Page 152 of Ruthless Scoundrel
“Two drops of this in a cup of water, and then the whole bottle of this,” he says, handing me the black one first, then the blue. “She’ll be alert in about, eh, ten minutes.”
“How much?” I ask, reaching for my coin purse that is decidedly low on coins.
“Nothing. This is what we do,” Adrik says, sounding confused.
“You mean you just make a bunch of potions for anyone to use, free of charge?” I ask.
He nods. “It’s my job.”
“Room and board, potions, clothing, food—it’s all provided for those who live in and work for the Nest,” Alyse says.
“And we still get paid,” Adrik remarks.
“Where is all the money coming from?” I ask.
Alyse loops her arm in mine and steers me toward the stairs, leaving Adrik and Kazimir behind. “As any kingdom has, there are taxes on goods and services of the surrounding businesses. I haven’t looked at the financials myself, no interest in it whatsoever, but Zane and Scarlett have been running their territories this way for years to the betterment of the people, so I suppose it works somehow.”
We take the stairs up to the third floor and stop at a door that is rune-etched all around the frame. Alyse knocks twice. Heavy footsteps follow and Alastair opens the door with a weary expression.
“She’s still sleeping it off,” he says.
I hold up the potions. “Compliments of Adrik.”
He takes the tonics and opens the door wider for us to enter.
The room is simple, but holds a certain “Lily” flair about it. There are papers scattered on the desk, half-written poetry, sketches of people—mainly Alastair—and animals. Then there’s an intricate drawing of a room I barely know, but could never forget.
Mother’s incantation dungeon.
The drawing depicts it in great detail, attention to placements of animal skulls and rune inscriptions. The bookshelf is there with the spines of the books filled in, to the best of Lily’s ability. They’re trying to discover ways to overcome her power by understanding it better.
Alastair holds Lily up, cradling her in the crook of his arm as he feeds her the blue potion. Alyse drops some of the black one into a cup of water at her bedside and swirls it around.
Lily moans as she drinks it down and then sits up on her own. “I’m sorry,” she mumbles, squeezing one of Alastair’s hands in both of hers.
“It’s all right,” he says, kissing her fingers.
I watch as the potions quickly reanimate her. She climbs from the bed and shakes out her limbs, then looks at me with a smile. “Right, we’ve got work to do if little sis is going to get her selkie sex.”
Alastair’s shoulders fall in defeat and he whispers her name like a curse. He grabs a black bag from their closet and sets it on the bed. “I’ll be in the dining room if you need me.”
Lily stretches up and kisses him on the shoulder since it’s all she can reach. “It’ll be quick. I knowexactlyhow I want to sculpt them.”
He leaves the three of us to it.
Lily organizes her tools as she talks me through what she wants to do. I’m still so woefully behind on rune-scripting that I just nod along. She sounds like she knows what she’s doing though, and I trust her.
Kazimir drops off the materials just as Lily is getting me to lie on the bed. Alyse works beside her, handing her different diamond-tipped writing tools and pieces of leathery black fabric when requested.
I hold my shirt up to my breasts and grit my teeth as she begins her work, cutting into my skin. She’s precise and quick, but each new rune carved into my skin adds to the scream building in my lungs.
Finally, she gives me a break and I breathe through the pain.
“Suppose we could’ve gotten you something from the lab to help with the sting,” Lily says with a scowl as she watches me.
“It’s fine. I want to feel it,” I say.
Alyse and Lily both smile.
