She paced in front, then snuck around to see if there was a way to peep in. Along the side of the house, she tugged at the service entrance. It was locked, but I made a note to myself to leave that one open from now on. Finding a stray Alina in my home in the middle of the night would be quite a treat.
I hoped she would try and knock, but that did not seem to be in her plans tonight. Then she retreated, back in the direction she wassupposedto go earlier.
The muscles in my jaw twitched. What was the point of coming all the way out here if she wasn’t going to do anything?
12
THE POISONER
At least twenty glass test tubes were stacked in the wooden holders scattered around my lab. Some were diluted with water at different rates, some were control samples, and others were extras. It was hard choosing which poison I wanted to make, so I decided to make them all. Stocking up on inventory would never be a bad thing, especially now that I had to figure out which would work on this Creature stalking about.
I might have imported too many plants. I only had so much time to make extracts out of them. I doubted I could get through them all in a timely manner.
The clock rang. My pen left a stray mark on my paper in response to the clamor.
Two p.m.
Phoebe’s garden party had nearly slipped my mind in the frenzy. She would have my head if I was tardy to yet another event. It was bad enough that I had canceled our morning walk and blamed it on needing time to prepare.
If every eventPhoebe threw was like this one, I would have a lot more fun.
The event was held at the botanical gardens inside their esteemed greenhouse. For me, it was like bringing a child to the zoo. My chest swelled with butterflies, my eyes probably wide with awe. This was the first time I had felt genuine happiness in the past few weeks, out of all the events I was forced to attend.
The glass cathedral towered above in intricate panels. The sky transitioned from blue to pink and red, painting its own fresco for everyone to view through the domes of the greenhouse. This was my personal haven. A chapel of the living world.
The rarest flowers, trees, and shrubs decorated the grand glass fortress. Birds chirped in delight as they fluttered through their heavenly residence. A pang of jealousy hit me when I imagined being a bird living in this protected arboretum, genuinely. Oh, how I wish I could metamorphose into one of those fledglings.
The vermilion evening gown Phoebe picked for me practically glowed under the warm lights and the red sky. She lent me some rubies to match, since I was never interested in keeping any family jewels on me. The only other finery in my home would be the Creature’s cruel display of pearls.
My redheaded friend had yet to appear, though I assumed she would be buzzing about like a distracted bee. That was more than all right with me. It gave me time to relax for once. While mingling with too big of a crowd made me nauseous, it was tolerable when I was in my element, such as this.
One flower caught my eye, a tall green spindle stuck straightin the air like a spear. Its ambiance practically pulled me toward it, begging me to inspect it closer.
The brass plaque read,The Corpse Flower (Amorphophallus Titanum).
“Magnificent, isn’t she?” a deep Russian-accented voice spoke next to me.
Glancing to my right, I saw an enamored character staring at the odd specimen before us. His soft amber eyes were curious and full of wonder.
I could sympathize with that, especially in a place like this.
He met my eyes before shrinking into an awkward posture, which looked out of place considering his towering muscular build and handsome face. A humble smile tugged at the corner of his lip, dimples peeking through as he adjusted the rim of his wire glasses. He looked maybe twenty-five, two years older than me, in an academic brown suit.
“Viktor Kaskov.” He held out a polite hand, his accent sweet and playful.
My brow rose in what could only be a mixture of surprise and skepticism. A man wanted to shake my hand as equals?
Cautiously, I took it, squeezing gently. “Alina Lis?—”
“I know! Apologies. I should have prefaced that I am a fan of your work.” His eyes were intense, looking deeper than I was comfortable with. “Your paper on the effects ofAgeratina altissimaon the nervous system of vermin was fascinating. How did you think to use white snakeroot as the subject? It isn’t prevalent around here.” He tilted his head to the side, a few black curls falling out of place as he studied me closely.
Overwhelmed was an overstatement. I was not used to men taking anything I wrote seriously. “I was introduced to it on my travels with my father. He had a fascination with these things.” I looked down at my hand claspedbetween his.
“How interesting. A woman of science and adventure? That is something rare.” He squeezed my hand before letting it go. “Have you seen the display of poisonous and carnivorous flowers within the gardens yet?”
“I didn’t know there was one. I really should visit more often.” I gleamed at the offer.
The poisonsand carnivore section was separate from the others. I was not certain we were allowed entry. The closed-off conservatory was in a different wing of the gardens.
