Page 33 of Bound By Honey

Freddy studied the interaction between Prince Owen and the curtain.

"What's going on here," he asked as he motioned to the prince.

Prince Owen turned to them, his face still contorted in rage, before quickly composing himself into a more regal expression. He cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry you had to witness that," he said with a hint of embarrassment. "My brother always tends to think the worst of me." He gestured toward the curtain, which seemed to shimmer ever so slightly.

"If you will excuse us for a moment, Prince Owen. Let me get you something to eat with your tea," Sage offered.

Prince Owen nodded absently, and Sage jerked her head for Freddy to follow her. After she closed the door behind them, she led Freddy to her workroom and held up the vial.

"How much do you know about potions?" she asked.

"Quite a bit. Why?” Freddy took in her workspace until his eyes snagged on the bottle that Sage held. “What's that?"

"It's why the prince is here. He asked me to make a calming potion with dragon scale."

Freddy's eyes shot from the bottle to her eyes in surprise. "And you did it?"

"Have you ever had anything good come from telling anyone of the royal family no?"

"You have a point. We can fix this. First, tell me what's wrong with the crown prince. Did he show up here like that?"

Sage pointed at the bottle of mad honey still on the table behind her.

"I gave him a tiny amount of that. Not enough to cause any harm."

Freddy’s brow rose. "That would explain his behavior. You know you can lose your head for pulling this stunt."

"I didn't know what else to do!"

"I know. I'm not blaming you."

She set the bottle on the table and crossed her arms while Freddy shook his head.

"Alright, maybe I blame you a little bit,” he said, pacing around the table. “This is what we will do. You will add toadwart to that potion Prince Owen asked you to make. It will still make people appear dead without actually killing them ... generally. I assume you have some."

Walking to the shelves, she pulled down the bottle with toadwart. "It appears so."

"Good. I will have a few drinks with the crowned prince, so when he leaves here, he will chalk all of this up to the alcohol, and hopefully, no suspicion will fall onto you. When you finish up, join us, and we will get him out of here as quickly as possible."

Sage nodded. "I can do that. There's no alcohol in the sitting room. Where are you going to grab some?"

Freddy winked and smiled. " I know where the boys keep the good stuff."

Sage nodded and set to work, grateful for Freddy's help in this precarious situation. She added the toadwart to the bottle, and with a quick wipe to clean any spilled drops, she headed to the sitting room to deliver it.

As she entered, she approached the two men sitting on either side of the fireplace and handed it to Prince Owen.

"This is it," she said, not quite meeting his eyes.

He nodded and accepted the vial, tucking it away into his pocket.

"Thank you for your help, Sage. I am sure this will be of great use. I'll be sure to remember your assistance."

“You really don’t have to,” Sage muttered under her breath through a small forced smile.

He stood and offered a tiny wave goodbye to Freddy and her before taking his cloak and heading to the door. Sage followed and locked it as soon as it closed, relief hitting her now that it was finally over. She was sure to receive some kind of reprimand for her actions, but she seemed to have gotten away with it right now.

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