The Reluctant Queen (The Queens of Renthia #2)(79)

"Yes, I know," Mother said. Then, "To what are you referring to?"

He didn't answer. His instinct was to grab Arin and send her as far away as possible, but that wouldn't be smart, not until he knew what Mother had done to her. "What do you have her doing?"

"Practicing." Mother swung her feet off the letterbox. "No, girl, you don't cap it. You have to let it breathe. Oxygen is a key ingredient. Just be careful you don't knock it over, or you'll be spitting up blood for an hour."

"You're teaching the queen's sister to make poisons." His voice was flat. His hands curled into fists, and he forced them to relax. If she was doing this to poke at him, he wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of showing it was effective. "The queen would not approve." He kept his voice mild.

"No, Hamon, I am teaching my assistant to make poisons." Mother beamed at Arin. "And a wise queen would not disapprove of any knowledge fairly and freely won. Arin is an apt pupil, and she has a steady hand."

Looking at him for the first time since he'd entered, Arin flashed a smile. "It's the bakery training. You have to be precise to replicate a perfected recipe, and you need a steady hand to decorate. Ever tried to shape a flower petal out of sugar?"

"Bah, she's been wasted in bakeries," Mother said. "I have given her a true calling, and a noble purpose!" She widened her arms for effect.



       
         
       
        

"I told you to fix her," Hamon said. "This is not acceptable." This was Daleina's sister! Mother had to release her now before Daleina heard, before any permanent damage was done, before this became irreversible and unforgivable.

His mother smiled in that condescending Mother-knows-best smile that he hated. Sweetly, she said, "Is this truly what you came to talk to me about?"

He opened his mouth, shut it, fumed, and opened it again. He should insist she release Arin. He'd promised Daleina . . . But Mother was right-he'd come for another favor, and he knew her well enough to know he'd never convince her to help if he insisted on this.

Daleina wouldn't thank him when she learned he'd allowed his mother to enspell Arin. In fact, she might not forgive him. But as long as she was alive to hate him, that was what mattered the most. The issue of Arin could wait. Right now, she was safe enough. Mother wouldn't want to damage her new assistant, not while she was being useful.

Forcing himself to look away from Arin, he ground out the words. "We're in need of your expertise again, Mother."

Sitting up straight, Mother clapped her hands together. "Delightful! Do you have more blood for me to test? This time I'd like my assistant to try her hand-"

"We need your knowledge of people. Poison makers, to be specific. Queen Daleina requires the name of everyone with the skill to craft the False Death poison."

"Oh, Hamon, you know I cannot give you the names of my colleagues." She sounded as if she were scolding him for asking for a treat. "We work in secrecy for our own protection. My life would be in danger if the others knew I'd exposed them."

"If they're innocent, they won't be harmed."

"None of us are innocent. You know that." She smiled indulgently at Arin. "Precious few of any of us-of people-are innocent. Certainly you are not, my darling boy. Does your beloved queen know of your youthful activities?"

"She knows all." He was letting her derail the conversation. Talking with other people was never as hard as talking with Mother. He'd always been excellent at steering the conversation. Just not with her. "If you're looking to blackmail me, it won't work."

She laughed, actually laughed at that. It was a merry sound, like a tinkling of ice, and just as cold. "Darling boy, I have all the leverage I need."

I'm sorry, Arin, he thought. Once Daleina was safe, he'd help her. "Then garner more goodwill by doing us this favor. The queen wants names and, if possible, addresses. She wants that poison sample."

"No poison maker would admit to creating the poison that is killing the queen." 

"If the poison maker didn't know the intended target, then the poison maker would be granted immunity. Absolved of all prior crimes. Free to pursue his or her profession without interference."

"That could interest them." She looked as if it interested her. Tapping her teeth with her fingers, she studied Hamon as if he were a three-headed mouse-she'd created one of those once, after infecting a mother mouse with one of her serums. Hamon had made it a pet, until Mother had insisted he kill it so they could study its brains. She'd had him break all three of its necks, even though one had been enough. His childhood was full of fun memories like that. He looked again at Arin and promised himself he'd find a way to extract her from Mother's influence, after Daleina was healed.