“It has healing properties.”
“Do you need to heal something?” He’d probably only bought it because he could.
“I do. There’s something that’s been plaguing me for quite some time now. On and off. It’s horrendous, really.”
Lora stared at him, puzzled. What could a fae possibly be suffering from?
Blue met her confused eyes, a slow grin taking over his face. “Hangovers. Terrible payment for getting drunk. But now I’ve got my remedy.”
He bought the one stone that could help her…to cure a hangover. She suddenly felt sick to her stomach.
“That’s…amazing,” she said, her voice slightly uneven.
Maybe he picked up on her tone, because he suddenly seemed to regard her with new interest, as if he wanted to figure her out. He tried to hold eye contact but Lora quickly dropped her gaze, hoping the low light stopped him from suspecting anything was off about her. He would probably assume she was a level one, as Eyden had implied. She looked fae enough, she had to remind herself as boiling anxiety flowed through her. Funny how life worked out sometimes. Just a couple of days ago, she would have never wished to pass as fae.
Blue shifted his attention towards the dancefloor. A silence stretched between them. He couldn’t leave yet, not before she found out more about the crystal’s whereabouts.
Lora cursed herself for what she said next, but she needed to keep their conversation going. “On second thought, maybe I will have that drink.” She gave him what she hoped was a genuine smile.
His face lit up again. “Sure thing, love. Vodka indio?”
Lora agreed and, less than a minute later, he handed her a glass filled with the same indigo, lightly shimmery liquid she’d seen earlier. One drink wouldn’t hurt her, she hoped. She couldn’t help but look to Eyden. Even from a distance, she could feel his disapproval, but there was no going back now.
Blue raised his glass and caught her gaze, smiling as he cheered, “To the sky!”
Lora clinked her glass with his and echoed his words.
The first sip tasted bittersweet. Blue kept drinking, so she hesitantly took a few more gulps, now savouring the taste. It reminded her a bit of her standard drink back home, vodka cranberry, but this one was better, more flavourful. Lora took another sip, a bigger one this time.
“I think I could probably use that crystal myself tomorrow morning,” she joked.
Blue chuckled. “I only have the one, I’m afraid. I can show you, though, if you want?” His words sounded slurred to her.
Was he inviting her to his place?
“I wasn’t, but that’s a tempting idea. The crystal is with me.”
Had she said that out loud or could he read her mind? No, she was being paranoid. Were the lights brighter than before? She squinted as she turned to the dancefloor and watched the colourful stream of lights move across the room. Fascinating.
“Apparently, it works best if you carry it around while you’re drinking. I love a good experiment,” Blue said.
Wait, did he say he had the crystal on him?Lora sought out his eyes. They really were such an incredibly deep blue, like nothing she’d ever seen before. Although she preferred Eyden’s ice blue eyes. They had a fierceness about them. Why was she thinking about this now?Focus,she told herself.
“I’d love to see it,” she finally managed to reply, grinning at him, probably like an idiot.
Blue moved closer to her and pulled out a small stone from the waistband of his leather trousers. “What do you think?” he asked as he held the crystal in front of her face. “It’s quite pretty, isn’t it?”
It looked so small, so insignificant. She reached out to touch it, but he retracted his hand.
“Sorry, love. Don’t wanna risk messing up my experiment.”
At that moment, the bartender asked if they wanted another round. Blue looked to Lora and she was about to say she still had some, but when she looked at her glass, she found it empty.
“I’ll take another,” she heard herself say.
Blue slipped the crystal into his pocket and moved to clink glasses with her again. Lora cheered with him and loudly shouted, “To the sky!” She almost spilled her drink and she giggled, unbothered, as she met Blue’s amused eyes.
Her eyes drifted downwards. “I have an important question,” she said as her gaze travelled up to his face again.
