I knew what he had found.
Reaching in, he pulled out a tall, stoppered bottle with what looked like liquid stars inside. Swirling it, I was hypnotized by how it flashed and sparkled in the dim lights of the room.
Roran stood, rather violently, from the table. “Is that…”
A simple shrug from his brother said everything. Rilen removed the stopper, and the unmistakable scent of night jasmine, white nightshade and winter slumber blooms filled the room.
“It’s a sleeping draught.” He passed it under his nose and staggered back a moment. “It’s a concentrate. That’s why it looks like that. This is enough to put several elephants to sleep.”
Roran’s voice was full of rebuke. “Why in S’Kir do you have this?”
I sighed. “Sometimes, Elex has night terrors. The only thing that gets him into a sleep deep enough to not remember them is the Vampire’s Draught. If he wakes in the middle of the night, he puts just a few drops in a finger of whiskey and comes back to bed.”
Recorking the bottle, Rilen shook his head. “This is a serious sleeping potion.”
I swallowed. More things I didn’t want to share. “He punched me in my sleep, twice, from the terrors. He didn’t want to do it a third time. The other draughts didn’t work as well. They couldn’t get him as deep, or they froze him in the terrors.”
“There are about four healers in all of S’Kir who can make this.” Rilen swirled the bottle again. “This was not easy to find… or inexpensive.”
“The professor helped him find the healer,” I said. “I think he said they had to take a train there to get the draught.”
Roran made a noncommittal noise while Rilen put the bottle back.
“Has he seen a healer about these night terrors?” Roran asked.
“Since he was a child. He always had good days and bad days growing up.”
Rilen closed the cabinet with a click. “Well, let’s just enjoy this brandy, and we’ll be on our way. We’ll trust that you have a plan to seduce your man.”
“I do,” I grinned, grateful for the change of subject.
“Then, brandy.” Roran lifted the glass. “And I need a bath. You gave me quite the workout.”
Not the kind I wanted.
I was at least able to hold in my disappointed sigh.
* * *
“Kimber?”
It felt like small earthquakes shaking me, and I tried to ignore them.
“Come on, Kimber.”
More little quakes.
My brain woke up, and I shot up from the couch.
The tremors stopped.
After a deep breath, I looked around and found Elex sitting on the couch looking confused and exhausted.
“Did you… That wasn’t a tremor?”
He gave me a smile. “No, it wasn’t a tremor. You fell asleep on the couch.”
“Oh…” I mumbled. I glanced down and saw my robe open.
