'A Proposition of the Heart', 'Knives' and 'To End the Tale' Summary

As Poison and her friends discuss what to do about Aelthar, Scriddle appears and tells Poison that Aelthar wants to see her. Poison goes to him, escorted by trolls for her safety. Aelthar says he did not plan the death of the Hierophant and in fact was never given the dagger. He says Scriddle must have taken the dagger and used it to kill the Hierophant with Lady Pariasa's help. Aelthar has been grooming Scriddle to be the next Hierophant for some time but Scriddle was too ambitious and impatient to wait. Pariasa helped him, intending to marry him and so hold on to her power.

He tells Poison that her sister Azalea was taken as part of the breeding program that spawned...