‘Solarium root. It’ll counter the effects of the infusion.’
‘The effects? An infusion? What the fuck, Thorn?’
I turn around. I’ve said enough, and he should be grateful for that.
‘Are you saying you did this to me?’ he calls after me, and if there’s a hint of hurt in his voice, I try to ignore it. Ignore him. I need to find Kay. I’ve told him the solution. If he doesn’t know the names of the plants that grow in his kingdom, then more fool him.
I start to walk away only to find myself staring into a pair of white-ringed pupils. Elska emits a low growl.
Kyor grunts, ‘You’re going to help me get that antidote, or you’re not going to get out of here alive. It’s safe to say Elska’s not best pleased with you right now. And trust me, you don’t want to see an angry dire wolf.’
He isn’t wrong there.
As if to reinforce his point, Elska bares her teeth and releases a low snarl that rumbles deep into the pit of my bowels.
I nod my head.
‘Great. Now find me that fucking solarium root.’
Chapter 38
It’s only once I’ve got the task of finding the plant myself that I realise what a ridiculously massive undertaking it is. It would be fine in the daytime when I could actually see the plants, but now, when everything is covered in dark shadows?
‘What does it look like?’ Kyor hisses beside me.
‘The root? It’s just … rooty. White, coarse?—’
‘Not the fuckingroot,Thorn. Theplant. What does theplantlook like?’
Right. The actual plant. That makes more sense.
‘It’s leafy?—’
‘Helpful.’
I shoot him a scowl, though I’m not sure if he can see it. ‘It has small, dark, waxy leaves the size of a thumbnail, and the plant grows to about knee height.’
‘Better. What else?’
‘Umm.’ I struggle to bring an image of the plant to mind. Now, in winter, it’ll probably be nothing more than a small, twiggy bush, like most of the plants that fill the undergrowth. But that’s not an answer Kyor’s going to like, so I keep it to myself.
‘In spring, it has flowers,’ I tell him. ‘They cover the entire bush and are light lilac with yellow centres. And they smell like citrus. Like … spicy citrus, if that’s a thing.’
He nods. ‘She’s got it.’
‘She’s got it?’ I look to Elska. ‘You mean she understood what I was saying?’
‘No, Thorn. She’s a wolf. You think she knows what spicy citrus means? I visualised it for her. Filled my senses with it. She thinks she knows where the plant is. Follow her.’
I look to the wolf, well aware I’ve got no choice.
‘Oh, and Thorn?’ He speaks through gritted teeth, his body clenched in pain. ‘Don’t even think about running. It’ll be game over if you try to abandon me. Do you understand?’
‘Got it.’ I don’t waste any time before following Elska into the trees. Time is slipping away from me, time that could stop me from finding Kay. But I can’t think about that. I can’t. I just need to act, and fast.
Elska moves so silently through the undergrowth that all I can do is follow the flashes of white on her paws. More than once, I have to call out for her to slow down, and given that she stops and waits for me to catch up before continuing again, I have to wonder if Kyor lied when he said she didn’t understand my words.
We’ve been going for about five minutes when she sits down, her bicoloured eyes glimmering even despite the lack of light. There, at her feet, I see the shadows of small shrubs. There might not be any flowers, but there are a couple of those small waxy leaves visible.
