Page 49 of Forged By Malice (Beasts of the Briar #3)

48

Caspian

“W ell, 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.

The black cape sweeps over the floor as Kairyn paces back and forth. “When I aligned with you years ago, it was for the good of my realm. For my people.”

Birdy throws her head back and laughs, harsh and biting. “Is that what you’re still telling yourself, love?” She swishes her short hair and drifts over to Kairyn, hips sashaying back and forth. Her fingers walk up his metal chest, and my eyes nearly roll to the back of my skull. “You aligned with me because you want that throne as much as I want to put you on it.”

Kairyn’s dark gaze burrows into hers, and I know she has him. She continues, “Ezryn left the realm to ruin. Remember what I showed you when we ventured into the Briar? He’s a beast, Kai. A monster. But you knew that already, didn’t you?” Her hand caresses his helmet. “Your brother is a murderer.”

By gods, she is good. I mean, not that Kairyn is the most difficult of subjects—all fight, no facts, just like his brother—but she could talk him into laying down his helm, and he’d thank her for it.

“He is a murderer…” Kairyn repeats.

“It is your destiny to sit atop the Spring throne,” Birdy says slowly. “We called upon the Fates, you and I, and asked them what they saw. They showed you your silver path. You will sit upon the throne of Spring and wield its Blessing. Only then can you usher in a new era of prosperity.”

It’s like a performance, and Quellos and I are mesmerized, watching as she completely wraps the prince around her finger like a piece of twine. It’s equally fascinating and pathetic.

But the dog still has some bite. “The Fates never showed me my brother’s death,” Kairyn growls. “I can still gain the Blessing my way. I just need more time.”

“You are afraid of your true potential,” she says. “Of the life you deserve. Until you free yourself of this loyalty to the brother that banished you, you will always be his servant.”

Kairyn stays silent, fists curling and uncurling. “I’m not his servant. He will see my worth.”

The Nightingale grabs Kairyn’s hand and places it over her heart. “Listen to me, Kai. I found you in the monastery when you were all but hopeless. I gave you purpose. I helped you retake the Golden Acolytes and save the people of Spring. And what has Ezryn done? He betrayed you. He doesn’t believe in you. Not like me.”

I cross my arms. From the quiver in her voice, you’d almost think she actually cared for this fool of Spring. Except I know better. Birdy can’t care for anyone; Sira beat that out of her.

Kairyn turns away. “I won’t kill him.”

Birdy fixes him with a scathing look. “Is loyalty such a foreign concept that you can’t even recognize it when it’s right in front of you? Tell me, Kairyn where does your loyalty truly lie?”

“You’re wasting your breath, Birdy,” I say and cast a smirk Kairyn’s way. “It’s hard to get approval from someone who’s dead.”

“I don’t need his approval,” Kairyn snarls.

I can’t help taunting him—it’s just too easy. “Is that what you tell yourself? I happen to remember you as a little bothersome boy, always chasing after Ezryn as he chose Keldarion again and again and again . One might think he views Kel as more of a brother than you.”

Kairyn steps forward, fist winding back as if he intends to take my head off with a single swing. Birdy puts a hand on his chest then glowers at me. “You’ll keep quiet if you know what’s good for you,” she warns.

Ah, but I love all the things that aren’t good for me. “You know all about being desperate for approval, don’t you, Birdy? I suppose that’s why you two are such a good team.”

Her glare is so cold, it could freeze the Summer Realm. “I won’t kill Ezryn,” Kairyn growls. “But I will break him. He will finally realize I am the worthy brother. I promise you I will have the Blessing of Spring.”

“And how do you intend to break the High Prince?” she snarls.

Kairyn’s voice grows so low and haunted, a shiver runs up my spine. “The Golden Rose. I saw the way he acts around her.” He raises a fist. “Her death will destroy him.”

The expression on my face remains the same: the smirk, the one raised brow. But inside, my blood rages and my mind whirrs.

Birdy begins to pace. “Yes … Yes. Lady O’Connell must die.”

“I will send my Penta Conclave after her immediately.”

Birdy makes an angry scoff. “Are you even more of a fool than I took you for? Spring must welcome you; you can’t have yourself appearing as a renegade if your men get caught.” She shakes her head. “I’ll do it myself.”

And that’s when I see it in the glint of her eye. Something deeper than wanting to break Ezryn. A traitorous glint.

She asked for Kairyn’s permission to slay Ezryn out of courtesy.

But she’ll do what she wants when the time comes.

A yawn escapes me. “Quite the plan, you two. So imaginative.”

“Something to say, Caspian?” Birdy shoots back.

I glide over to one of the shelves, start idly picking up the vials and shaking them for fun. The vein in Quellos’s head looks ready to burst. “I’m just curious how my little bird and her little dog are planning to assassinate one of the most powerful fae in the Vale. The Golden Rose took down our own dear Quellos, after all.”

“It will be quite difficult, mistress,” Quellos says. “Besides, High Prince Ezryn is in constant companionship with her.” The word comes out a slithering hiss. “She is more dangerous than she appears.”

Birdy throws her head back and laughs. “You think I’m afraid of that wretch? I’ve been waiting for this moment. I will tear her apart thorn by thorn, and Mother will thank me for it.”

My dear Birdy shows her colors, and aren’t they a vicious sight?

Quellos shoves me away from the shelves and reaches up on his tiptoes for a vial. “The mistress would do well to heed my warning. I, too, underestimated the fae woman. And now I am a servant to the Below instead of ruling over the Winter Realm as I deserved.”

Poor Perth has been in service to the Below for much longer than he realized. It was Mother after all who planted those little crowns for him to find. The crowns infused with magic of the Green Flame.

“Oh, shut it, old man.” Birdy rolls her big, blue eyes. “You’re lucky Mother saw any potential in you at all.”

“It’s that potential that might save your life.” Quellos tips the vial over and pours out a large yellow crystal. “If things don’t go as planned against the High Prince and the Golden Rose, you can use this as a contingency.”

I throw myself in the path between Quellos and my sister. The crystal gleams like a living thing. “You can’t be serious. That’s not a contingency. That’s suicide . This experiment devoured an entire unit of goblins before you contained it.”

Birdy shoves me out of her way and snatches the crystal. She holds it up to the light, examining it. “I won’t need it. Unlike you, big brother, I have follow-through. But I’ll take it … Just in case I want a little fun.”

Kairyn places a heavy hand on her shoulder. “Just the woman. Ezryn is to remain unharmed.”

“I will do my best,” Birdy says, flicking her hair behind her softly pointed ear. “Though if he interferes, there are some things beyond my control.”

My sister and the Spring Prince storm out of the laboratory, and Quellos returns to his rabid rat.

I stand quietly, thinking. Thinking. Thinking.

This is my little sister’s opportunity to prove herself to Sira, to finally make something of herself.

Rosalina has no idea what’s coming for her. If the Nightingale gets her way, both Rosalina and Ezryn will die tonight.

And it would be no fun at all if our little game ended so soon.

Sorry, sister.

I know what I have to do.

And I know I can’t do it alone.