“There’s no time for reading.” I returned to my herbs, making sure to pack an extra few nightbriar leaves for dressing wounds.
Over my shoulder, I heard Raena let out a frustrated huff. “Naria, stop this madness.” Her soothing tone was long gone. “If you go out into those woods, you will surely die. Do you want to have a quick sparring match with Erik outside? You wouldn’t even last a minute. You—”
“Erik’s our guard?” My face lit up like the morning sun. “That’s fantastic!” I whirled back to an open-mouthed Raena. “He’ll take me into the woods for sure. You can persuade him!” This was perfect. I’d be by Lukas’s side in no time. We’d be together and—
“STOP!” Raena’s scream pierced through my racing thoughts as if she’d thrown a dagger right at my head. Even Erik peeked his head around the door to check if everything was okay. Though a quick glare from Raena sent the door slamming shut again. My seemingly innocent friend was actually quite scary when angry. Perhaps she should come along too – one scream and the goblins would scatter.
“You will stop these ridiculous thoughts at once! I will not have you dying on me,” she seethed, her face burning with rage,“I will never forgive myself if anything happens to you while you were supposed to be safe here, with me. I know you want to help, but youcan’tfight them. And no amount of healing herbs or potions will ever kill a goblin.”
Kill a goblin? Could I make a poison perhaps? I did know a few recipes…
Despite my wandering mind, Raena went on, “You don’t know how to wield a sword or use a bow. You’d only get in the way during a fight. Prince Lukas would probably kill me himself if he came back here and you were still out there.”
A poison wouldn’t work. There’s too many goblins, and I’d have to feed it to them somehow. I needed something bigger. Brighter. Something more… explosive. My mouth fell open.
“Are you even listening to me?” Raena huffed.
“Yes, well… I was.” But how could I convince her that this would work? “I’m sorry… you’re right.”
“I’m right?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Yes.” I took a breath and closed the gap between us. “Of course, you are. I can’t fight and I’d only get in the way if I triedto.” My fingers crumpled the fabric of my skirts. “I wouldn’t ever be able to help with just my herbs but… I might know another way.”
Raena studied my face. “Go on?”
I took another deep breath.Please let this work.“A few years ago, back in my village, there was a storage cupboard where our teachers would keep all of the different healing ingredients. Sometimes, my friends and I used to sneak in late at night, and, well… mix some of the powders together.”
“So you were a bit naughty?” she interrupted. “What’s this got to do with the goblins?”
“Just listen,” I persisted. “One night, we mixed together a few ingredients and something strange happened. There was a big, loud flash. Then the cupboard began to fill with smoke, and it glowed too!”
“The cupboard glowed?” Raena’s brow furrowed, unconvinced.
“No! Not the cupboard, the smoke!”
She shook her head. “I don’t see how that’s possible. That just sounds like magic.”
“Exactly! And the goblins are terrified of magic.” I grinned, praying that she’d piece it all together. “If I can use the same ingredients to recreate the sparks and the smoke, I can convince them that I’m a faery. And if they think I have magic, they’ll run for the hills. I can give Lukas the time he needs to find the King and Queen. It’s perfect!” My heart thrummed in my chest. Surely she would understand now.
Raena blinked a few times, her pretty face completely blank. “I don’t know, Naria. There were a lot of ‘ifs’ in your plan. What if something goes wrong?”
“It won’t,” I assured her, snatching up her hand in mine. “And if you don’t believe me, then at least let me show you the smoke. I have all the ingredients here. I packed almost an entirehealer’s chest when I left the village. Just let me show you. Then you’ll see how it could work.” I stared back at her with glossy, desperate eyes.
After a few tense moments, she relented with a sigh. “Fine. Show me.”
I almost squealed.
“At least if you’re busy mixing up potions, you won’t be strolling through any goblin-filled woods.”
CHAPTER 36
“Are you certain this is safe?” Raena asked, cowering against the back wall of my bedchamber, specifically the corner that was furthest from the mysterious mound of silver- and honey-coloured powder on the floor.
“Absolutely,” I lied. In my hand was a goblet of water, ready to be thrown onto the mound. If I was being honest, I was about eighty-five percent certain that I was remembering the recipe correctly. Maybe closer to eighty, actually. Although, even if I was misremembering, that didn’t necessarily mean this would end in disaster. Only once did our cupboard experiments go completely wrong, and on that occasion, we only needed about a week with the healers before we could properly breathe again.
“We’ll be fine,” I assured her, though my hand trembled as it gripped the goblet. “All I need to do now is add the final ingredient.”
“Wait!” Raena squeaked, but she was too late. I jerked the cupforward and water splashed onto the powder. The moment it hit the mound, a huge purple flame roared up to the ceiling, filling the room with intense heat. Raena screamed. Then, barely a second passed before the door swung open and Erik barrelled in.
