A Throne of Ruin (Deliciously Dark Fairytales #2)(79)

“Crap on a cracker, this place has done a number on you. Look, lady, I’m not here to get you in trouble. Don’t let these fine clothes fool you.” I bent to the everlass and plucked off the dying leaves. She made a sound and stepped forward, but ultimately held her tongue. It wasn’t because she realized I was pruning.

That done, I stood and glanced back at the dead fire. Then at the house.

“Have you harvested any of this everlass?” I asked. “Have you dried it?”

Her face closed down. “No,” she said.

I smirked. “You’re a terrible liar.” I crooked a finger at her. “Come with me.”

With a straight back, she did as I said. I had to hand it to Nyfain, these fancy clothes he’d insisted on had set me up great.

In her kitchen, by the small, round table, I waited for her to enter. Dabnye filed out of the way.

“I need parchment—or something to write on—and something to write with,” I said.

Maryanne frowned at me, moving slowly to make it clear that she didn’t want to do any of this but realized she had no choice. I could not wait to barge in on the fine people who’d made the rules in this establishment so I could give them a taste of chaos. My anger was rising with each passing moment.

She slapped some homemade paper down on the table, parchment clearly way too expensive and labor-intensive for her resources. The paper was oddly brown and misshapen, but it would work. She followed it with a quill and a small container of ink.

“First, I like your pushback. Good on you. Second, I hate these things.” I picked up the quill and sighed. “Don’t you have a fountain pen?”

“Some of us don’t have the money for an actual fountain pen.”

“I don’t have fuck all, and we have a fountain pen. Fine.” I sat down at the table and scratched out the recipe for the nulling elixir, including when to harvest the leaves and dry them. I gave her a few options there, just in case. That done, I wrote out the demonsex-magic-be-gone draught.

“Now, here’s the thing,” I said when I pushed it away. “You need to baby those everlass.”

Confusion bled through her scowl as she looked down at what I’d written.

“She’s the one,” Dabnye said quietly. “I went to the castle and brought her back to see Momma. She’s the one that makes the potion. She made the prince come and everything.”

Maryanne’s eyes jerked up, taking in Dabnye. Then me. “What?”

I pointed down at the paper. “I’ve written out the recipe for the nulling elixir. It’s an elixir, not a potion. I’m not magical in that way. This was given to your village already, but clearly it wasn’t passed down to you for some reason. My whole village has that recipe, though some aren’t good at making it. Some are just too sick. If you follow those instructions to the letter, you should be able to re-create it. Now, here’s the thing. You need to baby that everlass plant. You’re treating it like all the others, and that just won’t do.”

As her face went slack at the news, I explained how to better work the plant. Then we talked about when she’d harvested, how, and how much of the dried plant she had on hand.

“It’ll have to do for now. Get it to the sickest people you know. Don’t worry about using rainwater for this batch. Just use normal water. You should have everything else in your garden. Start with small batches and see if they work. Once you get the hang of it, use that cauldron. Keep them from dying.”

“But this recipe…” She studied it in disbelief. “It’s so simple.”

“Using everlass is always mostly simple. It’s how you treat the everlass that determines what results you’ll yield.” I stood and stepped away. “Another thing…do you have anything that can be used as fuel? I need to make a different sort of very dangerous elixir for the few who are barely hanging on. No one seems to have a proper fire around here, but you look like you have a couple pennies to rub together. Nyfain can ensure you are compensated…however that happens. I’m sure he has gold or wood or something, I don’t know. Go cut some down during the day from the Forbidden Wood. There’s plenty there. I know a birch that needs to go…”

“Who are you?” Maryanne said with wonder.

“Someone without any fucks to give.” I pointed at her. “Fuel?”

“Y-yes.”

“Good. Get it going. You have someone down the lane at death’s door.” I walked out through the front door and waited for Dabnye. “Show me how to get to the council. This shit show has gone on long enough.” They would be convening because Nyfain was here, and I had some choice words for them.

We stopped in quite a few houses on the way so I could assess the damage. The shanties were clearly the hardest hit, their lack of good diet and probably hard labor taking a toll. As we neared the center of town, their market a sprawling affair within wrought-iron gating, things turned a corner. People were up and moving around for the most part, shaking off the worst effects of the sickness. They’d gotten the nulling elixir.

It hadn’t helped everyone the same, of course, the worst of them only rebounding a little. They’d need more doses and quicker, and it didn’t seem like they’d be producing it themselves. This village was apparently relying on me to supply everyone.