Page 65 of This Prince Is Not Charming

She planted her hands on her hips. “And is that how you ask nicely?”

I squeezed my eyes shut. “I’m sorry. It’s an emergency. Well, I think it is anyway.”

Ever since I’d left that tent over an hour ago, I’d had this ominous feeling that something was wrong. Very wrong. I couldn’t get Siobhan’s words, Cillian’s odd behavior lately, or this vial out of my mind. All of it was connected, I was sure, but I didn’t know how.

“Biting your nails is bad for you, you know.” Enid nodded to my thumb, currently in my mouth. “Nevan does it all the time, and I’m constantly reminding my dear husband that it’s very unsanitary.”

Vine reached out to touch the vial, and Enid swatted it away. The plant slumped down as if to pout.

I dropped my hand to my side. “Bad habit. Now, please, can you tell me what this is?”

She picked up the vial, bringing it close and studying the small drop left. “I don’t know,” she said. “But I can try to find out. Why don’t you sit down?” She gestured to a stool by the desk. “And start from the beginning.”

I told her about Cillian’s odd behavior since these trials had started. About Siobhan’s warnings, and about how this vial had fallen out of his pocket in the tent today.

I thought back to all our interactions while Enid listened patiently, bending and taking notes in her journal.

“You know,” I said, “now that I’m thinking about it, I’ve noticed Cillian reaching in his pocket a lot lately, and I didn’t think much of it. But he must’ve been reaching for that vial.”

Enid stared at her journal, gaze flicking to the vial. “Let’s take a closer look, shall we?”

She reached for a contraption that had a circular lens on the bottom and tipped the vial onto it. Then she put her eye up against a tube that led to the lens.

She sat up straight, and Vine jolted upright as well.

“What?” I asked.

“You’re biting your nail again.”

I stopped, hand tightening into a fist. “What’s in that vial, Enid?”

“I believe it’s a substance called heartstopper.”

I nearly fell off my stool.

Enid raised a brow. “You’ve heard of it, then?”

“I’m familiar with it, yes. My father . . .” I started, all the memories of that horrible day my sister died flooding me. “It was right after my sister died. My father fell apart. He was so distraught, he could barely function. The healer at the time suggested heartstopper as a way to numb his feelings until he could manage them.” I shook my head. “But why would Cillian have this? Why would he take it?”

Enid gave me a look like I was an idiot. “I don’t know, Ceri. I suspect out of everyone in Fairwitch Isle, you know Cillian the best. So you tell me, what would make the High Prince of Fairwitch Isle take a numbing tonic?”

I swallowed thickly, not wanting to think about that question, about why he’d feel the need to kill all his emotions, to live without feeling. “Where would he even get something like this?”

“Not here. The ingredients needed grew in abundance in my bog and perhaps where you used to live on those cliffs. But here, in the mountains, is not the right environment for the heartstopper plant to grow.”

So that was why Cillian had left Fairwitch Isle, had likely been leaving Fairwitch. To get this.

I thought about how often I’d been asking him recently if he was okay, his bloodshot eyes, his rumpled appearance, the sheen of sweat on his skin. “I think he might be having ill effects from this tonic, but how much of it would he have to take for that to happen?” I asked, my gut churning.

Enid sent me a sharp look. “A lot. This is generally a safe medication given to those who have troubles with anxiety. It’s meant for short term usage, but patients can take it for years with no effects. It’s those who abuse it or take it for decades that become ill.”

Abuse it. I clutched my stomach, feeling sick. I could barely get my next words out. “What are the effects? Tell me, please.”

She tilted her head. “Do you need more tea?”

I shook my head. I needed answers.

She sighed and ticked off her fingers, long black nails glinting under the light shining through the windows. “Nausea, racing heart, elevated body temperature, mood swings, insomnia, delusions, and heightened emotions.”