't worry, Bella," he said. "I'll make sure you get what you deserve."
