Page 50 of Fatality on the Field

I snort. “If you ask the right people, one day he will be the Daybreak Court.”

She drops her pen at my words. It hits the legal pad and bounces, clattering against a jar. Then her clipboard tilts, almost slipping from her grip, and for a heartbeat she just stares at my friend. When she catches herself, she blinks fast and then talks a mile a minute.

“I wasn’t aware the Daybreak Court had a representative at State U, let alone in the legal department. The literature on Fae involvement in surface-world academia is so sparse, I would have assumed most royalty stayed out of mundane politics entirely. Are you aware of the documented hybridization events involving your realm’s flora with terrestrial relatives? I have an entire shelf on cross-realm plant propagation, but only one article ever mentions a direct Fae source, and it’s in German.”

Liam absorbs this with the composure of someone who’s had similar conversations a thousand times. “I am not technically a representative, much less a legal one,” he says with a sheepish grin. “I’m a grad student, but I have access to the court’s library. I could probably get you articles or specimens of things if you know what you’re looking for. I should note that most of our research is not translated into languages that are common here, though.”

Kimiko makes a choked noise and points at her tablet on the table. “Do you have any experience with this genus?” She picks it up and shows us the screen to show a hand-drawn cluster, each one with a halo and what looks like microscopic barbs. “We’re pretty sure it’s not from any known plant in this realm, but the containment warding from the boxes matches certain Fae techniques, I think. If the original sample was taken in Faerie, it might explain the effect this thing is having on the beings here that don’t have your blood.”

I don’t know what’s funnier—the way she’s forgotten Slade and I are even in the room, or the way she’s talking to the prince like he’s a goddamn seed catalog.

To his credit, the siren actually laughs. He shakes his head and says, “Kimmi, he’s got more than just access. He’s being humble. You’re talking to the crown prince of the Daybreak Court.” Slade flashes a sharp smile at Liam, his eyes dancing with mischief. “Were you not going to tell her that?”

The professor stares at Liam with something close to awe, but she’s a scientist at heart, so the worship quickly snaps back to focus. “Sorry, Your Highness. I don’t… I’m not someone who pays attention to that sort of thing. Please do not think I sought to put you in a difficult position. However, I believe you might assist us with our current problems.”

“Wait,” I say as she picks up a jar and unscrews the lid. “Is that safe? It’s my job to make certain nothing dangerous befalls our prince.”

Slade chuckles, then sobers. “Mostly. Kimmi’s got the specimens that we believe harmed the students under a double layer of Fae and demonic seals. These are simply samples of things that have similar properties to the ones locked in the greenhouse.”

I scan the array, frowning. “Where did the suspected poisonous plants come from?”

“A shipment arrived when I was busy. Three of my grad students often unpack, inventory, and settle our shipments, so that’s what happened. When they collapsed, it made enough noise that I came out, and when I saw people on the ground, I masked up. The warehouse on the label came from Jersey, and according to Ignatius, the address was listed to a shell company. What we have here is… well, it’s not from our realm. The spore structure is incorrect, and I think whoever crossbred it possibly weaponized it intentionally.”

Liam’s attention sharpens, and he walks to the edge of the table, careful not to get too close to the jars. “You said three students are down? Where are they?”

“Yes. One exposed herself by mistake while opening the crate, but the other two were just in the same room, and it hit them almost instantly. They’re being treated at the hospital, but the symptoms keep changing—first it’s respiratory, then neurological, and then dermatological. It acts as if it’s adapting to the things our healers use to stall it—or it did when the EMTs tried to get them stabilized for transport.”

Slade holds up his finger as he says, “We’re waiting for the latest report from the hospital. Zuszanna went with them, and Morgana, Lucas, and Iggy left to join her. We’ve called Jackson, and he said he’s sending a really amazing healer to meet them. I don’t know who it is, but he seemed to be confident that the person could help.”

“Once we know how the spores react to that, we’ll have a better chance of fixing it, I think. Is there any risk to the rest of the campus?” Liam looks worried, and I don’t blame him. During our time together in Faerie, several of the wars were made worse by plagues and biological weapons infused with magic. He knows what kind of devastation can happen when new things bred to harm innocents are introduced to new environments.

The professor frowns as she shuffles some papers. “Not yet—at least, I don’t think so. I locked down the greenhouse, and we ran a full air purge on the lab. The infected were isolated within minutes. Since we have no idea what it is—which I assume includes you since you haven’t named it—we need to know who sent it and why, so we can be ready for more.”

I listen to all this, assessing the threat level for a moment and then ask, “So you want Li to examine the stuff in the jars because it’s close to what you saw for a moment while panicked? That doesn’t seem very helpful.”

Kimiko looks at me as if she just remembered I’m in the room. “I would love to have a Fae verify the real sample, but there’s a nonzero chance exposure will affect his biology in ways I can’t predict. The reason I called the Dean was to get authorization to test it once we have a grip on what it might be. These samples might help us figure that out.”

I shrug with practiced resignation when Li nods at her nonsense. He’s always keen to help and as a Fae prince, his connection to nature is much stronger than hers. However, we don’t know this poisonous thing is from Faerie at all. That knowledge might be completely useless if the real thing isn’t from our realm.

Why risk it for so little reward?

“We should wait for Morgana and the others to call with information from the hospital.” Slade straightens up from his slouch and sets his phone down on the table as he looks at us. “Jackson’s contact should be at the hospital soon, and if I know Morgana, she will let no one touch the kids unless they pass muster. Once the healer examines them and all the tests the hospital is running come back, we’ll have a better idea of what we’re working with.”

I lean against the wall, my arms crossed and a stubborn look on my face. “I can check the hospital, but I need Liam to promise he is not opening any samples or going into that greenhouse, no matter what he’s wearing. His father will wage war if he’s harmed, and I might as well be smoked dragon meat if I let it happen. Got it?”

Kimiko nods, but she doesn’t look happy. “If it’s weaponized, it’s going to be more dangerous to us than to the kids in the hospital. We need to move quickly.”

Giving her a smug look, I push off the wall and head for the door. “Trust me, it’ll be fine. I’ll get there before their expert even graces the doorway. Slade, send the address to my phone?”

Liam takes this all in and sighs. “Kas, keep me posted. If anything needs to be escalated, we may need to try different avenues, even if it means calling my father.”

The silence in the room is brief, but total.

“I’m hoping that won’t be the case,” I say as I head out the door. “I’ll check in with Morgana and make sure the students are secure. You guys keep researching—but no live plant shit.”

Slade texts me before I’m even in the stupid elevator, and I sigh heavily. Of course there’s a mysterious package that poisoned a bunch of kids in the fucking greenhouse. This campus is goddamn cursed since the death of that damn pervert, and we’re left to handle all this because a bunch of idiots have their egos wounded about Morgana being in charge. It’s impossible to plan for, and I’m getting pretty damn tired of it.

The fuckers doing this had better pray I don’t get a hold of anyone of them—I’m not feeling kindly and they’ll suffer quite a bit before I let them die.