Protect the Prince (Crown of Shards #2)(92)

“Searching for clues.”

She rolled her eyes, as did the ogre on her neck, and went back over to the tables of creams and lotions. Paloma picked up a vial of peony perfume and dabbed a drop onto her wrist.

I kept sniffing plants, both hoping and dreading that I would find something that was similar to the soft, floral poison I’d sensed in the dungeon—

There—right there.

I stopped and stared down at a small gray cactus about the size of my hand. The cactus had two spiky arms adorned with a few tiny flowers that looked like puffy, purple snowballs. It was quite lovely and didn’t look the least bit harmful, but thanks to Vasilia, I knew how deceiving looks could be, and how the prettiest exterior could hide the coldest, blackest heart.

So I drew in another breath, really tasting the air, and I got another whiff of the flowers’ soft, lavender aroma—the same lavender aroma as the poison that had killed the weather magier. My eyes narrowed, and I carefully touched my fingertip to one of the purple blossoms. To my surprise, the petals were as sharp as needles, and I could feel the magic flowing through them—the same venomous power as the poison that had been in Heinrich’s body.

This was definitely the right plant, and it was quite deadly, despite its small, innocent appearance. I shivered and dropped my hand from the blossom, then read the label on the pot.

Amethyst Eye Cactus. Native to the permafrost plains of Morta.

I snorted. Of course it was from Morta. As soon as I read the words, I realized that the center of the purple blossoms did look like an eye, one that was glaring at me. I shivered again, straightened up, and stepped away from the cactus.

Paloma came over to me. “Did you find something?”

“Unfortunately.” I pointed out the cactus. “Have you ever seen or heard of this?”

She too bent down and read the label. “Some weird little cactus from the ass end of Morta? Of course I’ve never heard of it. Is this what was used to poison Heinrich and the weather magier?”

My nose twitched. “Definitely. Although I’m not quite sure how. The cactus itself doesn’t seem to be poisonous, only the flowers. I wonder how Helene used the flowers, if she crushed the petals or did something else to them. We know that she put the poison in the weather magier’s water glass, but how did she administer it to Heinrich?”

“Does it really matter how?” Paloma asked.

“No, I suppose not.”

I took another step back from the cactus, not wanting to be near it a second longer than necessary. A ray of light slipped past my body and hit the cactus, along with its purple pot. The container’s rich, jewel-toned shade caught my eye, and I took a closer look at it.

It was an ordinary clay pot, and the only thing remarkable about it was its vibrant amethyst color. I had seen similar pots lining the balcony railing outside my chambers, as well as Dahlia’s chambers. Dahlia had told me that Helene was always gifting her with flowers. But I had also seen this same kind of pot somewhere else—in Maeven’s chambers the night that I’d spoken to her through the Cardea mirror at Seven Spire.

“What is it?” Paloma asked. “What’s wrong?”

I started to tell her about the pots when a glimmer of silver caught my eye, much shinier and brighter than the metal that adorned the walls. Instead of answering her, I went over to the writing desk in the corner. Pens, pads, and books covered the surface, so it took me a few seconds to find the source of the silver gleam.

A signet ring.

A sick, sick feeling filled my stomach, and I grabbed the ring and held it up to the light. A fancy cursive H was embossed in the silver and circled by tiny emeralds, while curling vines were etched into the band. This signet ring was eerily similar to the one I’d found hidden in Maeven’s jewelry box at Seven Spire.

“What’s that?” Paloma asked, coming over to me. “And why do you look like it’s a coral viper that’s about to bite you?”

In a dull voice, I told her about finding the ring in Maeven’s room, as well as seeing the pots in the magier’s chamber when I had spoken to her.

“Let’s forget for a moment that you spoke to your mortal enemy through a magic mirror and conveniently forgot to tell me about it.” Paloma glared at me, as did the ogre on her neck. “We’ll address that later. But for right now, you should be happy. You finally have proof that Helene is the traitor and that she’s working with the Mortans.”

But I wasn’t happy. Not really. Because this would break Sullivan’s heart all over again.

“Why do you look so sad?” Paloma asked. “You got your proof.”

I shook my head. “I don’t have proof. Not really. All I have are a cactus, a pot, and a ring. That’s not enough to go to Heinrich.”

Maeven was nothing if not clever, and so far, her accomplices had been just as devious. But Helene had left all these incriminating things lying around in plain sight in her workshop. Finding the cactus, the pot, and especially the ring seemed far too . . . easy, and I couldn’t ignore my sneaking suspicion that they had been left here for me to find. But why? Was Helene really that foolish? Was she daring me to catch her? Or was someone else framing her?

I couldn’t confirm my theories one way or another, so I set down the ring where I had found it, then looked over the greenhouse, making sure that everything was the same as when we’d first entered. “We need to leave before Helene or someone else comes in here.”