“Temporary truth elixir,” I said, holding it up.
“I can’t take that,” he said, shaking his head.
“Why not?” Heat spread through my chest, but I willed down my frustration. That wouldn’t get me answers. “You already said I won’t believe you. Take this and I will.”
“If I do this, you can’t share anything I say.”
“I don’t care about sharing what you say. I care about knowing what the hell is going on with my sister.”
“Fine.” He grabbed the vial from me, twirling it around in his palm. “I’ll take it if you take it with me.”
“I can’t.”
He cocked his head at me. “Now who’s the one with secrets?”
“I wish it were that simple, but I can’t take any right now.” I sighed, figuring I could offer him a small truth in exchange for him taking the potion. “My magic’s almost depleted. That’s my truth.”
“Can I ask why?” He swigged the green liquid down in one gulp, smacking his lips together in disgust afterward.
“I just…haven’t been under the full moon in a while.”
“How long is a while?”
I answered with a grimace. “Long enough where it might be a permanent thing pretty soon.”
“Oh.” He stood there a moment, leaning against the counter before cocking his head. “I guess that makes sense why you needed help with unpacking. Is that what you want?”
“I’m not sure.” My chin dropped to look at my bare feet. They ached for the rich soil, the grass between my toes, the innate need to be outside under the swell of the moon, its golden light reinvigorating my magic.Me.“My gift tends to complicate things.”
His expression didn’t shift at all. Not even with an ounce of curiosity. My face heated. “You already know, don’t you?”
His sienna eyes lit with amusement. “I could sense lust wafting off you from down the street. More than I’d usually be able to sense.”
Wow. Let a witch play it cool, why don’t you!
In college I’d been more bold about talking about my gift. Everyone was. Maybe because of the brews we drank or being off on our own on the East Coast and far from our families, but I’d quickly learned through a series of unfortunate accidents just how dangerous my Desire could be. Like the time I’d accidentally started a fire in my college dorm when a Pyro went down on me. The entire building had to be shut down the rest of the semester. Luckily, no one had been seriously hurt, but it was enough to slow my burgeoning sex life.
“Well, now that my truth is out there, it’s only fair you tell me what is going on. Otherwise you can just go.”
He took a deep breath and blurted, “Imnotmarried.”
“What?” I was pretty sure my eyes had grown twice their usual size. “So you’re not with Saros?”
“I am with Saros…sometimes.” He chuckled darkly, and I had to admit my curiosity was piqued. “But he’s not my husband. He’s my…colleague.”
He seemed to be choosing his words very carefully. The veins in his neck bulged, red-hot and angry. Whatever spelled him from saying more was extremely powerful.
“Then why does every witch in the neighborhood think you are married?”
“Because they need to,” was all he managed to croak out, as if pained. “All I can say is that we are working to find your sister. She’s not the only witch to go MIA on Starry Night.”
Even if he hadn’t told the police department, he was looking for her himself. With Saros. Doing a job for whoever they worked for.
While I still had more questions, I felt much more at ease that he’d come here to talk to me and tell me what he could.
“So you think my sister might be linked to these other disappearances?” I asked, trying to absorb his words.
He nodded, then picked up the spoon on the counter. Scooping up some crushed Oreo and pudding mix, he shoved it into his mouth, letting out a hum that buzzed through me in all the right places. Desire skittered through my body in a series of desperate crackles.
