My cheeks grow warm. “How could you possibly know that?”
Fiona chuckles, the back of her hand held to her nose. “His mating scent is all over you. Even I can smell it, and I’m human. And Seb’s dragon was sending a strong warning to Connor that he didn’t like him touching you. Honestly, it reeks.”
“Smells good to me,” I mumble.
Connor and Fiona both erupt in raucous laughter like I’m the butt of a joke I don’t completely understand. But Fiona places a hand gently on my shoulder and says, “It’s a dragon thing. Our mate’s scent is attuned to us and us alone. Believe me, now that you’re mated, Connor will smell like a wet dog to you.”
I do catch an earthy and unpleasant musk in the air, now that I think about it, and I curl my nose.
Seb takes my hand. “Coffee? We have much to discuss.”
“Please,” Fiona says, and Seb calls to Patrick to bring it into the dining room.
“So, what is this all about?” Connor asks. “Your message sounded urgent.”
“It is.” Seb looks toward me as we sit across from the other couple at the table. Patrick whizzes into the room, sliding a mug of coffee in front of each of us and leaving cream and sugar. Seb dumps a little cream into his before lifting his chin. “Zoe, tell them what you told Morwyn and me about the water.”
“The water in the vial?” I raise an eyebrow. I did not expect to be discussing this with others from the brotherhood this morning. I thread my fingers together nervously. “It’s more of a theory, really, based on general magical principles.”
Fiona nods. “Then tell us about your theory.”
“There are certain herbs and elixirs that witches use topically and certain ones we take internally. When Morwyn was here, he mentioned that he’s experimented with putting the water on a wound that was poisoned with Order magic, and it only made the wound worse. When I tested a drop of water on the ring, the ring moved away from the water. The water in the vial is diametrically opposed magic to the magic of the ring.”
“I don’t follow. If it’s power is in opposition to the ring’s, why couldn’t it cure Remus’s wounds?” Connor asks.
“Because I think the water has to work from the inside out.” How to explain this. “We have a vaccine for polio, right? But if you put that vaccine into a person who already has polio, it won’t cure the polio. A vaccine can only prevent infection.”
Fiona’s brow bunches. “You think the water can be used as a vaccine against Order magic?”
I blow out a breath. “I’m a young witch and I haven’t practiced magic much in the last year, but we wouldn’t call this a vaccine. A vaccine is injecting someone with a small amount of something harmful so that their immune system knows how to react to it in a subsequent exposure. This water isn’t anything harmful. In fact, it’s infused with pure celestial energy. I’d call it an aegis potion. Usually, something like this…we witches would drink it as a tea, and, over time, it would protect the drinker against certain curses. It might even speed healing in someone who is injured by Order magic.”
Fiona’s eyes go wide, and she turns to Connor. “Oh my God, Connor, that’s why—” She brings both her hands to her mouth.
“Why what?” Seb asks.
Connor shifts in his chair. “When we were fighting Roman, just before I killed him, Fiona was shot by one of his fucking cursed bolts. Went right through her shoulder. But it healed almost immediately.”
Fiona tucks her hair behind her ear. “It was wild because I felt it pass through me, but when I had a chance to look at the wound, it was gone. I thought maybe it hadn’t hit me after all.”
“So, have you been drinking the water on your land?” I can’t keep the hope from my voice.
“Not exactly,” she says. “I used to meet my sister there, though, and she’d often bring a meal to share with me from the convent next door. Sometimes there was tea or lemonade. If she was preparing those drinks using the same water, it means I drank a lot of it over time.”
Seb grabs my hand and squeezes. “Let’s start distributing vials of this stuff to the other dragons.”
Connor holds up a hand. “We haven’t tested this on dragons. Fiona is human. Just because it works for her doesn’t mean it will work for us. Plus, what do we tell them? How much should they drink? For how long?”
Seb looks at me, and I shrug. “He’s right. I’m a singer, not a doctor or a wise witch. I can only tell you that I would personally start with a few drops in my tea or coffee every morning and see how it goes. Maybe test it after a few weeks.”
“We can’t test it, though. It would be unconscionable to infect someone with the ring on purpose.”
Connor frowns. “I bet Remus will agree to be our guinea pig, though. Fiona and I will take some of the water to him on Cardinal Island and ask him to drink it. See if it accelerates his healing.”
“It’s a good idea,” Seb says.
“Thank you, Zoe, for helping us. We wouldn’t have known any of this without you,” Connor says.
I have to look away. I’m so used to screwing up, it’s almost painful to be called out for doing something good. My eyes sting as pride swells within me. How I would love to be right about this. Right about something.
