The Poisoner (The Poisoner #1)

by I.V. Ophelia

Have you ever wondered how long it would take for a lethal dose of arsenic to kill you? Thirty-five hours, twenty-nine minutes, and fifteen seconds. I should know. I counted myself.

Phoebe and I had been friends since before I could remember. We were like two thorns of the same rose, an easy connection between us. Our fathers worked together often in the pharmaceutical industry, though her father had his hands in a plethora of other pursuits. My father was a one-industry pony—he dedicated his life to studying medicine through botany, chemistry, and physiology. I admired him for that.

Sometimes I wonder what else he could have given the world if he had not passed last year. Losing him broke a part of me that I would never understand. I spent the last year as a hermit on our country estate. With the social pressure of being friends with Phoebe, I could not risk being seen in that state. My father’s reputation was the only thing I had left of him, and I would be damned if I tainted it by acting out.

Explaining myself was exhausting. I would instead dumb it down to keep my peace. Speaking of peace, there was the matter of the under-the-table products reserved for women looking to eliminate any unsavory characters, bound by marriage or otherwise. My exceptional understanding of botany and chemistry had allowed me to aid in the disappearance of many men—a professional poisoner, if you will. Phoebe didn’t know that half of the business existed, but her up-to-date gossip made choosing my next subjects fairly easy. I preferred not to call them victims. They were anything but. A poisoner’s job was never finished, as a poison could always be better. More refined, purified, deadlier—until you made something new and started the process again. That was why every recipient was a subject, each corpse leaving more flirtatious hints as to how the poison could be improved for the next sinner.

“Say, what is wrong with the color of your hair? There—on your face.” I pulled a tight smile in response, my fingers brushing over my eyebrow. “There is nothing wrong. It is poliosis. It just turns the hair on the left side of my face white.” My voice was kind for the sake of educating, not that a loaf like him would know.

Ignorance was expected, and I never blamed them. It is not a choice to be stupid, though I gave my best efforts to be sympathetic.

Personal pleasures were like drying flowers, best kept away from the light to preserve their vibrance.

The wound on my face was healing slower than usual, but healing nonetheless. At first, I was confused about why Alina would arm herself with just a mere needle. It was rather anticlimactic. It was only after the first few days that I realized she had attempted to poison me. Believe me when I say this woman gave me butterflies in my stomach. Though that might just be internal bleeding. Either way, she had charmed me.

When I saw the wall of flowers, everything started to make sense. Every single plant on that wall could kill any average man with enough care and proper preparation. Could she be the cause of all of the sudden poisonings of men and Vipera? I was starting to think she had more up her sleeve than I initially assumed.

While Alina was surely bright, she had the worst case of fixation I had ever seen. The minute she opened a book, it was like she disappeared—only a shell of a person. I nearly bumped into her several times. When passing her at the market, I even let her run into my shoulder. She said sorry and did not stop walking. I will repeat myself: she said sorry and did not even look in my direction.

With haste, I hooked my fingers downward, forcing his jaw open. “Where do you hide them?” I demanded, tilting my head to the side to get a better look. My other hand joined to push his head back. The Creature pulled back and grabbed both of my wrists. “What in God’s name are you doing?” A look of genuine shock cut through his charade. “Don’t bring him into this. Show me where you hide your teeth. You can’t just show me something like that and expect me not to ask questions.” I pulled my wrists from his grip. “You promised me answers the other day. You owe me.” Now he was looking at me like I was the crazy one. His brows furrowed. “Fine, but no more fingers.”

I would not mind him so much if he were always this obedient.

A tightness burned in my core. It could be the leftover thrill from thinking I was going to die or because a creature so deadly was deciding that he would rather play with me than eat me.

“Where did you go?” he whispered into the crook of my neck. “You drifted somewhere. I could feel it.” “Hell,” I answered honestly, my eyes having difficulty staying open. That earned me an endearing laugh. “Fair enough.” He sighed, leaving kisses along my jaw,

How could she sleep when faced with imminent danger? What an enigma. And those curious eyes—the way she looked at me. It vexed me. No one had actively stuck their fingers in my mouth to inspect me like some kind of test subject before. A small part of me wanted her to keep going, to explore me like I wanted to explore her. To show her everything she wanted. Would she cower in fear the more I exposed to her? Or would showing more of my creature habits excite her?

It must have been at least thirty minutes of foot travel just to see her standing idly outside my home. She was like a tiny figurine before the large, stately manor. It could be a museum with its size paired with the number of things I had collected throughout the ages. She broke from her frozen state to write something down. What are you planning, minx? She paced in front, then snuck around to see if there was a way to peep in. Along the side of the house, she tugged at the service entrance. It was locked, but I made a note to myself to leave that one open from now on. Finding a stray Alina in my home in the middle of the night would be quite a treat. I hoped she would try and knock, but that did not seem to be in her plans tonight. Then she retreated, back in the direction she was supposed to go earlier. The muscles in my jaw twitched. What was the point of coming all the way out here if she wasn’t going to do anything?

