Vel, an Oracle older than Prythian itself, visits the Autumn Court at the request of its High Lord. While there she gets swept up in the court's political scheming, with Eris trying to win her favor using any means necessary. But all is not what it...
She immediately went to work on the antidote. That bird was a jerk but he had never failed her when it counted. He would be looking day and night for Glynn. The two could turn up as early as tomorrow morning and the decoction needed to boil for at least a day. Cassian would scold her for not getting eight hours of sleep but it couldn't be helped. She dragged the cauldron outside and set it on the campfire at the edge of her cabin, away from the old oak tree. A flick of her wrist had the fire lit and the cauldron filled with water.
At first, she'd tried measuring the ingredients, attempting to estimate how much Glynn weighed, but she quickly realized she wasn't familiar enough with gargoyle anatomy to make an informed guess – they were made of stone not flesh after all. So instead she figured she'd get the proportions of the ingredients correct and dose out the liquid later. Mandrake root and feverfew petals, milk thistle flower, and dandelion root.
She was almost out of dandelion root, so she dumped everything she had and measured all the other ingredients against it. It was not dandelion season in the Middle and she would rather not go to Spring or Autumn right now – or anytime soon. She had been content to ignore the rest of the world and the things she should be doing for three whole months.
She should be having a chat with Rhysand. She wanted him to say to her face that her life had been less important than politics. But she supposed him letting his General spend half of his days with her was his way of apologizing. She should have been checking up on Lucien. Azriel had mentioned in passing that he was now emissary of the Spring Court. Lucien had saved her life, uprooting his own in the process. Checking in with him and paying back her debt would be the least she could do. But ... there was another balance to be settled. If she paid a visit to Lucien she would have to pay a visit to his brother too. And seeing Eris ... well ...
She knew what he was, that he was absolutely not to be trusted, that at any given point, Eris was hatching an ungodly amount of schemes. She guessed he might have had a hand in her imprisonment, directly or indirectly because his end goal was and will always be to become High Lord and then to secure that seat. Saving her could just have been a way to gain another ally.
But knowing all these things hadn't stopped her from losing her damned mind when he'd kissed her. To pull him in instead of pushing him away. It hadn't stopped hope from forming in her chest as he'd carried her through the dungeons. Hope that he was different, that she was wrong about him.
No matter how the rational part of her screamed and thrashed, there was something in her heart that drew her towards him. And when he was around, that voice of reason was simply not loud enough to drown out her fluttering heartbeat.
One thing at a time. The water was boiling. She threw all the herbs in and stuffed them deeper with a large wooden spoon, stirring once, twice, three times. As she stirred she realized there was one thing she could do to make the antidote more potent, possibly induce reversal of the disease and encourage healing. She brought her hand to her mouth and bit down on the tip of her finger. Three drops of blood trickled into the cauldron, Dawn's healing power within. The liquid bubbled and fizzled. Blood was valuable, blood was dangerous. You could bind a creature to do your bidding or worse ...
But if she was calculating the debts to be settled Glynn had also saved her life. She and Lucien wouldn't have been able to escape if those cuffs had stayed attached and he had risked a great deal by helping them. And before him, the gargoyles of old had fought for the rebels during the uprising. They'd earned freedom from their constructs only to be later hunted down by the Fae. With them unable to find an outlet for their magic, the same power had turned inward and attacked their bodies – it was only a theory but she'd be willing to bet three drops of blood on it.
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In a predictable fashion, Cassian was carping on about the importance of resting before training as she was face down in the grass after lunging at him and losing her balance. The male poked her in the back with the butt of her own sword. Vel only lay there pretending to be dead. She didn't know how she'd managed so many sleepless nights in a row before but between the training and the alchemy she was exhausted. Stirring the cauldron for two nights in a row had not been her wisest decision and having to listen to Cassian's jokes had drained the last dregs of her energy.
"No snoozing during training."
She rolled on her back to stop Cassian from kicking her in the ribs. "There's some stuff I need to take care of. I need a week's break."
"You're not taking a week off to make soup."
Vel groaned and closed her eyes. "For the last time, it's not soup. And no, I won't tell you what it is. It's none of your business." Cassian was now nudging her in the forehead with the tip of his boot. She grabbed a fistful of mud and threw it in his general direction. There was a wet splat and she opened one eye to see that she'd gotten him right in the neck.
"If you have enough energy for that then you have enough energy to keep your guard up," Cassian said before grabbing her by her belt and hoisting her up. "And I'm serious I can't give you a week off. Rhys is already grumbling about me being here every day. If we pause then he will fill up my schedule with something else."
"Do you enjoy being here? I can imagine you have better things to do"
"Of course I do. Better than going head-to-head with Devlon at Windhaven."
Vel punched his arm. "You could just say I'm the best student you've ever had and it's a joy to be in my presence."
"Well, that would be a lie. You're the most stubborn student I've ever had and your footwork is still terrible even three months later. You're lucky you're quick and you have a good right arm."
"I'll gut you with that arm right here." Cassian easily dodged out of her way, laughing. The threat didn't seem to be all too convincing when she was sleep-deprived. "But if you're fine with the training just tell Rhysand to go fuck himself." A muscle feathered in Cassian's jaw and she quickly backtracked. "Or tell him I said that and let him take it up with me. I wouldn't mind practicing my right hand on that smug face of his."
"I would pay good money to see that." Cassian tried to flank her on the left side but she whirled around him. "You know, Azriel says you and Rhys don't get along because you're too similar."
Vel smiled sarcastically. "I like to believe I'm smarter, stronger, and better-looking." She made an attempt to swing for his exposed back but Cassian turned and hit her with an extended wing. She stumbled and almost lost her balance, cursing at her feet under her breath. "I just need three days and I'll be back I promise. Rhysand doesn't need to know. You can just come over here and kill some time. I don't think you know how to read but I'm sure you'll find a way to entertain yourself. Just don't start coloring on my books." Cassian lunged and she grinned as she blocked his sword upwards and got under his guard, kneeing him in the stomach. Too early of a celebration because he headbutted her and she fell backwards in the grass. Again. She felt a trickle of blood run down from her nose and over her cheek.
Cassian gave her a hand to pull her up. "Don't get so close to people if you don't have your weapon handy, especially if they have more muscle than you."
"Or a thicker skull," she mumbled ruefully. He laughed and ruffled her hair, messing up her braids in the process.
"Fine, you can have your vacation. Three days only. And if you're visiting other courts I want a souvenir."
