BASTIAN
I stoodin front of the cauldron that was set on top of the iron tripod with a heating crystal underneath it. My scarred and damaged hands trembled as the dim light from the flickering orbs of light illuminated the now roomy cottage, but it still cast eerie shadows along the table scattered with vials and herbs.
The burn scars from the mercenary group that killed my fathers covered my hands. Every time I looked at them, all I could think about was the agony and loss I'd endured until Fawn gave me something else to think about.
My face heated as I thought about how I touched her with these hands. My fingertips were rough and scratchy. The scars were a testament to what I had faced with the fire mages, but even with that deep pain of the past, Fawn was able to help bring me out of it and see my hands as a tool for brewing potions once again. Not only that but a tool to give her pleasure the way that I wanted to.
I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat and forced my mind to focus.
Ingredients for the antidote lay in disarray on the wooden table. I had already examined the rage potion itself, and I'd completed a ritual to figure out exactly what was in it. Sharing Fawn's curse filled me with extra knowledge, and thanks to that, I knew exactly what I needed to put in the antidote to combat what was in the rage potion.
My gaze drifted from the dried dragon's tongue to the delicate petals of the moonflower. Moonflowers brought me back to the garden at the Allura Empire because those were the flowers that bloomed in the gazebo where Fawn and I had our first time. I couldn't stop thinking about her, and I knew that I had truly fallen in love with her.
Once again, I tried to shake all other thoughts from my head aside from the antidote. My focus was crucial right now. I'd never struggled to keep my mind in order before.
This antidote would save countless lives from the rage potion the Revivum Empire was giving the monsters. I had never seen monsters so ferocious, and it almost made me relieved that my father was not around to fight against them. With these rageful monsters on the rise, failure was not an option.
I grabbed the dried dragon tongue and tossed it in the mortar. My fingers curled around the pestle as I ground the tongue, but my hand twitched as pain sparked through it.
The scars on my hands haunted me of the loss of my parents, but with each scar came setbacks and self-doubt when it came to brewing potions. I loved brewing. Getting hexed took that ability away from me, and I appreciated Fawn for breaking that hex more than she'd ever know.
I pushed through the pain, crushing the dragon's tongue into a fine powder.
Fawn's delicate hands wrapped around mine, stopping me from grinding the tongue and taking it away. "Let me help." Her voice so soft and sweet.
I found myself nodding, and I realized I'd probably do anything she'd asked of me. "I need to crush the moonflower petals." I took back the powdered dragon tongue and poured it into the cauldron before giving her the mortar back.
"Leave it to me." She bumped my hip with hers, making my pulse race.
I watched, transfixed, as she picked up the moonflower petals and dropped them gracefully into the mortar. Her movements of crushing the petals into powder were mesmerizing.
Once the petals turned to soft powder, she handed the mortar to me with a sweet smile. "There you go."
"Thanks, love." I poured it into the cauldron with a shaking hand.
The mixture sizzled and omitted a faint, ethereal glow. The sweet aroma of the flowers mingled with the bitter scent of dragon's tongue, creating an interesting fragrance that filled the living area.
"We make a good team," she teased, her lips curving into a teasing smile.
"We do," I agreed as warmth spread over my chest.
Fawn helped me crush a few more dried ingredients: a piece of vortex turtle shell, the claw of an abominal, and the acid of a glidaton.
My hands were full of tremors as I added the final ingredients--a single drop of lochie blood and two drops of glidaton acid. They were two ingredients I had been more than surprised that she had on hand. I had just hoped I had estimated the right amount.
It was a reminder that Fawn had done so much with her life. More than I could've ever dreamed of doing.
"You're amazing," she whispered.
My heart skipped a beat as I turned toward her. "You're the amazing one, love."
She came closer, pushing up on her tiptoes and slowly pressing her lips against mine.
My stomach fluttered, and I tucked a piece of her hair carefully behind her ear. I kissed her back with tenderness before pulling away to catch my breath. "You're amazing, Fawn. I'm so surprised that you see my hands and don't shy away from me."
She grabbed my hands and pressed two kisses to each one. "I could never shy away from you."
"I hate to interrupt..." Casper's voice broke us out of our trance.
