Page 43 of Charmed

I sighed. “It would have been better for you if you hadn’t. She’s the most unpleasant woman. I curse the relation almost as often as I curse my royal status.”

A title I’d never wanted to escape more than I did now. My brush with my faltering powers had only given me a taste of a life without magic, enough for me to know that a life absent of my greatest purpose wouldn’t be any life at all.

Which meant I had to succeed, no matter the cost.

CHAPTER14

MAEVE

The concentration furrowing Alden’s brow as he muttered to himself while frantically searching through his teetering stack of magical tomes had long grown familiar. He’d deciphered the clue to the next task in record time, but this gain in his confidence was marred by the unsettling ominousness brought by whatever force had suppressed his powers back in the clearing that still lingered like an ever-present spell.

His unease mingled with the magic that hung like a heavy mist in the forest, a location Alden had chosen for its abundance of magical ingredients now that he was paying better attention to the geography of an area and how it affected his magic. The enchantment was potent enough for me to detect it even in my cursed form; it glistened beneath the slanting sunlight, its otherworldly aura lining the foliage like drops of morning dew.

I hopped closer to examine the clue for the next task, the ink that formed each curly letter shimmery against the parchment. The message was concise:Create an Innovative Potion.

I gasped in alarm. “You have to invent a new potion?” I knew such attempts could take years of experimentation.

He shook his head. “No, they merely want me to successfully concoct a known mixture. The test is not so much in creativity as the last one, but in accuracy, as potions can be notoriously tricky.”

I grimaced, all too aware of that truth.

“Additionally, I presume I will be tested on what I choose—what type of potion a future council member would focus on.”

It seemed a straightforward enough task to me, but that wasn’t enough to lessen Alden’s perpetual anxiety.

He slowed his hurried page flipping when a recipe finally caught his attention. He read through the ingredients before nodding once and tipping the book in my direction. “What do you think about this one?”

My breath caught in surprise as I read the title:A Potion to Heal All Ailments. I recognized this advanced brew, thanks to my obsessive study that had made me quite familiar with healing potions; what I lacked in experience to successfully concoct them I made up for in book knowledge. Other than the mystical charm that would be Alden’s reward should he earn a position on the Enchanters’ Council, this was the most effective healing potion in existence, to my knowledge.

I wasn’t sure what potion I’d imagined he’d settle upon for the challenge, but it certainly hadn’t been one I’d obsessed over ever since beginning my magical training, especially when he hadn’t demonstrated much interest in the healing arts before.

“I think that is a very noteworthy potion to create,” I managed once I finally found my voice.

A pleased smile tugged the corner of his mouth. “My apprentice actually prompted the idea.”

A surprisedribbitescaped before I could suppress it. For a startled moment I wondered if even with the curse’s shield he’d discovered my true identity.

Upon noticing my confusion, he hastened to explain. “From the beginning, her motivation to learn magic has been to help her chronically ill brother. At first I admittedly considered such a narrow focus a limit to her potential, but I’m slowly coming to realize my own misguided view. I’ve spent most of my studies improving for my own sake rather than to use my powers to benefit others. I’ve been resentful of my sister’s participation in this competition, believing her selfish focus makes her unworthy of a position on the Enchanters’ Council…only to realize I’m not much different.”

“You’re nothing like her.” On our journey, Alden had explained his history with his sister and her shift in focus in her studies, but I hadn’t needed his insight to discern the dark aura that had surrounded her like a shadow, nor the coldness in her toying smirk.

“Perhaps not to the same extent, but I can’t deny I’ve been selfish. My apprentice was under my tutelage and care for weeks, and yet I did little to guide her beyond basic troubleshooting when her potions failed. If nothing else, I’m hoping my choosing a potion for this task that would interest her will allow me to be a more effective tutor when I return home.”

For another paranoid moment I wondered if Alden knew my identity and was only feigning ignorance. Whether or not this was a formal apology, the words effectively acted as their own healing charm that cured the last of my resentment that had intensified the burden brought by my worry for Corbin already wearing me down.

“You’re willing to focus on a healing potion over another for something as important as the competition?” I asked.

His hesitation was brief before he squared his shoulders. “Yes.”

My heart swelled, not just from his words, but the possibility that if the tonic worked, I could find a way to send it to Corbin whose unknown condition weighed heavily upon me.

With this renewed purpose, I straightened. “Then I will help you.” For all my determination, there might be little I could do to contribute with the continuous failures in the healing tonics I’d attempted, but perhaps my mistakes could be of some use.

The first step was to procure the ingredients. Thankfully Alden didn’t vacillate long between accepting or ignoring my offer to help before concluding that my assistance in foraging wasn’t the same as contributing my magic to the creation of the potion itself, and therefore including me was conscionable.

We divided the list, not evenly considering I was only familiar with two of the ingredients and had to limit my search to those that could be found closer to the ground.

The first washypericum erectum, a basic herb with dainty yellow flowers. Though I had used the plant in many of my basic potions, there wasn’t a convenient patch to forage from here like the one growing near the castle. I glanced around the forest, seeming even more vast from my diminutive perspective, that contained an abundance of foliage, each with its own properties and uses in various enchantments that were foreign due to my inexperience.

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