Page 34 of The Burnt Heart

I fiddled through my bag, tucking in the note Jesse had given me. Bizarrely, Briar dropped to his knees in front of me, looking up with glossy reverence and wonder. His fingers inched out to fondle my calf. The unwelcome touch sent a frisson through my body, as if my skin recognized its match. He’d faded in the two months since I’d seen him. His brown curls disheveled. There were new lines on his face I hadn’t seen before. They were sunken hollows casting bitter shadows.

“Aw Jeez,” Logan muttered under his breath, marching over to haul Briar away, but the wiry man latched onto my legs. His fingers dug in with determination and he grunted as I attempted to shake him off.

“Get. Off. Me.” I spat, his touch grazing too close to something I’d rather forget. Pain and comfort in a twisted, broken mix.

“Let go of her Briar, please. We’re here to see Jesse and maybe we can get you checked out.” Logan slipped his hand on Briar’s collar and tried to tug him off. Ray let out an amused chuckle. Briar didn’t budge, gazing up at me like he was my supplicant. I was used to seeing Logan on his knees for me, but with Briar it was usually the other way round. Adoration lit his worn features.

“You’re so beautiful, so perfect,” he breathed.

I stared at him, forehead furrowed, trying to pick past the strange air that surrounded him. Logan apologized, tugging at Briar like he was a wayward dog. What was going on right now? He didn’t seem to register my unease at all. Briar was always affectionate, but even he must understand how this wasn’t right.

“What’s wrong with him?” I asked. Pinching Briar’s chin in my fingers and wrenching his head up. He let me, a moan escaping his lips. Shock had me digging my nails in and I thought that would break through the giddy facade, but he only closed hiseyes in pleasure. Briar might have been my sweetheart, but he didn’t get on his knees or submit. Ever. My stomach roiled at the sight, warning blaring through me.

“Briar.” Logan shook his head. “Come on, man. Sorry Adelaide, but I think he’s been drugged somehow. I have no idea what, but it hit him on the way here. He wanted to hold my hand and said it hurt when I refused.”

Ray froze, narrowing his eyes at Briar. All traces of amusement were gone. I cocked my head at him, alert to the change in mood. His shoulders rose in silent defense, as if he knew I noticed his change in demeanor.

“Poke your tongue out,” Ray ordered, almost vibrating with tension. Briar shot him a venomous look.

“I’m not doing a thing for you. I hate you,” he argued. Venom vibrated off him and my calves ached from the desperate clutch of his fingers.

“Show me your tongue, Briar.” I forced my stiff lips into a sweet smile. The enmity melted, and his tongue slipped between his lips immediately. The skin was fluorescent pink, like he’d been eating sweets. Ray reeled back, cursing under his breath. I frowned at him, reaching out to pat Briar on the shoulder absentmindedly.

“You can put it away now.” I stared expectantly at Ray. My stomach sank as he tugged on his hair.

“What’s going on?” Jesse complained. Logan glanced over and shrugged. All of us waited for Ray. His hand wrapped around the back of his neck, and he massaged it, but the stiffness remained.

“Ray,” my tone was laced with warning, and he sighed as if in pain.

“His tongue is pink,” Ray waved a hand, as if that explained anything. Briar’s fingers crept up to squeeze my knee, like he hadn’t registered Ray’s words at all.

“I love you so much, Adelaide,” Briar interrupted, still on his knees. I clicked my tongue, ignoring the flash of pain that followed his impassioned statement.

“Not now, Briar,” I shushed him but let my hand drop to rest on his shoulder. He sagged under my reluctant touch, dopey ecstasy melting him into silence. “What is going on? I don’t trust that face.”

Ray groaned, his eyes shifting to the ceiling. Frustration gnawed at me as he gnashed his teeth, unwilling to share what he knew.

“The fluorescent shade of pink? It’s a side effect of a drug called Cupid.” Ray flinched under my darkening glare. There was no drug called Cupid that I knew of. And there wasn’t a drug in Greenich Bay that I didn’t know. I stood, crowding him, my finger coming to press against his chest. Briar was still attached to my leg like a toddler.

“Explain Ray, quit stalling. I’ve never heard of a drug called Cupid, which is strange, given my heritage,” I hissed. The words were like a wire noose around Ray’s neck. He gulped.

“It’s our own creation. But it’s still in the lab. I don’t know how your boyfriend could have ended up on it. Where did he get dosed?” Ray looked at Logan, but I wasn’t done. My finger turned into a fist, and I slammed it on his chest with a growl. My ribs ached from the pressure pushing down on them, lungs pinched for oxygen.

“Are you kidding me right now? How am I meant to clean your reputation up if you’re flooding the streets with shoddy product?” My exasperated exhale whistled through the room.

“I don’t know,” Ray shouted, his hands gripped his head in panic. “Obviously, there has been a breach somewhere. But it seems mighty coincidental for all this to happen when someone tried to shoot us both. I’ll sort it out, but this needs to be keptquiet. Especially with his holiness out there, breathing down our necks.”

He meant Chief Goldman, and my shoulders crowded my ears. He was salivating for any reason to haul us to the station. This would be the perfect crime to implicate our families and unravel all my hard work. Ray sidestepped me as I glared. Briar tangled his fingers around the hem of my shirt, but I ignored his plaintive looks. This wasn’t Briar, this was a drug.

“I’ll come with you. If there is more of Cupid out there, we can combine our efforts to get it off the streets. This is the last thing we need right now.” I hooked my bag over my shoulder. I didn’t trust that Ray would do this right and there were too many variables to gamble right now. But Ray sighed, looking at me apologetically.

“Well, about that.” His smile was sheepish as he nodded toward Briar. “You’re going to need to stay with this one until it wears off. There’s a reason it’s still in the lab.”

Briar’s face lit up with a beatific smile as my whole body stiffened.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. What do you mean, I need to stay?” Prickles stabbed at my skin, leaving a path of fire that threatened to explode. Ray’s stupid face was looking like prime real estate for my fist. He gave me another sheepish look.

“Cupid amplifies feelings of attraction, love, and even friendship. It floods the user with endorphins and drives them to be close to the object of their desire. They become like a missile, locking in on the object of love. Unfortunately, it seems to create sickness, especially around someone the user doesn’t like. Physical touch with someone they love can help manage the pain. Clearly Briar still loves you deeply, given his reaction.” He gave me a loaded look. His lips twitched with the beginnings of a smile, but my thunderous glare wiped it clear. Briar pulled himself up and the warmth of his chest pressed against my back.Goosebumps erupted as his breath whispered against my neck. I couldn’t stop the influx of worst-case scenarios that hijacked my mind.

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