Elysia kicked her jacket out of the way, enjoying how Aidan’s gaze slid over to the motion in annoyance. “I couldn’t find you. And it’s a well-documented part of the Parker process. You should just be glad it didn’t involve drugs.”
Aidan placed a hand on the credenza, leaning his weight onto it as his irritation melted into tired patience. “Potionsdohave drugs, Elysia.”
She paused. “Oh.” That explained a lot.
She’d promised herself she would never do drugs. Alcohol on occasion, but never drugs, not after watching her sister fall in and out of sobriety for years. The guilt she expected to overtake her escaped her reach though, and she grinned to herself. No wonder people were into this.
Aidan’s shoulders dropped, his head tilting as he watched her. “Yes,oh.”
Tossing the ledger onto the credenza, he grabbed her hand, pulling her along through the house until they were in what looked like an infirmary. The small amber potion bottles here looked decidedly less fun than the ones at the bar.Instead of beautiful shimmering colors, they were filled with dark, murky liquids and floating herbs. Raised lettering on their labels said things likeanti-diarrhealandAidan’s migraines.
Her mind flashed back to the meela’s tincture, and she grimaced, waving her hands. “No, no. No, thank you. I’m good. Drugs wear off.”
Aidan grabbed a particularly sludgy bottle offthe shelf and uncorked it. “That they do. But you were expected at the Bone Temple hours ago, only you disappeared, and no one knew where you went.”
Elysia poked him in the belly, making him jerk back in disbelief. “Nooo, I looked foryou, and I couldn’t findyou, so I found…other activities.”
Aidan fought a grin. “I had to go to the prison. I’m half-tempted to leave you like this for a while. Alas, responsibility wins out like it always does.”
She nodded sagely, some distant sober part of her relating to what she heard in his voice. “Truth.”
Aidan handed her the bottle, but she pushed it away, wrinkling her nose as the smell wafted from it. “You know, some people would argue that I deserve a little respite afteralmost dying.Unsurprising behavior for someone who rules over the dead, though. How lively could you be?”
Aidan looked at a loss as she cackled and snorted at her own terrible joke. Still laughing, she didn’t see him change tactics. Faster than she could track, he was tipping her head back and pouring the tonic down her throat as she gagged and spluttered.
Wiping her mouth, she scowled at his satisfied expression. “Hey. That’s my move.” All at once, reality slammed into her, the beautiful, honeyed warmth and kaleidoscopic lights fleeing to another dimension. She stood still for a moment, jarred by the abrupt return to reality.
Aidan glanced at the bottle before tossing it into a bin. “Ididlearn that move from you, but we can talk about that another time. You need to get to Ryspur,now.”
She barely held back the retort that she was going to Kava. Per the usual, life was easier when you simply told people what they wanted to hear but did what you needed to do. It was better that he didn’t know. He’d just worry and waste more precious time trying to sway her. If he did realize what she’d done thanks to his stalking ways, it would be too late, and wouldn’t that just suck for him.
He handed her a small coin purse, which she shoved into her trouser pocket. “Tell me you’re going to the Bone Temple.”
Elysia fixed her face like a good little indentured woman. Gods knew she’d had enough practice doing it for everyone else. “I’m going to the Bone Temple,” she parroted back.
“Onlythe Bone Temple.”
A dark tendril of soot tilted her chin, and she sighed, answering him. “I am to go to the priestesses. Only to the priestesses. And then return to you, my deep, dark deadliness.”
Grimacing, he dropped her chin. “Again, if you want to give me a nickname, I can think of a few others I’d rather hear.”
“Dream on, dead boy.”
“You don’t even understand how ridiculous that statement is.”
“I thought we were bonding.” Elysia smiled with her lips closed, blinking up at him with her big brown eyes.
He shook his head. They were back at the front door now, where she put on the shoes and coat she had just taken off. Aidan looked down at her, becoming serious. “Twenty-four hours. Twenty-four hours max, and you’re to report back here.”
She saluted sarcastically before holding out her hand and curling her fingers. “I need a dagger.”
“I would have to be decidedly insane to arm you at this point.”
Eyes narrowed, she kept her hand out. “You would have me defenseless?”
He just looked at her.
“Soot and storms, I’m not going to stab you with it. Probably wouldn’t even kill you anyway,” she grumbled.
