Page 4 of The Daughters of Nyx

Madame Sterling went to a wall of herbs, which had been set up for customers like one of those candy stores where you could scoop gummy bears and sour candy in bags and pay for them by the pound.

I walked over and eyed the wall, noticing lavender and chamomile, rosehip and mint, as well as ones I’d never heard of before. I watched carefully as the psychic took a small vessel from a box of mason jars and cleaned sauce jars, and started creating a blend.

“This will help you sleep,” she said, pointing to one of the herbs I’d never heard of. “And this will ward off any bad energies circling you. I sense a few, so I’ll strengthen it with… Ah!” She scooped in what looked like small seeds, but I didn’t get a chance to check the name of that one.

She spun, added two more herbs or flowers—I wasn’t sure—to the blend before handing me the jar. “You’ll get a few uses out of that. Two weeks at best. One spoonful into a strainer, steep for five minutes, and add honey if you need it a little sweeter—I find it enhances the flavour.” She sent me a wink, like she’d let me in on some dangerous secret.

All I could do was smile and look at the jar. “How much will this be?”

“I’ll give you a discount,” she replied, waving a hand dismissively before gliding to the counter. “Twenty for the jar.”

I swallowed thickly.Twenty?I looked up at her like she was a loon, but Thea was already grabbing her purse. When our eyes met, she shrugged. “Have to at least give it a try, right?”

Sucking in a breath, I looked between the jar of miracle tea and the psychic, who was definitely pulling our legs about how well this will work.

But I’m desperate for sleep. A full week of nothing. No demons with red eyes leaping out from behind my door. No beasts with sharp teeth tearing into my body over and over again. No handsome yet cruel men cutting me with their snarls and sharp laughs. No more crowns on skulls that cracked when I reached for them.

I closed my eyes and released my breath slowly. “Fine. I’ll get it.”

~

Rain pounded the empty city streets, flooding the road and rising in the gutters. I tightened my hold on the scarf wrapped around my neck, but despite our best efforts at trying to stay under the safety of awnings, Thea and I still found ourselves soaked thoroughly, and I was so cold it seeped into my bones.

“Well, we should have gotten theUber,” Thea deadpanned as we sought shelter beneath the awning of some supermarket. I stared longingly at the counter of sandwiches rotating behind the fogged-up window. We hadn’t had a chance to eat before leaving for our appointment, and now I was beginning to regret it.

Shaking my head, I glared up at the dark sky. “If she hadn’t manipulated us into spending twenty on this tiny jar of tea, we could have afforded it.”

Thea groaned. “I hope you know what she put in it.”

“I didn’t see everything. But that doesn’t matter if it doesn’t work.”

“Have faith,” my friend replied, wagging her brows. “Maybe the witchy shit will do it. Especially if it’s acurse.”

This time, it was my turn to groan. “Acurse? Honestly, that would solve so many problems.”

Thea cackled, and as the rain thinned, we made a mad dash for the next awning. A car sped past us, and we hugged the exposed brick of an apartment building as water splashed up, the driver too close to the curb for comfort.

“Asshole,” I muttered, hugging myself as we searched the relatively quiet streets before rushing across the road to the safety of our usual coffee shop.

Thea tucked her arm into mine and closed her eyes. As she breathed in, I caught a whiff of fresh coffee. “We have coffee at home,” she whispered, and started dragging me towards our apartment building. “We don’t need it.”

I laughed quietly as the rain picked up, leaving us outside Kenny’s Pizzeria, a place we frequented after long, late shifts at the hotel. Breathing in, I could smell the pizza sauce and pepperoni, fresh garlic and grease. My stomach rumbled.

Thea detangled our arms and turned to glare at me. “No.”

“Oh, come on, you know you want to,” I replied, grinning. “Anyway, we don’t have this at home.”

And it was cheaper than the damned tea.

For a moment, I could see thenoabout to play on her lips. Her reasons would be:we have food we need to eat firstandpay day isn’t until next week, so we’re tight on money.

But she sighed and shook her head. “We share one pepperoni and make a salad at home.”

It took ten minutes for us to grab the pepperoni pizza and run to our apartment. The rain had finally stopped its war on our poor city, though it left a light drizzle that was almost more annoying than the heavy rain. We ate our early dinner silently, and when it came time to call it a night—in preparation for a late shift—I made the tea as per Madame Sterling’s instructions, steeping for five minutes and adding a teaspoon of honey to the mix.

In my room, I set it on the nightstand and changed into an oversized t-shirt before sliding into bed. Wind howled outside the window, shaking the glass and causing a shiver to race down my spine. The rain had eased off to nothing, but fall in Forthampton was murky and damp, so I doubted this would be the last we’d see of it.

I quietly sighed and took a tentative sip of the tea. “Here’s to hoping it works,” I muttered, taking another swallow of the cooling liquid. It tasted metallic and strange, even with the added honey, but I gulped down the rest before settling in for the night.

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