Page 32 of Elysian

CHAPTER TEN

Experiments

Iscooted the vial over so Hester could place the beaker beside it.

“We crushed the stems as you directed. It is now a fine powder,” Hester whispered.

“Perfect.”

A wave of relief dropped my shoulders. I had worried they would not understand my directions, but they managed well. For a sennight, we worked side by side as we helped Al. I had put all my efforts into being as helpful to Al as possible. I was desperate for distractions, and hated the reason I needed it all the more.

Cassiel had yet to wake. And I could not toss away my concern.

“—her willingness.”

I only caught the last portion of her comment as we strode back to Al. I must have misheard.

“You spoke of this to Ida?” I asked, slowing.

She turned around from the few paces she had walked ahead of me. A frown tugged at the corner of her mouth as she approached me.

“We did not mean to, but she found Vera, Branwen, and me in the midst of crushing it.”

I struggled to inhale. This would destroy our plan⁠—

“She will aid us,” Hester insisted. “She can be trusted.”

“Eye of newt!” Al exclaimed at the workstation. He dabbed the tip of his finger to his tongue again. “Amara, come stir.”

Hester continued watching me, raking her teeth over her bottom lip. “She had come in. There was no option but to tell her⁠—”

“It will be okay,” I interrupted her rushed words and squeezed her arm as I passed her.

Al lifted his head to look at my approach. I smoothed my expression, stifling the doubt. Part of me, an enormous part of me, did not trust Ida, but there was no use debating what could happen. She knew, and if we had yet to be dragged out of here by our throats, it meant she had kept her word.

It was all we could hope for.

I took the spoon from Al and continued stirring as he had. The liquid, if it could be called that, turned in a slow glide. It had a thick, slimy consistency and was a burnt orange color.

“Keep at it. Eventually, it will become fluid.”

Al rifled through a satchel he set upon his metal table. Glass clinked together, banging and clashing. He plucked out a small jar full of what looked like hair. With a push of his thumb against the cork, it popped open. He took the tweezers and lifted a single strand, bringing it to his nose.

“Hair of boar.” He placed it into the beaker, and it dissolved on contact.

“What are you concocting?”

“An attempt at a truth serum—one of many things I have been tinkering with,” he responded casually, waving his hand about. “Vaner has not ceased pestering me. He’s in quite a tizzy after you told him about your ability to read Larien. He is convinced you know where the Lore of Old is.”

It took every piece inside me to keep my composure.

“Did the prophet never help you decipher it?”

Al snorted. “She was a slippery one. I know not whether the woman I came to know spoke any truths.” His bushy brows rose. “I have no doubt my falling out with Lucinda was not coincidental.”

“You fell out with Lucinda?”

“Before you were present to aid me with experiments, it was Lucinda. Yet, one day, she attempted to escape. Coincidentally, it was a fortnight before you arrived at the Citadel.” He scoffed, shaking his head. “It must have been purposeful so I would have need of you.”