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I sucked my teeth. If I wasn’t mistaken, it hadn’t been Beryl who killed him. I hated to admit it, but I worried that one of my friends had been behind it. I couldn’t move against them, no matter the stakes.
Rhoan, can you ever forgive me? I thought I could save you, but it would cost me too much.
My heart turned cold. Night slipped over my garden of arcana leaving it chill and dark. Anger simmered deep within its shadows. I could feel my teeth turning to points in my mouth. They pressed against my tongue and drew blood that made everything taste of metal.
“If you wish for me to kill the one who killed your brother, then I cannot do as you ask.” I hung my head.
“Shucks,” Hilda said. “If a fraction of someone’s love is all you want, then I wouldn’t mind giving up mine. I have no plans to use it ever again.”
“Hush, sentient mushroom.” Wilbur put an oversized spindly hand over Hilda’s head and shoved her down, out of sight. He trained his eyes on me once more. “I do not wish harm against those who struck him in battle. I wish to see the fall of the one who placed him in that battle to begin with. Take Beryl down, and we shall call this sale even.”
Wilbur presented the vial. I reached out only to let my hand hover in the air as hesitation gripped me.
“What if I can’t kill her?” Doubt had a hold on me that I could not shake.
Perhaps it was the time I’d spent without Rhoan. It made me shaky and uncertain. With him by my side, I could do almost anything. Knowing that he was in Faust’s hands while I perused a market made me feel like a fraud.
“I care not how you remove her from power, only that she loses everything that she has killed for.” Wilbur slapped the vial into my open palm. He closed my fingers around it and held my hand in his for a long moment. “Should you use this herb only to run away for your own purposes, then I will take your firstborn child.”
“What do you want with a child?” Hilda cried out.
Wilbur turned a dark glare upon her. “They make good fertilizer.”
I shuddered. “Yep. All right. Mhm…”
My fist trembled around the vial. The power of the nightsmane hummed in the palm of my hand. It spoke to me like any herb might, but the things it whispered were ominous. It felt like walking into a psychic reader’s den. Even the smell of incense somehow burned my nose.
Wilbur nodded. “Off with you, then. Go fulfil your end of the bargain,lost princess of the Seelie court, Cerridwen.”
I felt the binding of his words latch onto my heart. The contract was sealed. I almost cursed under my breath for getting myself into a fae contract when I’d specifically warned my friend against doing so. I hadn’t been as cautious.
Thankfully, I had every intention of following through on my end of the deal. Gripping the vial tight, I shoved my hand into my pocket to keep it safe. When I had Rhoan back on my side, then I would be able to take Beryl down once and for all.
As it was, I had her running scared. She feared me and my power so much that she had to keep throwing wrenches in my plans.
Wilbur called out one last time. “You know she’s only toying with you like a cat would a mouse, right? You are already dead if you do not tread carefully.”
I touched my chest where Delphine, the assassin that I’d foolishly trusted, had pierced me with a blade. I’d died at least once already and come close a number of other times.
“If you let her kill you, I do not get my payment,” Wilbur intoned. “Don’t be so foolish. Try to survive.”
In a daze, I wandered back to the entrance of the Goblin Market. Vendors shouted at me and waved their products in the air—the only one that startled me was the apple that split open to reveal a tooth-filled mouth. Still, I shuddered and kept walking.
I would have liked to have visited this place under better circumstances than these. Even now, I looked back and wondered what else was hidden among the wooden stalls and swaying goods. There were stories to be found and stories to be made here. I yearned to see who else would be selling potion-crafting supplies, but I had to get home.
Hand still wrapped around the vial in my pocket, I scanned the crowd for Addie. I’d hoped that she would stand out amongst the fae patrons, but there were too many humans seeking fae food and wine. Had Beryl gotten them addicted to these intoxicating substances with her restaurant?
How could she keep a clientele if she kept poisoning them all?
But that answered my own question. The humans would have to keep coming back for more because nothing else tasted quite the same anymore.
Over and over, I found myself at the foot of yet another problem, each one larger than the last. Guilt swam in the pit of my stomach. I knew that I should have other priorities. My castle was still crumbling. There were fae under a sleeping curse trapped in my crumbling castle. And now I could see all the harm Beryl had done to the human community here in Syracuse.
And yet…I wanted nothing more than to go home and brew a potion to bring my knight back to me.
Was it selfish of me? Was it cruel of me? Probably. And still, I had a hard time feeling too bad. Sure, guilt nagged at my mind, but it wasn’t enough to stop me.
I needed Rhoan more than I needed air. I was tired of suffering and having everything I loved stripped from my hands. It was time that I had the chance to fight for what I wanted, even if it meant putting off the larger problems for a little while longer.
