“Do you want me to get his blood?” Aeri asked.
“I’ll do it.” I took the knife and bowl to Tarron, who fought even harder against the bonds. Briefly, I glanced at his face, then away.
“This won’t hurt much.” I knelt behind him, moving toward the spot where his hands were bound behind him.
Gently, I sliced his fingertip and let the red blood drip into the bowl. The dagger was imbued with magic that would make the cut heal quickly.
I rose silently.
Tarron snarled as I walked back toward my sister.
My heart pinched. Even though I knew it was the false queen’s magic at work, it still stung.
“Get a move on,” Aeri said. “Quicker we do this, quicker he’s better.”
I nodded and looked away from him, hurrying toward the table. Together, Aeri and I leaned over the bowl. Burn joined me, pressing his thorny side against my leg. I scratched his neck, grateful for the moral support.
Aeri and I stared down into the bowl. Tarron’s blood mixed with the potion, and I gave it another stir with the silver blade.
I held my breath, waiting. It would turn different colors depending upon the nature of his curse.
The potion turned blue—a faint periwinkle that would be pretty if it weren’t for the message it sent.
“The soul.” I blinked, then looked at Aeri. “That’s strange.”
“I would have thought it affected his mind, not his soul.”
“It must be some mutated version of the false queen’s power.”
The potion turned black.
My stomach pitched and my skin chilled. “Death.”
The black transitioned to silvery blue almost immediately.
“What the hell?” Aeri said. “That’s never happened before. It always ends on black.”
I frowned. “I don’t understand. Normally the potion turning black indicates that the curse will kill you.”
“Perhaps it will kill his soul,” Aeri said.
I drew in an unsteady breath. “That’s not better.”
“There was no mention of his mind. If the curse controlled his mind, the potion would have turned green.”
“It controls his soul.” I shuddered. This was far worse than what she’d done to me. She’d tried to control my mind with her cursed power, but I’d been able to fight it. “He can’t resist it because she’s got her hooks into his soul.
“Maybe that’s why your new healing power didn’t work on him,” Aeri said.
I shook my head. “It should have. I think I’m just not strong enough.”
“You can do anything.”
“Anything except defeat the false queen, it seems.” I shook my head. I needed to become as strong as her. To gain her skills so I could take her out and protect everyone I loved.
Finally, the potion faded to gray. It was done.
Aeri put on a determined face. “Let’s consult the book.”
I nodded, my mind on autopilot. The potion had revealed the fundamental nature of the curse—but to find the specific curse itself, we’d need more information.
I strode to the bookshelf on shaking legs, taking down a massive leather-bound tome. Curses Most Deadly and Rare was one of our most useful books.
I flipped through the pages, skimming quickly for any mention of a soul curse that would lead to a fate worse than death.
Finally, I found something.
The Ataraxia Curse -- Mind Control Through the Soul.
Aeri jabbed the words with her finger. “That’s it.”
Breath held, I skimmed the text. “It says that only one who already possesses the power of mind control can wield this curse.”
“Just like the false queen.”
“Except she enhanced her magic and turned it into soul power. Now she can control her victim without being near them. It’s so much more powerful than what she tried to do with me.”
“He is already her minion.”
I glanced toward Tarron, who fought against the bonds. His powerful muscles strained, and he growled low in his throat when he caught sight of me watching him.
Minion would never be a good descriptor for him, but he was definitely under the false queen’s sway.
“What does it say for a cure?” I turned back to the book and scanned.
“There is no cure.” Aeri’s tone darkened.
“There has to be. Just because it doesn’t say so here, doesn’t mean there isn’t one.” I reached the bottom of the page. It provided only the tiniest bit of hope. “It says there is a potion that can dampen the effects.”
“But it won’t eliminate her influence. He’ll still be slowly losing his soul.”
“But it will buy us time.” Desperation surged through me.
“A few days at most.”
I shot her a glare. “I’ll take them.” My mind raced. “If we can hold off the effects and kill the false queen, her curse will break.”
“Will it?” Aeri asked. “Or will it take him with her, if their souls are bound.”
“Shit.” That was the more likely outcome.
She squeezed my hand. “We will find a way around this.”
I swallowed hard and gripped her hand tightly, focusing on her words.
“First step’s first.” She bent over the ingredient list for the potion that would dampen the effects of the spell. “It looks like we have everything we need except for the root of Paeoria.”
“That’s traditionally a Fae ingredient.” I frowned. “I wonder if they have it in their realm?”
“He has a comms charm, doesn’t he?”
I nodded, then strode toward him. He thrashed against the bindings, growling at me. Thank fates for the gag—I didn’t want to hear whatever he’d say to me right now.
I skirted around him, avoiding looking at his face, and knelt at his back. Quickly, I removed the comms charm tied around his wrist.
Unlike a cell phone, it could only contact one person—but the line was always open. As long as you weren't dead.
I raised it to my lips. “Luna? Are you there?”
“Mari, is that you?” Tarron’s second-in-command sounded perplexed.
“It is.”
“What’s happened to Tarron? I had to leave the forest earlier, and he hasn’t returned to the Seelie Court. Nor have I heard from him.”
“He’s…” I glanced down at him. “Indisposed. Taking a shower.”
Luna was loyal to him—I was nearly sure of it. All the same, I didn’t want to tell his subjects that he was out of commission, held sway to an evil bitch who would make him kill me and all the Seelie if he could get free of his bindings.
“When is he coming back?” she asked.
“Soon. We’re working on a plan to take out the false queen of the Unseelie.”
“We want in,” Luna said. “The whole royal guard.”
“Thank you.” We’d need all the help we could get, and the Seelie were the perfect people for it. After the false queen had burned much of their city and tried to murder them all, they were out for blood.
“What can I do for you now, though? Clearly you’re calling about something important.” Suspicion sounded in her voice, and I couldn’t blame her. Rarely did someone allow another to use their comms charm.