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I felt the large variety of herbs growing in the kitchen, bursting with life even as someone plucked a few of the leaves.
Finally, I felt the room I was in. It was nearly empty as far as plants went. Besides the living, breathing being that was the tree we occupied, and the herb pouch tucked in my dress, I felt only two tiny twinges.
Both seemed to have been set on the table furthest from me. The twinges felt familiar; I recognized the plants, though I couldn’t say what they were from where I was in the moment.
“There’s nothing in the bodies that I can feel,” I said quietly. “Just two things over there.” Letting out another long breath, I pulled my mind away from my magic and opened my eyes. “What are they?”
“The fertility-suppressant plants. Most males take them too, when they’re with a partner.”
I nodded. “Can I see?”
He captured my hand and pulled me over to a small tray with two leaves on them.
I slipped my pouch out of my dress and pulled one of my own leaves from it, leaning closer and comparing them. Visually, they looked identical.
“And you studied them to make sure no one has poisoned them?” I asked.
“Dirue does every time,” he confirmed. “We check for magical tampering, too, but haven’t found anything.”
My throat swelled. “What if she’s the killer?”
“Dirue? No. She’s been alive longer than any of the rest of us, and has been taking care of our people with medicinal herbs and plants throughout the years. The woman has an entire garden dedicated to it.”
I held my leaf between two of my fingers, and picked up one of the other ones with my free hand.
“Veil, Nissa,” Kierden growled, trying to rip the leaf from my hand. I took a few quick steps back and closed my eyes, focusing on the tiny blip of energy coursing through both leaves.
“These arenotthe same, Kierden. They grow the same and look the same, but their energy is different. I noticed a strange plant between the others in Dirue’s house—and this feels like it came fromthatplant.”
He ripped both leaves from my hand and dropped them on the table as he covered my fingers with ice, like he was trying to cleanse them. The ice cracked and fell away quickly, vanishing before it could clatter to the ground.
“She’s not the killer—And don’t risk your damnlife.” He snarled that last part at me, grabbing my pouch of the herbs off the counter and shoving it in his pocket.
I could feel the eyes of every other fae in the room on us, but I didn’t let myself acknowledge that. “I didn’t say she’s the killer,” I told him, my voice calm and even. “I said that those leaves came from two different plants. Which they did. Maybe mated couples need stronger fertility suppressants; I don’t know. But the plants she gave me are not the ones she gave the couple who died.”
He stared at me, eyes narrowed and chest heaving.
I met his stare without flinching.
“I’ll get mine so we can determine which ones are different,” one of the female fae in the room with us said quietly. I turned my head, looking away from Kierden and meeting her eyes. They glowed a brilliant teal, a gorgeous contrast to her vibrant purple hair and dark brown skin.
“I need to go back for more,” one of the men said. He had tan skin, purple eyes, and gleaming white hair. “I’ll mention that I wish I could make Eiva my mate, and ask her what she knows of the bond outside of the murders, so we can find out if fertility increases.”
“My house is close enough to hers that I can sit on my porch and read while keeping an eye on her without raising suspicion,” another female offered. Her amber gaze met Kierden’s glowing blues as she stood and slipped her hands into the pockets of her simple, black dress. “None of us want to believe Dirue could be behind this, but this is the only real clue we’veeverhad. And when you think about it, haven’t all of the bodies had the same leaves? If they’re really different than the ones the rest of us take…” she shook her head, her eyes pooling with tears. “We’ve lost too many people. No one will make sense as the murderer after this long.”
She turned and left the room, her words hanging heavy in the air around all of us.
“Itcouldbe a coincidence,” the male fae with the white hair said. “But we’d be fools not to look deeper into it. Nissa doesn’t know any of us; she’s perhaps the only person in our kingdom who could see the deaths from a neutral perspective. I’ll report back after I’ve talked to Dirue—we all need to spread the word that we’ve given up on our search without finding any clues.”
Nods went around the room, but I looked at Kierden.
He jerked his head too, and finally admitted, “It’s a good idea. Thank you. Come and find me if you have news.”
Murmurs of agreement followed, and the rest of the fae filed out of the room until it was just me and the king.
I braced myself for his anger as I turned toward him.
Instead, I saw him rake his fingers through his hair as he swore under his breath.
