CHAPTER 102: ALCHEMY 1

FIA

The words hung in the air like smoke after a fire. Sharp. Cruel. Designed to cut.

Ijust need everyone to just shut up.

I wrapped my arms tighter around myself. The fabric of my sleeves bunched under my fingers. My chest felt hollow. Like something had been scooped out and left to echo.

Cian didn’t mean it. I knew that. Knew it the way I knew my own heartbeat. The way I’d known my mother’s breathing patterns in those final days when the rot consumed her from the inside out.

He was hurting. Lashing out because the pain had nowhere else to go. I’d done the same thing once. Screamed at the healers who tried to help. Cursed at my father when he told me to be strong. Pushed away anyone who dared suggest my mother might not make it.

The memory still tasted bitter on my tongue.

Cian stormed past Aldric and Elara. His shoulder clipped the doorframe. He didn’t slow down. Didn’t look back. Just kept moving like stopping meant drowning.

Ronan followed first. His jaw was set in a way that looked like he was trying not to explode. Elara went after him. Her heels clicked against the tile in rapid succession.

Then it was just me, Maren, Thorne and the Grand Luna lying still on the bed with tubes running from her arms like roots trying to anchor her to this world.

The silence pressed down. Heavy. Suffocating.

Maren’s shoulders sagged. She turned away from the bed and braced her hands against the counter. Her head dropped forward. I could see the tension in her spine. The way her fingers gripped the edge like she might fall if she let go.

Thorne looked older somehow. The lines around his eyes had deepened. His mouth pulled into a thin line as he stared at the Grand Luna’s still form.

"He didn’t mean it." My voice came out softer than I intended. "What he said."

"I know." Maren didn’t lift her head. "Doesn’t make it easier to hear."

"No." I took a breath. Let it fill my lungs. Pushed it out slowly. "It doesn’t."

Thorne moved to check the monitors. His hands shook slightly as he adjusted a dial. "We’re doing everything we can."

"I know that too." I stepped further into the room. The antiseptic smell burned my nostrils. "But he said he brought things. From the witch’s shop. Potions and herbs and whatever else was there."

Maren finally looked up. Her eyes were red at the edges. "Fia..."

"We should try something." The words tumbled out faster now. Desperate. "We can’t just stand here and watch her fade."

"You know we cannot do anything." Thorne’s voice was gentle but firm. Like he was explaining something to a child. "No one here is a witch with actual power."

My hands curled into fists. Nails bit into my palms. The small pain helped ground me. Kept the frustration from boiling over.

"Discoveries are made every day." I looked between them. "Medical ones. Magical ones. We could get lucky. Figure something out."

Maren crossed the space between us. Her scrubs rustled with the movement. She put a hand on my shoulder. The touch was warm. Steady.

"I understand." Her voice was almost a whisper. "I want the Grand Luna back too. More than anything. But we cannot."

"Why not?" The question cracked in the middle. "Why can’t we try?"

"Because there is no point and you know it. Alchemy needs a witch or warlock’s magic." Maren squeezed my shoulder. "And witchcraft has levels. Stronger magic bows to even stronger magic. We don’t have that kind of power."

"But we have to try." My throat felt tight. "We have to do something."

"I know you want to fix this." Maren’s eyes searched mine. "We all want to. But we cannot use the brewing of a witch who we have no strong knowledge of to concoct something for the Grand Luna who is already in a coma and suffering."

The logic made sense. I hated that it made sense. Hated the reasonable tone in her voice. The way she looked at me like I was being naive. But even she knew I just wanted to be naive.

"We have to do something." I repeated it because I didn’t know what else to say.

"We can pray." Thorne had moved closer. His weathered hands clasped in front of him.

The words hit wrong. Made something hot and sharp flare in my chest.

"When has that ever been enough?" The question came out harsher than I meant. "When has prayer alone saved anyone? I prayed to Selene a lot and it did not save my mother."

I didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, I turned to the sentinel standing guard by the door. He was young. Maybe twenty. His posture was stiff. Alert.

"Whatever Alpha Cian brought back from the witch." I kept my voice level. Authoritative. "Bring it here."

The sentinel’s eyebrows rose. He looked at me like I’d grown a second head. Like he was trying to figure out why I thought I could give him orders.

"Would you like me to repeat myself?" I held his gaze and didn’t blink.

