Page 95 of Silver & Smoke
‘He’s growing on me,’ Zavier said with a note of amusement.
‘Same here,’ Wren agreed. ‘If he can get us a complete mask... I just have a feeling that it will help make sense of things.’
Zavier shrugged. ‘I meant what I said back at Drevenor. Silas looks like me – if we were to be recognized as brothers, it would bring his entire reason for this war into question. A royal fighting the power of other royals, because a former royal got too power-hungry? He’s protecting his identity, Wren.’
‘It can’t hurt to investigate.’
‘Because you’ve got so much free time already,’ Zavier quipped.
Wren’s patience was wearing thin. ‘If you’re not going to help, get out. I need to focus.’
Zavier lifted his hands in surrender and went after Vernich.
Wren worked into the early hours of the morning in the Warren’s workroom. At some point in the night, Dessa had joined her, and the pair had hunched over the benches, distilling as much of the dark alchemy cure as possible. Wren even managed to amend her formula so that the liquid could be taken as a preventative rather than just an antidote. The silvertide roses needed to be used in a higher concentration for that particular elixir, though, and so there was only so much they could create with the bulk of the supplies Torj had found with their forces somewhere beyond the stronghold.
She also had several dishes of Torj’s blood out for examination, testing them with various antidotes she had brewed.The difference between poison and cure is simply a matter of dose,she told herself as she worked. As soon as she dissectedwhatthe poison was, the cure would be within reach.
A knock sounded at the door, and Zavier peeked inside. ‘Need help?’
‘Always.’ Wren wiped the sweat from her brow and tended to the flames beneath one of the bubbling crucibles.
‘About time,’ Dessa quipped from her corner of the room.
‘Good,’ Zavier replied, stepping forwards to reveal a dozen other faces behind him. ‘I brought some...’
Wren’s brow furrowed. ‘Zave... are you going to explain?’
Zavier entered the room, his eyes brighter than she’d seen them in a long while. ‘Everyone here has a skill we can use,’ he told her. ‘They may not be alchemists trained at Drevenor, but... a former cook with extraordinary knife skills? A gardener with knowledge of herbs and poisonous plants? Oh, and there’s a man who brews beer somewhere back there...’
‘Don’t introduce him to Kipp, whatever you do,’ Wren replied with a wry smile.
‘Duly noted,’ Zavier said. ‘But what do you think? I can set them up with stations to prepare the different ingredients and tasks, and you and Dessa can do all the actual alchemy?’
Wren met her friend’s gaze, and then those of the eager faces behind him. They had come here to help her, to help Delmira.
And so she grinned. ‘Let’s do it.’
CHAPTER 49
Torj
‘Remnants of the past often serve as a means to illuminate the path to the future’
– Arcane Alchemy: Unveiling the Mysteries of Matter
TORJ SPOTTED HERin the workroom instantly, her hair falling into her eyes as she handed out pouches of herbs to the people of the Warren. The makeshift alchemy space had caused quite the stir in the underground stronghold, with many volunteering to help the future Queen of Delmira, and others coming to her for assistance of their own.
Instinctively, Torj moved towards her, the connection between them tugging him closer, needing her nearer. Extra lanterns had been lit within the cavernous space and the flickering flames caught the bronze in Wren’s hair. Her usually sharp expression was softened by the questions the people asked about her remedies. She handed out supplies as though she hadn’t spent hours upon hours preparing them.
Wren was teaching them how to make the counter-alchemy as well, with different benches set up for different purposes. Some were finely chopping herbs, some were monitoring the fires beneath the cauldrons, and others—
‘No, like this,’ Wren patiently demonstrated to one of the women, showing her how to properly distil the concoction. ‘See how the colour changes? That’s when you know it’s ready for the next step.’
Perhaps it was her hope that for every person who understood true alchemy, it would be one less who could be tempted by Silas’s corrupted form.
‘She’s something, isn’t she?’ Thea stood in the doorway, following his line of sight to her sister among the bustle.
‘That’s an understatement, and both you and I know it,’ Torj huffed.
