“Why did you leave?” The King came to stand across the table from me.
“I wanted to get a fresh batch of revealing reagent made.” I picked up a vial and added the contents to the bubbling bottle.
“Sevarin, I'm the one who's mad at you. You don't get to be upset with me.”
“I don't believe that's a law, Falken. Regardless, I'm not upset with you.” I paused. “And why are you mad at me?”
“You made it sound as if love between us is impossible.”
“I did no such thing.”
“You were shocked that I might love you. Shocked and repulsed.”
“Shocked, yes, but not repulsed. It's too soon for there to be love between us.”
The King's shoulders relaxed. “Oh. Then why did you leave the throne room without me?”
“I told you. I wanted to get mixing.”
“I don't believe that.”
I sighed and met his gaze. “I thought you might need some time to calm down after dealing with Turgov.”
He stepped back. “Are you afraid of me?”
“No, I just prefer to be alone when I'm mad. Otherwise, I might say something I'll regret. I thought I'd give you the respect of leaving you to calm down.”
“So you wanted to protect our relationship?”
“I just wanted to give you space.” I picked up a pre-mixed solution and poured it into the bottle.
I was about to say more when the liquid bubbled. Watching it, I went still. Then it turned black.
“No!” I turned off the burner and leaned over to sniff the liquid. “Those fucking bastards!”
After the incident with Lord Turgov, this interference was too much. I lost my temper. Fury and frustration boiled through me. I grabbed a beaker and threw it against the wall. It shattered, and it made me feel better, so I threw another, and another.
“Sevarin!” The King shouted. “You made a mistake. It happens.”
“A mistake?” I shook my head. “I know my ingredients. Normally, I check them before adding anything to a mix, but I was distracted. Since I had prepped them, it shouldn't have mattered.”
“But it did.”
“Yes, the reagent is useless. There's only one explanation.”
“Someone sabotaged you.”
“Yes, I believe someone added something to the pre-mixed potion. It smelled like tulfi. It's pungent but harmless. I should have smelled it. Instead, I just dumped it in, and it ruined the reagent.”
“Who would do this?” The King headed for the door.
“Where are you going?”
“To find someone to investigate this mess and tell me who did this.”
“I know what was done, and I can't determine who the culprit is. It's impossible. The evidence is within a reagent. No spell can detect who did this.”
“No, but maybe there's a spell that can tell us who was in the room earlier. Or maybe someone saw something.”