His throat bobbed as he swallowed. Then he bowed. The movement was stiff. Reluctant. But he turned and left.

"You are threading dangerous waters, Luna Fia." Thorne’s voice held a warning.

"I’m not poisoning my mother in law." I turned back to them. "But there has to be something we can do."

I looked at Maren first. Then Thorne. Really looked at them. Saw the exhaustion. The helplessness. The same desperation I felt reflected back at me.

"One of you is a doctor." I gestured between them. "The other is a healer. Surely between the two of you..."

I paused. I didn’t know what more to say or what point I wanted to make. But it was there. At the back of my mind.

"My mother used to have plenty of tales to tell me about healers." The memory surfaced unbidden. Her voice in the dark. Stories of wolves who could cure anything with a touch. Who spoke to the Goddess herself. "The things they could do."

"My parents did too." Thorne’s expression softened. "And their parents before them. But the healers from the age of legends are not the healers we have now."

He moved to the window. Stared out at the darkening sky.

"Times have changed. We aren’t as connected to Goddess Selene as we once were. So all we have are herbs and our faith."

"And you must have done wondrous things with your herbs." I pressed. I couldn’t let it go. "I’ve seen you work. Seen what you can do."

"I have never broken an alchemized spell with herbs though." He said it quietly. Like an admission of failure. "Have you?"

"Maybe it’s tonight then." I straightened my shoulders. "Maybe tonight is when it happens."

The sound of footsteps echoed in the hallway. Multiple sets. The sentinel returned with the bottles. Three more sentinels followed behind him. Their arms were full of glass containers. Vials. Jars. Things that caught the light and reflected it in strange colors.

They set everything on the counter. The glass clinked together. Some of the liquids inside swirled on their own. Others stayed perfectly still like they were frozen in time.

"What do you guys say?" I looked between Maren and Thorne again.

Maren stared at the collection. Her jaw worked like she was chewing on words. Trying to decide if she should swallow them or spit them out.

"It’s delusional." She finally said.

My heart sank.

"But it’ll feel like I’m doing something instead of being useless."

I couldn’t stop the smile that pulled at my mouth. It was small but still very grateful.

Thorne was still at the window. His reflection showed in the glass. He was frowning. Thinking. Weighing options that probably all felt impossible.

"Fuck it." He turned around. "I’m in."

Relief flooded through me. It made my knees weak. I grabbed the edge of the counter to steady myself.

"Okay." I took a breath. "Okay. Where do we start?"

Maren moved to the bottles. Her fingers hovered over them without touching. "We need to know what we’re working with. What each of these does."

"Some of them have labels." Thorne joined her. Picked up a dark blue vial. Squinted at the writing on the side. "This one says it’s for sleep."

"That won’t help." Maren set it aside. "We need something that counteracts poison. Or breaks magical bonds."

Thorne added; "Our sense of smell is also quite sensitive and strong. Alpha Cian brought wood chippings that the cure dropped against. If we can pinpoint what was in it, then perhaps we can do something."

I nodded. I was glad ideas were coming in. Because I was just as lost.

They worked methodically. Picking up bottles. Reading labels when there were any. Holding them up to the light. I watched them catalogue everything. Organize it into groups. Possible. Unlikely. Dangerous.

The Grand Luna’s monitors beeped steadily in the background. A rhythm that felt both reassuring and terrifying. Proof she was still here. Still fighting.

"This one." Thorne held up a green bottle. The liquid inside looked thick. Almost syrupy. "It says it neutralizes toxins."

"Let me see." Maren took it. Held it close to her face. "The ingredients list is partially rubbed off."

"Can you make out any of it?" I leaned closer.

"Wolfsbane." Maren’s voice went flat. "That’s one of the ingredients."

"That could be deadly." I pulled back.

"In large amounts." Thorne was reading over her shoulder. "But in small doses it can be medicinal."

"But we have no clue what the dose was and how it would interact with what has been brewing in her system for months."

"Let us not forget this is a poison made by alchemy as well." Maren set the bottle down carefully. Like it might explode.

They fell into a rhythm. Debating. Testing. Maren would suggest something and Thorne would counter. Or vice versa. They pulled out scales. Measured tiny amounts. Mixed things in small glass dishes. While I smelled the wood chippings and tried to make out ingredients.

But even while we did all of this, there was that tiny earnest voice at the back of my mind that just told me this was a waste of fucking time.