Page 99 of The Demon's Discovery
Magnus shook his head, but the movement become slower at the same rate his eyebrows drew together. “No. I’m… required.”
“Perhaps the council needs some reorganization,” Grace suggested, clearly disappointed that he couldn’t just walk away.
“They do. The people in power have been that way a long time. And none of them have ever been out in the field, or if they have, it was so long ago that experience is no longer valid. As a matter of fact…” Magnus began to describe the history of several members and my mind started to wander.
It was bad form, but I couldn’t help it. I pictured the crimson elixir next to my bed, the look Vassago would wear when Ipresented it to him. I was pulled back at the mention of my name.
“… had a visitor from the manor today. Didn’t you, Greta?”
“Is that so?” Vassago’s attention was intense as he turned it on me.
“A messenger with our invitation,” I clarified.
“The ball?” Vassago asked, a grin spreading slowly over his mouth.
“Yes.”
“And what was your response?”
“The same as yours, I assume.”
“Wonderful. I can’t wait to see you all made up again, Dragonfly. It was quite the sight. Though I’m certain those people don’t deserve to witness it.” I blushed, flattered as always by his compliments.
“What did Henrik want to talk with you about?” I asked.
Vassago shook his head, eyes flashing red. “Nothing important. Though we may get to meet this Feiser soon.” I squirmed in my seat, the ring on my finger suddenly ten times heavier. “You’ve had a busy day, Dragonfly.”
Grace took that as her cue and shooed us away, clearing the plates with brutal efficiency, Magnus at her side. Vassago led me from the room, hand braced between my shoulder blades.
“I did accomplish several things today. I even took a little stone sleep nap.”
His eyebrows went up. “You did? I’m proud of you. Do you feel all the better for it?”
“Yes, it was very restorative.” My stomach churned with nervousness as we grew closer to the apartments. When we crested the third-floor landing, I forced myself to keep hold of his hand so I wouldn’t lose my nerve.
He chuckled as I drew him into my room. “Is there something I should prepare myself for, Dragonfly?”
I blushed, realizing what this might look like. “I made something for you,” I explained.
“Ah. I will receive whatever it is happily, no need for such worry.”
He lingered near the door as I grabbed the flask from near my bed. He examined it closely when I handed it off. “What’s this?”
“What you’ve been looking for. At least, I hope so.”
His face went still, his golden eyes drifting from my face to the flask and back again. He swallowed, more nervous than I’d ever seen him.
“You mean …”
“The recipe certainly made it seem so.”
“What, ah… what is the process?”
“You drink it, much like the cleansing elixir I drank. It sounded as though the results could be as simple as some indigestion but as serious as one final bout of lust, more potent than any you’ve seen before. I wish you could just take it and be done, but this one is not so simple.”
He sat down heavily on my sofa, reverently putting the elixir on the table. “Sit with me, Greta?”
I sat, the butterflies in my stomach compounding. “I’m sorry if I overstepped, I just thought?—”
