Chapter 66
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
Briar
Knox and the shifters found the nest of gorman in a shadowy corner of the cellar. Zephyr said the things screamed when Knox lit the nest on fire. I shuddered at his description of the shrieking, burning gorman trying to run away, only for all those present to stomp on them.
I listened to his tale while stirring one of the many potions I’d brewed. Sprites flew in and out of the workroom, carrying the protective barrier potion with them. Others grabbed the growth potion of earth moss and willowcaps and carried it to the plants.
By the third day of endless potions, we were all exhausted. The only sleep I’d gotten was when I passed out while filling some of the vials. I’d woken to find my face in a puddle of potion, and probably some drool, on the countertop.
I hadn’t changed or showered in three days. My eyes were grimy from lack of sleep, but my determination to save the plants fueled me as I mixed one potion after another.
Knox, Dromon, and Pierce had ridden out on the second day with containers full of the protective spell. They were going to spread it all around the borders of Wildwood.
I’d empowered the mixture with a spell to reinforce its effects before sending it off with the shifters. It would keep gorman from ever entering Wildwood again.
Because there could still be some remaining spiders, the sprites were placing a protective barrier around every plant in the castle and town. They were also busy searching for any remaining spiders.
They couldn’t protect all the trees in the forest; that would take far more of a supply than we could ever produce, especially considering how difficult it was to grow anything in Wildwood.
Besides, most of the gorman were destroyed with the nest, and everyone had been working to take out any stragglers.
I was sure the shifters were also locating more of them in the forest and destroying them as they went. There might be a few stragglers left, but I was fairly confident we’d gotten a lot of them, and thankfully, gorman couldn’t reproduce.
Lyra had remained behind to guard me, but she spent most of the time helping the sprites.
With everyone flying in and out of the healer’s room and the numerous potions I had boiling in here, the library, the music room, the kitchen, and a few other rooms, no one noticed when I started a different potion.
Guilt tugged at me as I placed it over one of the flames. I was taking up a much-needed space for the protective and growing potions, but I had to do this for me. It was time.
Thankfully, the sleeping potion was odorless and tasteless; it had to be to do its job properly. Brewing in the kitchen, with many of the other potions, no one noticed its lack of aroma.
I’d waited for Knox to leave before starting it and felt bad for doing this while Lyra guarded me, but she’d said she understood my desire to be free. She never would have let me do this to Knox and would prefer me to stay… for him.
I hoped she’d forgive me for this.
By the end of the fourth day, I could barely keep my eyes open, but I’d created a vast supply of the growing and protective potions for them to use after I left. Zephyr could make more when my supply ran out.
I’d stored the sleeping draught with the extra supplies, but I could tell the difference between the potions, even if the sleeping and healing ones were nearly identical. A small fraction of the sprites had worked tirelessly to harvest the willowcaps and earth moss hairs for me.
They’d brought in a steady stream of supplies until both were overflowing. When I was sure we had more than enough, I asked them to gather more herbs to replace the ones I’d used for the potions. Zephyr would require them after I left.
I’d replenished and drained the herbs multiple times already, but the sprites had been busy, and the containers for them were all full again. Every plant had been protected and fed. We were as done as we could be.
Gizzi trudged tiredly into the room with a mouthful of lavender. He jumped onto the counter and set it before me. With a yawn, he fell next to the herb and passed out.
I chuckled as I rubbed his back. “I feel you.”
He’d labored to help us, and exhaustion had finally won out. I stifled a yawn as Lyra sauntered into the room.
Her normally spiky hair had fallen flat against her skull and, like mine, was damp with sweat. My clothes were far wetter than hers as they cleaved to me.
She’d busted her ass to get this done, but I was the one standing over the fires. Although, some of the sprites helped with stirring the mixtures because I couldn’t be everywhere at once.
Lyra plopped onto the chair in the corner, and her head fell back as she groaned. “That’s it. We’re done.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. We’ve marked every plant with both a red and blue ribbon.”
The red ribbon indicated which plants received the protective potion, and the blue ribbon indicated which received the growing potion.
“Everything in the town is marked, and the trees closest to the village are too. I scoured every inch of this castle multiple times, as well as the homes in town, and haven’t found any more gorman.”
I resisted the urge to sink to the floor and sleep. “That’s great.”
“Do you think there could be more out there still?”
“I’ll never doubt the possibility. However, their lifespan is only a couple of weeks before the spell disintegrates, and a new gorman has to replace them. They can’t breed, and once the protective barrier is encircling Wildwood, they won’t be able to enter again.”
She lifted her head and cracked open a bloodshot eye. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“Can they use something else to attack us in such a sneaky way?”
“I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about that over the past four days, but I can’t think of anything else they could do to attack Wildwood… without coming here themselves, and they’ll never do that.”
“They’re not stupid enough for that. Does that mean we can sleep?”
“I think so.”
Lyra dropped her head back again. “Good.”
“Are the others back?”
“Not yet. I’m expecting them either later today or tomorrow.”
I nodded as I stared at the wall over Lyra’s shoulder. And when they came back, I’d be leaving.
I stroked Gizzi’s back; he didn’t know my plan yet, but he soon would. Aside from the clothes on my back and a horse, he was all I’d take with me.
“You must be exhausted,” Lyra said.
“We all are.”
“It’s time to get some rest.” Lyra slapped her hands off the ends of the chair and rose. “I also stink.”
I chuckled; she was very right about that. I’d noticed my stench on the second day of brewing, and occasionally, I’d catch a whiff of me and cringe.
“Let’s go to bed,” Lyra declared.
I glanced around to make sure everything was all set before scooping Gizzi up and cradling him against my chest. He squeaked before settling into sleep again.
Lyra studied him as I walked toward her. “He really is very smart,” she said. “He even knew how to help out.”
“He watches and learns.”
Lyra shifted her attention to me. Keen interest shimmered in her bloodshot eyes before she turned away. Together, we left the healer’s room and returned to the great hall.
The tree of unity had lost most of its leaves and all its flowers, but the leaves still clinging to its branches were perking up a little. It wouldn’t bloom again until next year, but it would survive.
“How many roses did we lose?” I asked Lyra.
I was too scared to voice the question before, but I had to know.
“Fifteen,” Lyra said sadly.
“Your parents?”
“They’re looking better already.” She rested her hand on my shoulder. “Thanks to you.”
A small smile tugged at my lips as she squeezed my shoulder. Her loyalty would always lie with Knox, but I considered her a friend. She’d probably hate me after I left here, but I hoped she remembered we shared a camaraderie before I betrayed them.
“I should have figured it out sooner,” I said.
“You couldn’t have known, and what matters is you figured it out before we lost everything.”
“I guess,” I muttered.
Without another word, we trudged up the stairs and on toward our separate rooms.