Through the Eyes of a Fae
Chapter 34

After helping Stella back to the shore, they carefully swapped skates for boots, the women taking turns, so the others could keep an eye out for another assassination attempt. Walking back to the horses, Kora started a small fire to warm them, while they waited for the men to return. Frowning, Kora ran her hands over the shaft of the arrow. Ludis had not let the other one go, staring at it as if she were in a daze. Kora could not shake the feeling that something more sinister was going on here. She smiled grimly, more sinister than an attempted murder? Even so, she examined the arrow with her magic, breathing deep and reaching far into the earth. She had to reach further than normal due to the ground being frozen, but the earth’s warmth was always there. She pulled a small thread and began to weave it around the arrow in her mind. Questing. Coming to the tip, she paused. Something is wrong here. Examining the tip closer, Kora sniffed it. Poison. She should have figured. What kind of poison would tell her where this arrow may have come from-despite the make. She examined the compounds of the poison within her mind’s eye, using magic to enhance the features of the tip. The smell was familiar, but she could not place it. The arrow had been dipped into an oil and left for days for it to absorb into the metal, such as it had. She noticed the barbs on the tip and grimaced. Between the poison, and the barbs to make it difficult to remove, she shuddered. Barbs…. BARBS! She knew what plant made this poison. She looked up at Stella and Ludis, who both were lost in their own thoughts, Stella examining the final shaft.

“Barbed Lily. There’s poison on the tips.” The flowers were as beautiful as they were deadly. The throats were a crimson red and yellow, fading out to pink, with large petals, even for a lily. They drew you in, and the poison made from them caused painful hallucinations. It was one of the few plants on earth that could poison a fae, and they only grew in one place that Kora knew of, and that was 1500 years ago. There was a cave even further north, into the Old Empire. The flowers grew there, blooming and dying within a few days during the spring and fall equinox. Whoever had done this would have had to make a difficult journey to obtain this flower. Ludis, changing the way she viewed the shaft, asked

“I have never heard of this flower; I do not know how my tribe would have attained it. Is it popular?” Kora conveyed what she knew about the flower, and Ludis shook her head.

“The tribe believes the old empire is an evil place. When we told our chief that we were going north to fight, they had banned us from ever returning to the tribe, afraid the evil would cling to us and penetrate the sanctuary of the village.” Ludis sounded bitter at the memory. But this told her a lot. The People of the Southern tribe would never touch or use this flower if they knew of its origin. It also meant that it could not have been Beatrice who would not have picked such a special and hard to obtain poison on such short notice. Who could it have been?

The men were approaching, and they looked grim. Ben jumped from the saddle and now wearing boots, stomped to Kora, pulling her up from the log she perched on to examine her. She tried to assure him that she was fine, but a loud voice interrupted him.

“Where did you get that arrow, lass?” Royce’s voice sounded like pure steel, and they all froze to look at him. Ludis, knowing he would react that way - handed him the arrow, warning him of the tip and explaining what they had learned from it. Malik walked over, took the shaft Stella held and examined it. Understanding Royce’s concern - he recognized the make and design as well. Something was off, though. Royce took the other two arrows and compared them side by side.

“These are not from the south. The wood is not right.” Kora started. The wood! Royce was right, she just had not made the connection. Examining the arrows again. The wood was a tree… local to here. Cedar. They did not grow in the desert.

Who would go through all the effort with these arrows, and why? Why make them look like a tribe member’s arrow, all the while poisoning it with a flower that was only purpose was to poison a Fae?

“Someone is trying to frame you two.” Stella motioned towards Ludis and Royce.

“If word got out that there is a Fae in the capital, next to the Men of the Grey - who would not kill Kora because of her magic. The next likely culprit would be the tribes of the south. Think about the stories. The Tribes have legends of the Fae for centuries. They believe the Fae were meant to die out. They were against the law of nature, who they worshiped above all.” Ludis nodded, frowning. Kora sighed.

“Even in my day the desert tribes were not so friendly. But also, a bit obtuse. The tribe in the jungle southwest- I lived with them for years in my childhood. We traded with them often and they never noticed me. Funny how that works out.” She shrugged apologetically to Ludis and Royce, who took no offense. After all, why would they look for a child when trying to discover a fae?

“While all of this is true, it would only be valid if the tribes knew that she was Fae. For now, she is just a talented plant mage. They would also voice their concerns, and petition Malik to end things first.” It would be extreme for the tribe to try and send an assassin. They valued their peace treaty with the King. It meant supplies and safe travel, protection if needed. It did not add up. Unless someone wanted to point the finger at Royce or Ludis. The friends all looked at each other, and down at the arrows, now pointed into the ground.