I was beginning to realize that my obsession with her was not due to that kind of hunger. Her liveliness, stubbornness, sharp tongue, and wit was what I craved. Her disregard for risk, the way she pursued me back, our morbid flirtation back and forth was what I looked forward to the most. No matter how good she might taste, I could not have that sort of fun with a corpse.

He had some nerve showing up after that scene in his house, the tantrum in the cemetery, and leaving me a body to dispose of on my own. I would not allow him to disturb me in my limited time of peace. With careful pursuit, I let the axe slide off my shoulder. Thwap! The blade smacked into the wood of the wall next to his head as I turned the corner. His eyes were wide. I might have actually caught the elusive Creature off guard. He glanced at the axe and then back at my face. Genuine surprise. “Marry me,” he breathed. “Get out!” I yelled, yanking the blade out of the wall and sending splinters scattering across the floor. “Not when you flirt with me like that.” He backed away a few feet before stopping, a taunting instigation.

decanter. “I would offer you a drink, but I haven’t finished your homemade concoction yet.” “Why didn’t you dispose of it?” He lifted a shoulder and poured himself a glass. “It has a nice tang to it. Bites back a little.” He took a sip as he moved to his desk,

Because of course he prefers the poisoned drink LOL

“You were going to eat me.” “I never said that.” “By the sight of your teeth twitching, I beg to differ.” I stepped closer. “I’m not angry with you, not entirely. I assumed that it was something you couldn’t help.” “Are you calling me an animal, Miss Lis?” “I have worse names for you—but nevertheless,”

“You want to know why I haven’t killed you yet? My mouth runs dry when I think of killing you. I didn’t understand it. It frustrated me for a long time. I would usually be skipping heartbeats at the thought of ripping through something as divine as you.” The darkness in his eyes had disappeared when he looked back at me. It was replaced by pain. “It would not be the same. I wanted to hear you dedicate your cruel words only to me. I didn’t care if you were yelling at me, screaming at me, telling me no…as long as it was for me. Soon, I didn’t want you to leave. When I was away, you danced around my mind like a man’s deepest regret, ferocious and intoxicating. You want to know what I want? I want you, Alina. All of you. Every hair on your head, every tear, laugh, and scream that rips from your delicate vocal cords will all become mine.”

“You are a woman of many admirable qualities,” he whispered, kissing me again, sucking and biting at my lips as if he wanted to taste more. “It’s a nice flavor on you. I want more.” His tongue glided down across my jawline, the movements of his lips against my neck becoming greedy. “I want to hear you beg for me,” I breathed. “On your knees, preferably.” “Why would I beg when I could just make you melt with a single tongue-lashing between your legs?”

“Beg,” I repeated. His glare burned hot as he held my gaze. It was amusing to see it all unfold. If only I had known that I could have done this sooner, maybe I would have had more fun with him by now. Taming beasts was easy if you dangled their reward just out of reach. “If you’re going to compare your nasty impulses to the likes of dogs,” I purred, “then you better bark.”

BARK LIKE YOU WANT IT BABY

“What are those?” he sneered. “My tools.” “What did you use them on to get them in that shape?” “Leftovers from when I had to break up that body you left draped over the tub like she was a discarded linen.” I rolled my eyes, pushing back against him. I held one of the long bone saws up to his cheek.

“You owe me a new blade. The bones wore this one down.” I lowered the instrument back into the sink. “I take it back. I may be the one who has to hide from you.”

“Is that so?” He raised his brow. “Does that also mean I get more samples from you?” “No.” “How is that fair?” “I didn’t say it was, but I’m not giving you more blood for a sample of spit.” I rolled my eyes. “Open your mouth. I can give you some right now.” “Silas,” I warned, shooting him a glare as I slid the needle into a vein, pumping the apparatus as it pulled the blood.

As obsessive and scary as he was, he lit something deep inside me that was impossible to ignore. I might just be addicted to the adrenaline high.

“I have not known fear until I met you, Alina,” he interrupted me. “Do you know how horrifying it was to see you on those stairs and wonder what could have possibly scared you enough to cry out to me, of all things?” The pain in his voice was desperate, begging for me to understand him. “I realized that it wasn’t you who scared me the most,” he whispered finally against my lips, looking at me through his lashes. “What scared me is what would happen to me without you.”

“I like the one about me being a witch. I think it was the one with the most conviction. The apothecary? Are people losing their heads? A devilish man following me around like my personal henchman? I would say that it is a very strong possibility.” “Well, you have certainly bewitched me.” He laughed. “Any more tricks up your sleeve? Any of your special potions left to try?” “Keep it up and maybe I will make one just for you. Again.” “I quite like your poisons. I have acquired a taste for them.” He leaned close to my ear. “It is not the only thing I have developed a taste for.”

“People will notice,” I mumbled into my cup. “They’ll talk.” “They already are, so what’s the point?” “Are you suggesting that we court publicly?” “Why not?” “You don’t think it would be bad for your reputation?” “You’re intelligent, a uniquely skilled killer, and beautiful beyond my wildest imagination. I think you would be good for my bloodline.”

His eyes had been fixed on me since before I looked, fully attentive to my every move. “You get that light in your eyes whenever you look at something you’re curious about. I wanted to see more of it.” He shrugged. “You belong here, not in a stuffy house surrounded by people who don’t understand you.”

