over Silas’s face. “What I am. We’re back to that, are we?”
I speak slowly, choosing every word with care. “He told me what you are, and what you’re looking for.”
“Did he.” It’s not a question.
I nod. “He also said to tell you he’s coming. And that he knows.”
Silas’s face is blank. “Well, now you know everything,” he says flatly. “What are you going to do with this information?”
I’ve already made my decision. If I tell him the girl is in Scarron, he’ll leave. He, and Ely, have made it clear that their duty to his mother’s order is their priority, regardless of the danger it puts them all in. Even if that means dying. He’ll go and find her, then he’ll disappear into the Conclave. And if I lose him, I lose any hope of helping Mama, or getting my life back.
This is the only way, for me and Mama. I don’t have a choice. I can’t make the Elixir, I understand that now. But he knows someone who can. And if he won’t bring it to me, then…
Family first.
“I want you to take us with you,” I say.
“To…?”
“The Conclave.” His jaw drops so fast it’s almost funny. “You didn’t believe me,” I say slowly. “You thought I was trying to trick you into giving yourself away.”
He stays silent, mutinous.
“I’m not tricking you. Ely told me. You are an alchemist. The reason you’re here is because you’re waiting for a woman, or a girl, someone who is in danger from the Sleeping Prince. She’s why you’re here; she’s what you were waiting for while you moved artefacts for your mother. Once you’ve found her, you have to get her to the Conclave.” I’m not sure how much of it is true, until I see the little colour Silas has drain from his face. “Ely told me where she is. And he told me the Sleeping Prince knows, and he’s coming.”
“Where is she?”
I shake my head. “You take us to the Conclave too. You know where it is. We’ll be no trouble; you know I can take care of us. We need to be somewhere safe, and hidden. And…” I pause. “More Elixir.” His face becomes stony and I speak quickly. “It’s the only thing that … It’s the only thing. When I have that, I’ll tell you where she is.”
“You’re blackmailing me?”
“It’s not blackmail. I’m asking for your aid in return for what I know.”
“I trusted you.” He says it quietly, his eyes wide and filled with disbelief.
“Silas, I just want your help. And I’ll help you in return. We can help each other.”
His golden eyes narrow. “Did you think about asking for my help, instead of making threats?”
“I did,” I say, my tone harsher than I meant it to be. “I asked you twice. First for the recipe, then if you could sell me more of it.”
He makes a strange face, his lips pulled back, his cheeks paling.
“I’ll pay you for it,” I say hurriedly. “I’m not asking for favours.”
“It’s not that. I can’t get you the quantity you want.”
“Then take me to someone who can.”
He gapes at me, shaking his head. “I thought we were friends.”
I glare at him. “Friends. Of course. And if I’d told you what your other friend said, and then asked for your help, would you have helped me? Or would you have left straight away?”
He looks pained. “Errin … you can’t possibly understand. If the Sleeping Prince finds her… There isn’t time for this. I have a job to do, and this is much bigger than you—”
“Then this is how it has to be.” I cut him off.
Silas shakes his head. “If Ely knew where she was, then someone must have told him. I’ll find out from them.”
“You don’t have time. Ely said you don’t have much time. We have to work together or we both lose.”
The look Silas gives me is loaded with disgust. “Are you really going to do this, Errin?”
I nod, feeling sick to my stomach. “Yes. I have to.”
He turns away, facing the window, and his shoulders slump. He keeps his back to me as he speaks and my nausea grows. “So be it. I’ll take you to the Conclave. I’ll get you more Elixir. Anything else you want?”
“I just want us both safe. Once we’re there, I’ll tell you why I have to do this. The real reason. I don’t have a choice, Silas. If there was another way then I’d do it, but there isn’t. It has