The Potion Diaries by Amy Alward Read Free Book Online Page B

produce.
    Someone will cure her.
    It just won’t be me.
    They switch to a show reel highlighting the Princess and Zain.
IS A FALLING-OUT WITH A FRIEND THE CAUSE?
    The newscaster’s voice drones over the images.
Speculation mounts as Zain Aster was seen entering the castle only hours before Princess Evelyn cancelled her eighteenth birthday party.
The images show Zain whispering in Evelyn’s ear, his arm draped casually around her shoulders. They look so comfortable together, like co-conspirators or old friends gossiping. But then something catches Zain’s attention and he pulls his arm away from Evelyn. I catch the barest of flinches from her, and the look in her eyes as she stares at him is full of longing. She really did love him. My finger hovers over the remote, but I can’t bring myself to change the channel while Zain is on the screen.
    The potion was meant for him. That must be what the Queen Mother meant. He could’ve become instant royalty. I wonder why he didn’t want that.
    It’s hard to believe that only a few hours ago Zain and I were in the same room together. Thinking about him, I almost blush, even though I’m alone. I roll my eyes at my own reaction, then finally switch over to a sitcom about a mixed group of Talented and ordinary friends who hang out together in a local bar. It was a pretty radical show in its time and I’ve seen all the episodes a thousand times. I don’t take any of it in. All I can think about is the love potion. I wonder which ingredient the Princess had written down. I wonder where Anita and Arjun are off to. I scold myself. I need to forget today ever happened.
    A few episodes later, and the house is silent. I tuck in under the duvet, but I’ve barely shut my eyes when I hear a tapping sound on my window, like stones are being thrown at it. I sit up in bed, pull the curtain aside, and find myself staring straight into the face of Kirsty Donovan, the Kemi family Finder.

CHAPTER TEN
    Samantha
    ‘ K IRSTY!’ I PUSH UP THE WINDOW AND help her crawl through into the room. She must have climbed up the outside of the house to my window using the drainpipe. Kirsty never does things the normal way. ‘What are you doing here?’ I whisper.
    I haven’t seen her in months but she looks just the same – glamour-free, tanned skin, dark-blonde hair pulled to the side in a braid that looks practical but still beautiful, her toned arms on show as they always are except in the darkest months of winter. She’s wearing her trademark uniform too – black vest top, grey-green trousers with innumerable pockets, tall boots. She’s the epitome of a Finder. I suddenly feel incredibly awkward in my yellow polka-dot pyjamas.
    ‘I’m here to talk about the Hunt, of course!’ I can see her eyes are shining, catching the light from the street lamps outside.
    ‘You heard? How?’
    She winks. ‘Friends in low places, I guess. I’m a bit insulted that you haven’t already asked me to be your Finder in the Hunt, but I’ll let you off. What’s the first ingredient? We need to get ahead of the competition if the synths are involved.’
    I slump back down onto my bed. ‘We’re not joining. Grandad doesn’t want anything to do with it.’
    ‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ says Kirsty. ‘Why do you think I came through the window? Of course Ostanes won’t allow it; I’ve known dragons who bear less of a grudge than that man. But a Kemi has been called to the Hunt. That could be you.’
    ‘They want my grandfather, not me.’
    ‘But you could do it.’
    ‘No way,’ I scoff.
    ‘Why not? You might try to deny it, but you’ve got the Kemi gift. You know how to mix with the best of them.’
    ‘I’m nowhere near as good as Grandad, and I won’t be able to compete with the synths. When they get those ingredients into their big labs . . .’
    ‘Then think of it this way. You’re the Kemi apprentice. I don’t really get it since
obviously
you should be going to Kingstown Uni to study Synths &