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“Gorgeous?” Euthalia said with a tinkling laugh. “Oh, you flatter me.”
“I mean, if it makes you smile, I don’t see why I wouldn’t want to,” Darla continued, taking a scone, and biting into it. She let out a groan that was borderline pornographic, and I found myself a bit concerned Yvonne wouldn’t appreciate the psychic’s antics. “This isgodly!”
“Funny you should say that,” the siren said happily. “These were made with blessed ingredients from my beloved. I’d be happy to share the recipe with you.”
“I’m not much of a cook myself, but that’s awfully sweet of you.”
“Don’t you mean literally sweet of me?”
The two of them shared a laugh, and I felt like Ayla, Oren, and I were all the fifth wheel. Before it could get any more awkward, there were footsteps. A moment later, Yvonne emerged.
Oof, the enchantress was looking less polished than when we first met her. The ruby polish on her nails was chipped, with some of them cracked. She was in a plain shirt and breeches, covered by a thick, duck-cloth apron spattered with dozens of colorful stains.
Her formerly perfectly coiffed hair had been pulled back and was equally messy, speaking of long hours concocting and figuring things out.
“There you are,” she said somewhat breathlessly, dark circles under her eyes, shining purple against her deep complexion. “Please step into my crystal circle. I need to check something.” Ayla took a step forward, but the tall woman clicked her tongue. “No, not you. Your prince.”
“Me?” I said, walking to the circle I’d spent quite a few hours in the previous evening. I didn’t know why I felt the need to clarify, considering I was the only prince in attendance—at least as far as I knew—but I supposed I was just surprised.
At least Yvonne didn’t say anything snarky to me. Instead, she seemed wholly focused as she grabbed the same notebook she’d used before and set it on the floor, then began activating her crystals one by one.
Yet again, I felt her magic float over me, but it wasn’t as refreshing or as tingling as the day before. This felt much more beseeching, like it was asking something of me I didn’t quite understand. The effect was that of dozens of little fingers poking at me, but it never felt intrusive. Perhaps if I didn’t trust the woman, it would’ve been concerning, but for the most part, I was fine with it.
The session didn’t last nearly as long as the last one, either. It was about ten minutes later when Yvonne’s head snapped to the side, those strange eyes of hers narrowing.
“If you’re going to snoop around my head, please wait until I’m not busy with something that could save the life of your captain.”
Darla’s face remained impassive, but I feel guilt. It looked like our jig was up. Hopefully I hadn’t pissed off Yvonne too much.
“I apologize for overstepping,” Darla said, as cool as ever before she took yet another scone. Maybe the moan was less theatrical, and the treats were just delicious, but weren’t they eaten with tea? “I’m so used to everyone having inhibitor bracelets around me, I’ve forgotten a lot of my manners. Would you prefer I wait outside?”
Yvonne nodded, and the tension melted just as quickly as it’d crackled to life. “No, it’s fine. I appreciate your apology. Asa fellow magic user, I understand a new environment can be overstimulating in some ways.”
“I appreciate your understanding.”
Yvonne’s attention returned to me. “You may step out of the circle.”
Her tone was not optimistic, but my stomach sank as I followed her instruction. My suspicion was only confirmed when she flopped back onto her chaise lounge, limbs spread like someone who’d slightly given up on life.
“This curse of yours, Healer Everton… this malignant shadow is chewing through all of my wards faster than I ever thought possible.” She dragged a hand over her face, and I only just then realized she wasn’t wearing all the fancy makeup she’d worn earlier. She was actively trapped in her workshop. “Here’s the thing. I calculated at what rate they should have decayed by taking a reading from you after you left, and like I told you, you were supposed to have nearly a week. But the progress of this thing…” She grimaced. “It’s exponential. I’ve never experienced anything like it. The longer it stays in this metaphorical maze I built, the more violent and unstable it becomes. Almost like it was alive.”
I felt a wave of nausea flow through our bond, and I looked over my shoulder at my mate. I wasn’t thrilled about the bad news, but Ayla looked outright gray.
“Hey, it’s going to be okay,” I murmured, but she just shook her head at me. Right away, I knew what she needed. I wanted to comfort her, to wrap her up in the biggest, fluffiest weighted blanket where she’d never have to worry again, but I understood she preferred space.
I turned my attention back to Yvonne. “What can we do?”
“I’ve been experimenting and researching since you left, and I think I’ve found some correlations to other spells I’ve encountered or read about in the past.”
Finally, the nausea eased a little, so it was less of a deluge and more a harsh storm.
“You have?” Ayla asked, her voice trembling.
“Yes. The strongest comparison is the Dark Horse curse. Have you heard of it?” We all shook our heads, which might have been amusing if we weren’t talking about the future life and happiness of my mate, as well as my own safety. “This particular curse is meant to kill it’s intended victim slowly. It starts off as little inconveniences, before slowly building, and building, like a ticking time bomb, until eventually…” She made a dramatic gesture in her hand like an explosion. “Boom!A catastrophic and lethal end.”
“That does have a certain familiarity to it,” Ayla murmured as the nausea eased up. This wasn’t exactly good news, but I sensed any clarification was a huge relief for my mate. It was, after all, why she was spending so much time in the library closest to our wing.
“Exactly. Another one tickling the back of my brain didn’t have a set name, but it was a case study I read, oh… seventy years ago, I think?”
