Page 175 of Crown of Briars
I blinked, my brows furrowing. “What?”
“Smell it,” she hissed. “What does it smell like to you?”
I inspected the bright green powder within the jar, then lifted it to my nose and inhaled deeply. Then, I frowned. “It smells like… parsley.” There was something familiar about it, though. It was parsley mingled with an earthy scent that reminded me of home.
“Take another whiff,” Tislora urged.
I cast her an incredulous look but inhaled again. A sudden onslaught of memories filled my mind. Hot, fragrant tea from the kitchens of the castle I grew up in. My nursemaid used to drink this tea every single morning. The scent reminded me of her.
“That’s Terrish tea. Or, rather…” I paused, inspecting the powder. “Ground Terrish leaves, I suppose. It comes from the Earthen Court.” I handed the jar back to her. “Tislora, what is this about?”
Her face crumpled, and to my surprise, she grabbed the jar and hurled it against the stone wall. I shrieked as the glass shattered, spraying the floor with tiny shards.
“Everything—Everything has gone toshit!” she screeched, her wings flaring wide. I gasped and withdrew a step, startled by howhugethey were. Larger than Varius’s, they nearly filled the span of the room, black as death with sharpened talons at each peak.
“I don’t understand,” I whispered. “Why are you here? What’s happened?”
“Someone has tampered with my store of hellebore leaves.” She ran her hands through her hair, making it look even wilder than before. “Hellebore has a similar smell to whatever this tea leaf is. It’s quite close. Close enough to deceive me.”
I shook my head, not understanding. “What does that mean? What do you use hellebore for?”
Her silver eyes snapped to mine. “Varius’s elixirs.”
My stomach hollowed, and my hand flew to my throat. “No…”
She nodded, her eyes grim. “It’s a key ingredient. Without it, the elixirs won’t work.”
Dread coiled tightly in my chest, so sharp I couldn’t get enough air in my lungs. I sat down in the chair by the desk, my hands shaking. “So—So those potions you made, with my blood, with Varius’s…”
“They did nothing.” Her voice was filled with despair. “With your blood, they lessened Varius’s symptoms, giving us the illusion of success. But it was a farce. The elixirs did not push the shadows back. And they did not delay his condition.”
My head whipped up, and I stared at her in alarm. “What condition?”
“Every full moon, he transforms, his features becoming more monstrous with each cycle.”
My heart seized in my chest. “What?”
“Thewings and tails were the last to appear before the previous kings were lost to the beast within.”
I felt the blood drain from my face. “What—What does that mean?”
“Every full moon, the king of the land becomes more of a vicious beast, losing all awareness of who he is. Varius’s father died from the wounds of the transformation. His grandfather slaughtered an entire village before the soldiers managed to kill him.” Tislora’s mouth thinned, her silvery eyes looking haunted. “Varius is out of time.”
My head was spinning, and my body felt icy with horror. My mouth went bone dry, and I couldn’t swallow.
Varius was dying.
The elixirs had donenothing.
All of it had been for nothing.
I took a shuddering breath, trying to calm my raging pulse. “I can fix this.” My voice was shaky.
Tislora looked at me incredulously. “What are you talking about?”
“I know how to break the curse.”
She went rigid, then turned to face me fully, her eyes flashing with intensity. For the first time since she appeared at my door, she seemed like the sharp and cunning Tislora I was used to. “Tell me.”
