Page 46 of Blood on the Ice

“I am,” the Fae turns and I realize he’s dropped the more humanoid glamor most of them wear when living on this side of the Veil. It makes him even more gorgeous, and I blink for a moment.

“Stop staring at the Prince.” The bark comes from his pet dragon but there’s a sniff from Iggy as well.

“Don’t be ridiculous, dude.” Lucas lifts his head, a forced smile on his lips. “His Highness’ hot factor quadruples when he lets his hair down. Even I know that.”

Morgana’s eyes widen, and she rushes over to scold the bear. “You don’t have to be the funny man while he’s doing all this shit. We can tell it hurts.”

Iggy nods, dropping into a chair and scooting it closer to the table by the Daybreak Fae. “How can I help? We got all the ingredients.”

“First, call me Liam, and that surly fellow is Kaspar. No need to be so formal. I’m not my father or even my opposite brethren who rule the other courts.” He smiles and I swear to hell, the damn sun shines right on him like an angel painting.

“Okay,Liam. Walk me through the steps. Slade can assist with tasks requiring additional help, while Morgana will divert the bear’s attention.”

“Not a child,” Lucas grumbles.

“We know, growly pants. But I assume this will continue to hurt and maybe even hurt worse before it’s better. They want me to keep you calm.” Morgana scoots in, kneeling by his head and brushing hairs off his forehead. “The sooner we get this healing, the sooner we can move to the couch, so when Jackson gets here, you’ll be clearheaded.”

He rolls his eyes. “Fine, go ahead. Magic me up.”

The Prince smiles briefly, then looks at me. “You’ll need standard grinding and mixing supplies, then we’ll have to steep it. Can you handle doing that part after the Professor does the proportions?”

I nod. “I’m well versed in casting. Living with Iggy for years has served me in that respect.”

An irritated huff from the corner pulls my gaze back to the dragon. He’s obviously weighing the cost of failure; he’d be bad at his job if he wasn’t. He must have served in their military with the Prince as well because I can see it in his posture. None of this is protocol, and it’s making him lose his grip on the power of his beast.

The electricity in the air definitely says storm dragon.

But I don’t have time to mess with him, so I brush past to get the equipment Iggy will need to cut, measure, and prepare the various plants before he grinds them. I prefer to bring our mortar and pestle instead of relying on the possibility of finding one here. Once everything is gathered, I return to the patio and spread it on the table.

“Excellent.” Iggy looks at Liam, waiting for instructions. Potions are his forte and he knows better than to mess with anything prior to having a recipe.

“Trim off the stalks from the cestrum. Place blossoms in mortar bottom. Then add the Antarachnia. That one can go in whole because the stems are filled with a liquid with natural anti-venom properties.”

I watch as my friend carefully does as he was told, his brow furrowed in concentration. Ignatius Briarton is not one to be hurried, but I can tell he’s moving as quickly as possible. I’m not sure if that’s because he senses we have a clock on our efforts or because he’s trying to impress the Prince. Either way, he’s in his element. When the Antarachnia stems burst, a lavender liquid mixes with the crushed cestrum and after a few moments, a poof of rainbow sparkles explodes from the bowl.

“Was that supposed to happen?” Iggy looks at the Fae with a panicked expression, his shoulders sagging when the man nods.

“Don’t worry, my friend. Often Fae magic produces dramatic results. This was normal, so you can pop the Elysian Bubbleberries into the mix now and start whipping it all together. It’s a little like baking a cake, no?” Liam turns to wink at me and I flush.

“Not that I spend my timebaking,” Iggy grumbles as he glares at the two of us. “I’m a wizard, not a chef.”

Morgana’s lips quirk up and she leans in to whisper something in Lucas’s ear that makes him laugh loudly. The sound eases the tension and suddenly, I don’t feel as afraid. If she can joke with the dying shifter, we can all unclench a bit. It would probably help to make the vibe out here less…angry. I could help with that, I think.

“Liam?” I ask quietly. “Would it help if I lower the tension? I can use my powers to calm everyone down if it would assist with Lucas’s healing.”

His dark gaze turns to me, and he gives me a slow smile. “I think it would, Slade. It will take your friend a few minutes to get theright consistency and I’m still unweaving the curse. Making the vibe less spiky would be a gift.”

“Got it covered.” That said, I sing softly. It’s an old tune my mom used to sing me to sleep with as a kid and I’m not sure what race it comes from. We were surrounded by so many, and my mother was the glue that held the spouses of the gang together. She attended whelpings, helped with assimilation for new members, and often played the role of head honcho of the families. Her songs could belong to any species, from sirens to demi-gods.

This one was always soothing and I can sing it without mesmerizing anyone unintentionally.

“Dude, I don’t know what you’re doing, but this is the best I’ve felt indays,” Lucas mutters. “We should have asked you to do this much sooner. It’s like the pain is being wiped away by a warm breeze.”

Iggy pauses, smacking his forehead. “Damn it. I didn’t think about Slade’s powers. He tries not to use them so he doesn’t accidentally put people under.”

“Put people under?” Kaspar narrows his eyes at me. “He’s a fucking siren? Since when are there male sirens? What the hell is this?”

Morgana stops his rant with a look that could kill even without her gorgon side. “Look, you cranky dick. Hybrids often have a primary and recessive side if they show more than one supe when they emerge. Because of that, they’ve been found to have unusual traits, rare genders, and sometimes, mixed power sets. Few gargoyles with snake hair, right? But I have it and my snakes are sentient—something rare for gorgons as well.”

---