24. Chapter Twenty-Four #2
“Yes, you need to eat. The servants have mentioned that you are eating less.”
“Are they spies more than servants?”
“I may have asked some to keep an extra close eye on you. Bring the little monster with you.” He scratches Gulzar’s head and points at the two new bulges on each of his shoulders. “He’s getting his second set of snakes.”
“Yes, and?”
“He can’t stay your pet much longer.”
I pull the little monster closer to me. “You gave him to me, so that’s for me to decide.”
“I gave him to you before I cared if he ripped off your head.”
I squint and try to read his facial expression. He’s so good at having none most of the time that it’s difficult. He’s so used to hiding himself that it makes him difficult to gauge. The few times he lets me truly see him bring me way too close to falling for him. “Okay, but we're not killing him.”
"There will be a place for him in my zoo, where he will live out his life happy and well.
" He stands up and goes over to the door before turning to look at me for a moment. “Do you know why typhon blood is so expensive? Lazzus mentioned something about it one time, so I’ve been researching it. I knew it was valuable, but not to that degree.”
“Yes, I am a blood expert. That’s my entire specialty.”
“I suppose you do then, but have you ever witnessed its power in life rather than only in study?”
“Yes, once. The horns, when crushed, can relieve any pain. It was what I was going to sell because it was the prize along with the rest of the coins. It would have been enough to buy my brother’s medicine. But the blood is more valuable. The chancellor kept that.”
“He would have been wise to do so,” he says.
“Yes, most believed they could drink it to prevent the madness, but it wouldn’t have prevented anything. It’s only good after the magic is applied.”
“Yes, it can break powerful magic. I tried it once to see if it would free us from this curse?”
“What happened?”
“It only gave me the ability to change my eye color. Useless thing.” He changes his eyes from their frosty blue to bright amber."
I crinkle my nose. “What a uselessly pretty gift.”
“Not entirely. I can change the color of my irises to suit an outfit.”
“Good point. You could be fashionable at events if you ever hosted any, but that really makes no sense. Typhon blood unbinds magic. Even powerful magic to some degree, but that means your ability to change your eye color was always there and simply bound. That’s an odd thing for someone to curse you with.
” I play with a lock of my scarlet hair and think all of it over.
“Maybe there was no way to be specific on which curse I wanted broken, though I have no idea why someone would have cursed such a small thing.”
“It makes little sense.”
After he leaves, the conversation taxes my mind. Why would someone bind such a trivial ability as eye color? But it gives me an idea that makes me feel terrible at the same time. I set Gulzar in front of me. “Would you give me a small bit of your blood?”
He chirps, and I give him another hug before getting myself ready, carrying him with me to meet Zyon. I carry him down to the dining hall, and he excitedly squirms from my arms to reach the meat in a bowl in the middle of the table. He chomps happily on a piece while I take my seat next to Zyon.
“That may be your face someday,” Zyon says as he pours his favorite tea.
“Someday isn’t here. I’ll be long dead by the curse before then, remember.” I grab my strawberries and the blueberries next to them.
“Don’t speak that into existence.” There’s a bite to his sentence, like I’ve made him grumpy with the thought.
“You have already spoken it many times.”
“And from this point on, I no longer will.”
I smile as I butter my bread and set it next to the strawberries. “How long will these surprises take? I’m eager to play in my apothecary.”
“You’ve taken no time claiming it as fully yours.”
“You’re the one that says it’s mine. The weight of kings’ words and all.”
“Right. My words have weight when they are for your benefit, but not when you want to be stubborn.”
“Exactly.”
He stares at me for a few moments, taking me in like one would a sunset or the ocean. “My messenger sent word that there has been a delay in the delivery of one of the surprises, so you may go play, and I will meet you in my throne room at sunset.”
“I am wary of your throne room.”
“Most are.”
“How can you have anything delivered when everything around us is frozen by either winter’s touch or Lazzus? How were you able to get Ruax and his friends?”
“Not everything is frozen by Lazzus. He froze only a few villages. Ruax and his friends were within that, but once I dragged them to the castle, Lazzus unfroze them because he agreed with my goal of punishing them. But outside the boundary I can’t step foot, but I can send messages through small magic portals. ”
“Did you ever ask another kingdom for help to break the curse?”
“Yes, and none have interest, but they will help with other things for the right price.”
We finish breakfast with flirty chit chat, and I try to avoid the way my cheeks heat. I take Gulzar to the apothecary where I can extract a small amount of his blood painlessly.
Aldric hops around the little monster and leaps away when the baby swipes at him with tiny claws. “That’s a typhon.”
“Yes, a baby one.”
“Their blood is said to be a most powerful magic unbinder.”
“Yes, and I believe he will help me survive my trek up the mountain.” I place thin blue shanet leaves on his arms. The shanet tree is high in a property that numbs skin.
By the time I prick his arm, Gulzar feels nothing and only chirps at the restraint collecting his blood requires.
I only take a vial's worth because at his size, anymore would be detrimental to his health.
I choose five empty vials that are considered a standard dose for most things and put them in my bag.
As I hike back to the cave, I see Lazzus sitting sadly on the hill, and it’s becoming unavoidable not to speak with him. If he won’t come to me, I’ll have to figure out a way to get him to make amends. Since I chased him away, it’s my responsibility to attempt restoration.
I tuck Gulzar into my bag and slide down the steep path on my ass and make it into the covered pool.
All five vials sit upright and ready to collect when I pour half of Gulzar’s blood onto the enchanted seal.
It boils and melts into a small hole the size of a maple leaf.
I’m able to push a vial into the water and collect a sample, but it starts to seal.
It requires a great deal of tugging to yank my hand through.
I make sure the precious water is fully sealed in its new container before I move to a different area to collect another sample.
The typhon’s blood does nothing to the pool on the second attempt, and I punch it out of frustration.
The magic already learned from my trick.
One sample is better than nothing, and I make sure it’s safe in an inner pocket of my bag.
I have no fear of Zyon taking it now, but I must protect the thing that may save me from a fatal wound.
Aldric pecks the sealed water. “What does this do?”
I clutch my chest. “You startled me. Since when do you follow me around?”
“I was curious what you were doing with the typhon blood.” He lowers his head to show his little mouse friend. “Morvin is here too.”
“The water is powerful magic. Zyon told me about it, so I’ve looked into it in the library. It can bring someone back from the brink of death. It can also rebind a soul to its body or any essence stolen from a person.”
“Like the essences found at the apothecary?”
“Yes, it could give those back to the whomever they were stolen from, but I want it to save myself if I’m injured on the mountain.”
“That is wise. You’re very smart, and I think you may very well be the one to break the curse.”
“I have no choice. My family, old and new, is depending on me.” I scoop up the crow and give him a hug.