Nightshade -

It would widen his pupils until his eyes were as black as obsidian. He would see the world through a terrifying, beautiful haze.

Isolde waited until the sound of horse hooves faded entirely into the night. She knelt beside Julian and forced a paste of charcoal and vinegar down his throat, praying his spirit could still hear her voice in the void. "Come back, boy," she muttered. "The monsters are gone."

Julian pulled back his collar. On his neck was the brand of the High Inquisitor—a mark reserved for those who had committed treason. He had seen the corruption in the capital, tried to expose it, and was now a hunted man. He didn't want to forget his life; he wanted to fake his death. 🧪 The Three Drops of Belladonna nightshade

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Isolde looked at him and saw not a traitor, but a desperate animal. She agreed to help him, but warned him of the cost. To fake a death convincingly enough to fool the King's hounds, Julian would have to take a tincture of Atropa belladonna —the Deadly Nightshade. It would widen his pupils until his eyes

💡 The story of the Nightshade family is never about pure evil or pure good; it is about the dual nature of power. The exact same plant that can blind or kill can also be used by a skilled hand to heal or save.

Isolde did not invite him in. She stood by her boiling cauldron, sorting dried roots. "I can make a man believe he is a wolf, or make him see his dead mother standing in the corner," she replied calmly. "But the mind is like a mirror, boy. If I crack it to let the bad memories out, the light doesn’t reflect the same way anymore." She knelt beside Julian and forced a paste

"They say you can make a person forget," Julian whispered, his hands trembling against the iron latch. "They say you can give a man a new face."