“I just had some.”
Joshua hummed, the sound vibrating between them. His mouth quirked, and Kira wished she could kiss him.
Why can’t I? Oh, right. Because he’s an asshole. A controlling asshole. And I only let him stay because I need someone to make sure I don’t start choking on blood or something.
“Maybe you should make a potion. Something to help you heal faster. You’re good at that,” he said.
Kira tensed. “What do you mean by that? I should stick to potions and not try spells?”
Joshua pulled away. She instantly missed the heat of his touch. “No, I meant that you’re good at potions. There has to be something that you can use to help with your bruises.”
“I’m not supposed to do a lot of bending and moving.” Her voice came out in a snap. That was for the best. Keep him at arm’s distance. “I’m fine. I don’t need you to hover over me. I’ll let you know if I need anything.”
Joshua huffed in annoyance. “Fine. Then, how about I try to make the potion?”
Kira’s jaw dropped. “Huh?”
“My mother had witch ancestry,” Joshua said in a clipped voice.
“She does?” Kira hummed. “Huh. She has a strong wolf, though. So she must not have access to magic, right? Or the demons would have done something.”
Joshua opened his mouth to correct her—he was talking about his biological mother, not Susan. But for fuck’s sake, she didn’t even know he was adopted! It wasn’t well-known. Under Rafael’s father, adoption was considered taboo, which was why Susan and Mark kept it under wraps that he wasn’t theirs biologically. He never understood why there was that attitude toward adoption.
He shook his head. Now wasn’t the time to correct her. “I might not have magic, but potions are just recipes, aren’t they?”
“They’re more than that,” Kira argued, but as soon as she said it, she wasn’t sure how they were different. There were different stages that you had to manifest with, but actually using magic felt much different than those moments. Could potions be something that anyone could do, but that were locked out of society because of their connotations with magic?
As much as she hated to admit it, that sounded like something that could have happened.
“I suppose it won’t hurt to try,” she hedged. “During the places that are more magicky, I can take over.”
Joshua nodded, a rare smile tilting his lips. “Alright. So where do I start, then?”
“We’ll need the kitchen and ingredients.” Kira frowned.
It would be better to do this at his place, in the potions room he’d made for her. But did she want to go back with him? She hesitated as she considered her options, then finally gave a sharp nod. Gwen was only a phone call away, and after hisinitial freakout, Joshua had pulled back and hadn’t tried to be controlling again.
“Let’s go to your place. You have everything set up in that one room. After we’re done, we can come back here.”
Joshua’s eyes widened briefly, but he nodded at once. Kira tried to insist on walking, but Joshua wouldn’t hear of it. Luckily, the doctor had left a wheelchair for her, which she was happy to use. Honestly, she would have consented to being carried again anyway. Moving around too much hurt, and she’d only said she’d walk out of sheer stubbornness.
Soon, they were in the spare room at his house, with her tucked into a chair at a small folding table while he worked. Joshua followed her directions, only questioning them when he didn’t fully understand what he was meant to do. It was surprisingly enjoyable, and Kira relaxed into her chair.
“I need to get back to making potions,” she mused aloud. “I always enjoyed it. I’ve been so focused on my magic, trying to get that to a point where I’m useful, that I forgot how nice potions are.”
Joshua took the mixture off the stove and showed it to her. “Is this how it’s supposed to look?”
Kira inspected the potion, directing him to move the pan around in various ways. It was a thick, sludge-like mixture and had turned out surprisingly well. It was maybe a bit paler than she would have liked, but she didn’t think that would affect its use.
“So how do we use it?” Joshua asked.
“It’s an ointment, so directly on the skin. It should help speed up healing while lessening pain. But the downside is thatit causes drowsiness,” Kira explained, running her finger along the recipe in the book.
“We should get you to bed first, then,” Joshua said.
Certain images flashed through Kira’s mind, and she shoved them away quickly. “Back to my place, then.”
Joshua frowned, as if he wanted to protest, but nodded. As it turned out, the drive was a mistake. By the time they had returned to her house, the seatbelt biting into her ribs made it even more painful. She couldn’t hide her discomfort, gasping when he helped her from the car. Silently, he swept her into his arms, ignoring the wheelchair this time.