He wrapped his arms around her in a hug, a smirk on his face as he looked at me from over her shoulder. I will cut that smug look off your face and wear it at your funeral.

“What do you study anyway?” I mumbled. “I find it hard to believe you are a student.” “While I am flattered that I do not look like the scholarly type”—he laughed—“I am studying orthopedics.” I raised my brow at him. “The study of bones. Though I find my calling in the spine.” His stare burned into mine as he paused, a devilish smirk creating a dimple in his cheek. “Spinal fluid is almost as valuable as blood to the body, you know.” It’s him. It’s Luka.

I FREAKING SUSPECTED THIS!!!!

She unlatched the box and opened it gingerly. Around eight small vials filled with liquid were nestled into the box’s velvet. “What is this?” “Eight of the deadliest venoms this world has ever known,” I answered her. “I have friends in interesting places. I thought maybe you could use them in your research.” I leaned over her as we sat side by side, peering at the box’s contents. She looked like I’d given her a ring and gotten down on a knee. Delicate fingers traced over the vials in awe. Something in her eyes told me that she was taking in the moment.

Call me lovelorn, but I adored this woman completely.

“I didn’t think you would want to use them on me. I thought we were past this,” he groaned. Several metal spoons lined the tea table as we sat on the floor. Cushions and old fur blankets were piled under us as we lingered near the steadily warming fireplace. We’d come to my family’s cottage. It was not small, but still about ten rooms. It was a bit of a backtrack, but the closest place we could go. Most of the furnishings and mirrors were still covered in sheets. It brought back old feelings from worse times, though any ghost of the past had disappeared now that I had company. I held a spoon up to him. “You said that it won’t kill you, so why the hesitation?” “You know, I am starting to take this personally.” He rolled his eyes.

He gifts her poisons and she makes him try them LOL

His face twisted at the taste, and he smacked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “It tastes like…nails.” “Nails? Do you mean the pain or the taste of metal?” “Both.” He grimaced. “Remind me never to let you cook for me.” He took a sip of my scotch to wash it down. “I can cook just fine. Just don’t vex me, and I will exclude the cyanide.” I finished jotting down my note before picking up the next spoon. “Now this one.” “We have tried four already,” he protested. “Be a good sport.” I glared. “You agreed to be my subject,” I said pointedly. I leaned in and whispered seductively in his ear, “Now open up.”

“Beg for it.” I glared over my shoulder. I lowered my torso so my face was touching the ground, pushing my hips back on him. He pulled it away again. “Uh-uh! You should know better than anyone how we ask for things.” He smirked. “I want to hear you beg.” “Please,” I pleaded. “Please, I…need it inside. I feel so empty,” I whined, glancing over my shoulder from the floor. “I want to lose my voice by the time I’m done screaming your name.” There was a psychotic glint in his eye.

From my notes, I could see that his rear fangs contained a painkiller, a muscle relaxant, and an aphrodisiac.

His blood was similar to snake venom that burns away at flesh and causes swelling, though I was already painfully aware of that.

Then there was the golden liquid from his…other fangs—his spines. From Silas’s own knowledge and from my experience that night, it contained some of the s...

Now that I thought about it, we did look like a matching set—how annoying. “Did you really have to wear black?” I grumbled, eyeing his clothing. “Of course. How else will we convince the children that we are phantoms that haunt the park?”

That was the first time she’d kissed me. Truly kissed me. I had not realized until that moment that I always moved first. It would be a moment I would savor, hoping to remember every detail.

I wanted more than to have her close. I wanted her to crawl under my skin and make a home out of my rib cage, for my heart would only beat for her. Not even a single pump of my atria was allowed if it was not for my dearest shadow, my chosen—my Alina.

Her lips tasted so sweet, so alive against mine. She had tasted like many things I would learn to love. It used to be the smell of cherries that I enjoyed the most, or the bitter almond taste that I soon learned was cyanide, or the pollen of formidable flowers of the day. Now, it was the taste of her name on my tongue or mine on hers.

Her body was meant to be held by my hands, to be taken by only mine. If I had carved her from clay with my hands, I would be afraid of touching her again, fearing the perfection I had created—I imagined that was what God felt when making her, if he existed at all. I was so enamored. She had me understanding why people believed in such things.

I am a puddle on the floor

I would wait for her to finish, let her use me for whatever she wanted. I would give her anything, body, mind, and soul—if I had one. It was all hers to take.

I never thought I could reach the point of craving someone aside from a simple hunger. Starving for her would be more painful than any true hunger. I would rather perish. I was wholeheartedly, pathologically addicted to her.

“Unhand me, you unnatural thing!” I screamed at him. “I will not be told what I can and cannot do by a creature so abominable that he must keep me here in chains to keep me at all.” “You don’t mean it.” His jaw clenched. “Say you don’t.” “I should have dissected you and sold your corpse to the museums,” I seethed. “They would applaud me for slaying such a beast. The world, in turn, would have been brighter if I had removed your stain earlier. That is where my mistakes begin and end when it comes to you, Creature.” The pain in his eyes was like nothing I had ever seen.