“Well, well, well, Quellos, you’ve truly outdone yourself. Instead of playing around with old bones from the dirt, you’ve finally been able to keep your subjects alive.”
I dangle a leg off a parapet and stare down into the open courtyard that is part of Perth Quellos’s laboratory. Sira has truly surpassed herself in setting the old fool up with every toy and tool the Below has to offer. I must admit, it almost makes me think he made the right choice instead of languishing in Frostfang’s prison.
Almost.
“Are you going to sit up there and judge, or are you going to be of assistance?” Quellos snaps.
“Sit and judge, thank you very much. I like to do what I’m good at.”
Quellos mutters under his breath and turns his attention back to the goblin before him. The little creature stares around with wide eyes, eager to be the next pawn in Sira’s game.
“Stay still,” the old fae barks at the goblin, then, without a moment of warning, shoves it into a glowing green pit before him.
Mist that swirls like emerald fingers writhes around the screaming goblin. The creature crumbles in on itself, pitching forward, chitters turning to gurgles. Quellos sighs and wipes sweat from his bald brow.
“Such power in the Green Flame.” Perth’s eyes widen. “If only we could draw more of its magic into this world.”
My insides to turn to ice. Oh yes, let’s invite a terrifying god-like being that could obliterate the entire Enchanted Vale and the human world with a snap of his giant fingers. My jaws tighten, but I let nothing show on my face. All of Mother’s prayers, all of Quellos’s tricks with crystals … None of it compares to what lies within my own blood. It is a secret Quellos doesn’t know, can never know.
I turn my attention back to Quellos’s little experiment.
Green fire erupts through the creature and it straightens, crying out with renewed vigor. Its eyes flash with that same eerie flame. Its gnarled body climbs up the wall to stand before the former vizier of Winter.
“Very good,” Quellos says, then points to the back wall. “With the others.”
The goblin, now burning with an inward phantasmal fire, stumbles across the courtyard, where rows of other flame-riddled goblins stand in wait.
That must make … What? Two thousand of them now?
I keep a smirk plastered on my face. “Quite the little army you’re brewing. They weren’t any match for Castletree, though. Mother wasn’t pleased with either of us.”
The fingernail lines down his skull have just started to heal.
Quellos shakes his head. “I’ve only tried it on goblins. Just wait until I get it to work on fae.” He looks up at me, blue lips stretched thin from his smile. “Care to be my first test subject?”
I leap down, landing the ten-foot jump with graceful ease. I waltz over to Kel’s former vizier and bop him on the nose. “Not in the slightest.” Then I turn and stroll through the archway into his lab. “Though I am fascinated by what other little creations you’ve been cooking up. What a wickedly twisted mind you have.”
Quellos scuttles after me, breathing heavy. Vain fool can never resist showing off his work. And I do so like to be aware of everything all the time.
The lab is lit by the soft glow of luminescent jewels embedded in the walls and ceiling. Multiple workstations are set up throughout the large space. Glass apparatuses bubble with brightly colored elixirs, while shelves are stocked with vials.
To the side is a small greenhouse. I press my nose to the glass. “You’ve made significant strides in here. It’s positively bursting.” I’m not lying just to stroke his ego: the space is filled with huge red, yellow, and purple flowers.
“Yes, yes, we’ve had great success with our botany projects,” Quellos says, too enraptured with his own work to remember he hates me. “You can go inside if you like, but you must wear one of these.” He pulls down a vase and fishes out a white bloom.
I wave it away. “That’s all right.”
“Fine then.” Quellos sniffs.
I continue my tour through the laboratory, randomly picking things up, examining them, ignoring Quellos’s cries of displeasure, then continuing on. A horrid sound catches my ear, and I point to a cage on the desk. “What’s going on there?”
Pale yellow foam oozes out of the mouth of a small brown rat, eyes rolled back to reveal the whites. It slams against the bars of the cage, squeaking and scratching.
Quellos strokes his chin. “Ah, this is a variation of bio botanical experiments. I was hoping this one would be trainable, but alas, it is still rabid.” He darts his eyes around and says lowly, “Too bad I already authorized the use of it on my fae test subject.”
I narrow my eyes. “Is this how you created that monstrosity you trialed last week? The one that escaped and took out the entire goblin unit?”
“I recaptured it,” he says.
The eruption of a portal sounds outside the lab and bickering follows.
“Do not show weakness now.” My sister’s voice.
“I am not weak.” The equally vicious retort of the young Spring prince, Kairyn.
The Nightingale and her rabid dog have returned.
Birdy’s eyes are ablaze with anger as they walk in. Kairyn always looks the same to me, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he were feeling the same.
“Cute look, Birdy. How was your party?” I ask. “I wasn’t invited.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t crash it,” Perth sneers as he uses tongs to try to feed the rabid rat. “You love doing that.”
I flash a grin. “It’s not as fun without Keldarion there.”
Birdy storms over and smacks the tongs out of Quellos’s hand, making him jump. “Enough of your rambling! We have an opportunity to take action tonight. Let us not waste it.”
“We don’t need to be so hasty,” Kairyn rumbles. “My brother’s trust in me grows daily. Besides, I have put measures in place to shake even his iron will. Soon, he will grant me the seat of steward officially—”
The Nightingale rounds on him. Though she is nearly a foot shorter, she surges up on her toes and gets straight in his face. “And what good is a steward if that damned brother of yours is always hovering about? We don’t need a stewardship, idiot. We need the throne itself! We need Spring’s Blessing!”
Kairyn bristles but says nothing.
“It is our purpose. I’ve only just begun, and I’m already so much further along than you at retrieving my own Blessing. These princes aren’t our allies. They are the enemy, and they’re only worth what we can take from them.” A deep sigh escapes Birdy’s lips, and she leans against the counter, head in her hands. “I’ve made my decision. Ezryn dies. Tonight.”
Now it’s my turn to bristle. “Well, well, well, the little bird has flown the coop. I don’t think you’ve received the order for that yet.”
“I’m taking initiative. Unlike you.” She glowers up at me.