“No, I woke up and came straight here.” I refrained from asking how she was so active after flying for many hours and not sleeping as long as the rest of us. “I’m on my way there after this. What I need you to answer is research of another kind.”
Rynni gave a soft laugh. “I’m a healer, not a scholar.”
I looked around. “Are there wards around the beds? To deaden sounds?”
Rynni gave a wave of her hand and magic shifted all around us, activating the wards. “I keep them off during the day because when they’re awake, the patients like to chat. Or eavesdrop on other’s conversations.” She gave me a pointed look, clearly telling me to get on with it.
“I was wondering if you’ve made any headway on the lindwyrm venom?”
Luccan had taken a fang from a lindwyrm guardian during our heist of the coinary of Avaldenn. He’d thought that one of our more academically inclined friends might be able to replicate the venom for use as a weapon.
“I did not. Last I heard, nor have Duran, Clemencia, or Anna, but I haven’t spoken to them much since we returned to Valrun.”
I shrugged. Her answer didn’t surprise me. In fact, I’d expected it. “You’ll get there, I’m sure.”
“Yes, well, what did you really want to ask?” Rynni arched her brows.
I’d been caught stalling. “It’s about the Shadow King.”
The dragon-fae let out a breath. “I cannot tell you how sorry I am that I breathed fire on him. I?—”
“You’ve already apologized.” She’d done so profusely when we first landed at Valrun. “There’s no way you could have known that your fire would destroy the tree. Or that he’d live through such a blaze.No onewould have guessed such a thing. Had I been in your place, I’d have done the same as you.”
She said nothing.
“Anyway, I believe that the king being trapped in that tree might have eventually caused the blight,” I continued. “That he could have slowly poisoned the Drassils, and as a result, the magic weaving through their network and the kingdom.”
“The blight has been an issue for a long time, longer still in the Spring Court than here. But it hasn’t affected those in Winter’s Realm badly until two decades ago.”
Sassa Falk trapped King Érebo over a thousand turns ago. The blight had cropped up over the centuries but not often until my family lost power.
“He might have taken some time to learn how to expand his magic within the trees’ network. I’m not sure, but when we spoke to the rebels upon arrival, the Drassil in the courtyard no longer looked like it was dying.” I cleared my throat. “It was getting a little better before. I think that was due to King Magnus finally having the Scepter and using it. Now, I’d say it’s healed all the way.”
“I recall.” Rynni played with the hem of her shirt. “I don’t see what this has to do with me though.”
“I realize that you can’t speak to the Drassils, but I want you to observe your patients. See if fewer get ill from the blight. And you have two pregnant fae, right?”
“Both days from giving birth.”
“I want to know if their children are born healthy or if they show effects of being injured by the blight.” The illness often targeted fae wings, horns, and sometimes ears. It also left scars that differed from those that occurred naturally.
“Of course, but two fae births don’t mean much. You’ll need a larger pool to study to draw any real conclusion.”
Even then, I may never know. This idea might not be something one could prove. Perhaps even King Érebo could not say that he’d been causing the blight. It might have been his mere presence within that tree that threw off the magic ofthe realm over time, and when the Ice Scepter was lost that imbalance had been amplified.
“I’ll be contacting the healers in Myrr, too. The ones in the castle should be able to speak with others within the city.”
Rynni nodded. “I’ll keep you informed.”
“Then I’ll leave you to it and get to the library.”
“Good luck, Princess Neve.”
“Thank you.” I would need all the luck I could get.
Chapter 6
VALE
