chapter forty-four
THE POISONER
T he poison had consumed my entire evening and carried into the morning.
I had been tweaking and testing until the sun came through.
I convinced Viktor to get me a coach to my shop instead of Silas’s home to avoid an altercation.
There was too much work to do, and I needed to get my hands on my tools while the ideas were fresh in my mind.
I had gotten it to the point where I added the solution to blood and it made most of the cells combust from a chemical heat.
It was not perfect by any means and incredibly unstable, but it was enough for the purposes it was intended for.
Sometimes it would make all of the blood cells combust. Other times, it would only make them clot. Any reaction was better than nothing.
I had five small vials in my purse. I could test it if my second shadow showed itself tonight.
Butterflies formed in my stomach as I fantasized about finally feeling less helpless around these creatures. Now I had an edge.
“Alina!” a high-pitched voice called out, and pulled me from my deep thinking.
I held the pen still as if to mark my place in my book, glancing up at the red-haired manic in front of me.
“You weren’t at the shop, and we have to be at our appointment for our fitting!
” Phoebe stopped in front of the coffee shop table where I was posted.
“Do not make this a habit. You didn’t even call this morning!
Just because you have a new shiny toy to play with doesn’t mean you get to ignore your best friend! ”
“I didn’t notice the time,” I explained, looking up at the fractious nymph before me. I checked the small watch face on my wrist. “We still have thirty minutes.”
“Yes! But we didn’t get to have our morning walk!”
“We are going to walk together now.”
“It’s not the same type of walk!” She threw her hands up in frustration. “Let’s just go. The clock is ticking.” She hurried me out of my seat, collecting my book and dragging me away.
“What’s gotten into you, Phoebe?”
“The more important question is who is getting into you ?”
“That’s not fair!” I bit back. “It’s none of your business.”
“Alina!” she snapped, stopping in the middle of the walkway to face me.
“You are allowing a man , of all things, to cut you off from the life you’ve built around you.
Four months ago, you would have called me insane if I told you what has become of you.
” She poked the corner of my book into my chest.
I had never seen her so consumed with anger.
“Phoebe—”
“No! Don’t ‘Phoebe’ me!” She raised her voice, and pedestrians glanced briefly at us upon hearing the commotion as they passed.
We looked at each other in silence. Phoebe’s chest was heaving from her bout of anxiety.
Slowly, I wrapped myself around her, squeezing her tight with my head resting on top of hers.
Her body was tense but gave way slightly with her head on my chest.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered softly to her. “I would never abandon you, and I didn’t intend it to look that way.”
She was silent, which meant I needed to give her some sort of reassurance.
“My absence isn’t because of Silas. I won’t even let him see me while I work,” I told her. “I am working on something big. Something new. It will help a lot of people.” I moved away to hold her shoulders at arm’s length. “It is my fault for shutting myself in. I promise I will not do it again.”
She mumbled something under her breath before reluctantly nodding.
I would take that as an acceptance of my apology.
“Will you consider vermilion?” Phoebe asked as she looked up at me on the block. The seamstress was pinching and pinning a dark-green dress around my body in the places that needed to be hemmed and taken in.
“Won’t that be too flashy?”
“That’s the point! It’s a gala. It’s the best time to flaunt bold patterns and colors!”
“Are you going to wear something other than pink?” I arched my brow.
“I will be wearing yellow!” She gleamed.
I stepped down from the small podium and looked at myself in the mirror.
I liked the way the dark green brightened my eyes.
It was the only color I was comfortable in besides black, though a shade so grim would be too bleak for a gala.
I would not have cared before, but now I knew I needed to blend in a little more than usual.
Nothing stuck out quite like mourning clothing.
“What set you off earlier? Why do you hate Silas so much?” I asked her suddenly, speaking to her reflection in the mirror.
“Why does anyone hate the flashier breed of men? I am tired of him getting involved with things he shouldn’t,” she mumbled, a blush creeping up her fair cheeks.
Phoebe was not allowed many friends in childhood, keeping a small circle even in adulthood.
She had me, but that was it when it came to fraternizing with people who were not some sort of blood relative.
We were only allowed as friends because of our fathers’ business relationship and how often mine was at their estate.
A guilty swell of my heart clutched my chest when I realized she might have thought I was abandoning her. I understood the hatred she held for anyone who tried to take me away. Her panic was making more sense to me as I thought about it.
“Tonight will be fun. We can stop by and pick up the dresses after tea. How’s that?”
She grinned at me and nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”
The rest of the preparations were done at Phoebe’s place. We wanted to arrive together, and she would lend me some jewelry for the occasion.
My dress had a square neckline and no sleeves.
The silhouette was kept close to my tall figure and cinched around any curves, emphasizing the waist and hips.
The dark-green fabric was decorated with small hints of black and gold along the hemlines and through the design.
There was a subtle train in the back that was fitted with an elegant bustle, letting the fabric fold and drape its way down to the floor.
I wore black gloves to match, and Phoebe let me borrow an emerald necklace with matching earrings.
This time, I kept my hair up, extending my long neck and figure.
I was a bit hesitant with the bite scars on my neck, but they had healed enough that they would not be too noticeable under a velvet ribbon tied neatly at the back.
Phoebe’s outfit was a lot brighter than mine, to say the least. It was a warm yellow gown with a matching square neckline to mine.
The sleeves were long, and there were many buttons down the front.
The yellow fabric bunched before draping down the sides, exposing a lavender underskirt that went to the floor.
The trim of the yellow train behind her matched the soft purple.
A nice fashion-forward piece—it was suitable for her.
The yellow complemented her strawberry hair.
She wore gold earrings with amethysts dangling about.
She was currently adjusting her white gloves.
“What catalog is that one from?” I circled her to ensure that there was not even a hair out of place.
“I picked from a few and just told the tailor to combine them in some way.” She beamed. “Do you like it?”
“It’s very bright, very you.” I smiled. “Do you think we are ready?”
“Should be!” She shrugged on an overcoat before handing one to me.
I pulled the black overcoat on and followed her toward the door. I paused before leaving, grabbing my small purse that held my knife and tinctures from the coat hanger. The most important items for a night out.