Yamanu being his inducer was the one thing about tonight that Tony felt good about. Everything else created a knot of anxiety in his chest that made it hard to breathe.
"Do you have any pot?"
Her eyebrows shot up. "What?"
"Marijuana. Cannabis. The devil's lettuce. I could use something to take the edge off."
"I don't smoke. And you shouldn't do anything to dull your senses or weaken yourself in any way. You need to be in top physical form for this to succeed. If you are compromised in any way, it's not going to work."
Tony scrubbed a hand over his face. "I just need something to help me calm down." He put a hand over his chest. "I feel like I'm about to have a stroke."
Her eyes widened in alarm. "Really? I should call Julian."
He moved his hand to her knee. "No, not really. I'm exaggerating for dramatic effect."
Shira let out a breath. "You scared me. Don't do that to me."
Did she really care about him that much?
It was hard to tell. Their relationship was still in the get-to-know-each-other stage, and there hadn't been any declarations of love or even exclusivity between them. He was still officiallyliving with Kaia and William, even though he was spending most of his nights at Shira's place and had moved half his wardrobe to her closet.
"Have you tried meditation?" she asked.
Tony snorted. "Meditation is sitting still and pretending your thoughts don't exist. My thoughts are very difficult to banish, and they're all screaming at me right now."
"Then maybe?—"
The doorbell interrupted her, and Tony's stomach dropped. "They're here."
"Breathe." Shira squeezed his arm. "I'll get the door."
She disappeared down the hallway, and Tony heard the voices of his escorts. It was nice of Kaia and William to offer to do this for him, and he appreciated it, but it only made him feel like he was a prisoner being led to his execution rather than a man about to receive a gift most humans would kill for.
He stood, wiped his palms on his sweatpants, and walked out to meet them.
Kaia's face lit up when she saw him. "There he is. The man of the hour."
"More like the chew toy of the hour, about to get bitten by the big bad Guardian."
Kaia slapped his arm playfully. "Don't say that. It's offensive to Yamanu, who is doing you a favor."
"Okay, so not a chew toy. A guinea pig about to waste the time of a beloved head Guardian."
"Don't be dramatic." William clapped him on the shoulder. "Yamanu is not going to waste his time. This is going to work, and you are going to transition."
"You don't know that."
"I have excellent instincts."
"You're an engineer. Your instincts involve inventing gadgets and interpreting code. You can't identify Dormants any better than Amanda or anyone else."
William sighed. "That's true only regarding Dormants, and that's because the Fates don't like anyone interfering with their plans. They want to be the only ones who do the matchmaking. But when it comes to my inventions, you'd be surprised how much of what I do is pure instinct. It's like the Fates whisper the solutions to problems in my ear."
"I wish I were a problem you needed to solve. Maybe you'd come up with a way to make me immortal."
As William and Kaia exchanged glances, Tony wondered what that was about. Were the two geniuses developing an immortality elixir?
"Stop it, Tony," Kaia said. "You're just hyping yourself up, and that's not good for you right now. Take a few breaths, relax, and think positively."
