Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 140462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 702(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 468(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 702(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 468(@300wpm)
I feel sad for him, and even though I don’t have the knowledge to reassure him, I slide my arms around his form and hold him, offering my warmth. “Can I duel for you? Not everyone needs to be good at everything, right? For example, I make the worst coffee. It’s always either too strong or too weak.”
When he chuckles, his smile turns brighter than the golden mask next to us. “That’s your only flaw? Bad coffee?”
I want to be his rock, the one he turns to when the world crumbles around him. And I want to make sure he remains safe when he’s under my protection.
“I wish,” I admit and cuddle him closer, gently rocking him in my arms as the unpleasant rift between us closes. “But I’m not going to make this so easy on you. Whatever flaws I have, you need to discover them for yourself.”
He leans back to look into my eyes and strokes my cheek. “Well, we already know you’re too attractive for your own good.”
I laugh and tap his nose. “It’s serving me well right now.”
“Do you want to dissolve the body with me?” Sylvan asks, offering me a shy smile. “I’ve found the right ingredients.”
Is it morbid? Sure. But it feels like being invited into his world. “I’d be honored.”
Chapter 20
Sylvan
Hawk rearranges Tassarion in the bathtub and pushes his hand under the water’s surface. In the past, I’ve often worked with assistants, but this feels different. I want him to be here with me, even if some things would have been easier to deal with on my own.
“This one won’t dissolve the body, but it will prepare the water so it’s receptive to the next ingredient,” I tell my lover and hesitate when I open the vial filled with purple powder. “Do you… want to do it?”
Hawk’s eyes glint, and he nods, grinning at me. “And this won’t hurt our skin? Don’t we need gloves, or something? I know nothing about this Breaking Bad shit.”
I shake my head and pass him the vial. “Not this one. The residue won’t be a problem unless we’re submerged in a large quantity of liquid. We will, however, need to be careful with redpoles,” I tell him, nodding toward the jar on a nearby shelf.
“And you just know all this by heart?” He asks with amazement and spills the Doe Dust into the tub. The tiny grains melt as they meet the water, making it shimmer with a yellowish hue, which brightens Tassarion’s slack features. I always thought this effect was very aesthetically pleasing.
Hawk looks at me with so much adoration my heart beats faster. Alchemy is a difficult skill to master, dangerous in the wrong hands, and contributes to so many conveniences my world depends on for survival, yet it is seen as a lesser art, something anyone could master with enough effort. It only now occurs to me that I’ve never been praised for knowing my way around concoctions and solutions before. It was scoffed at as a way to go around my lack of talent for shadowcraft. “Well… yes. I spent a lot of time learning about all and any ingredients, their uses, and how they interact with each other. You don’t need talent for that, just time and a good memory. Now, step back.”
I grab one of the massive leather gloves I found in the forge and use it to pick up the next jar. “These are live redpoles.” I show him the finger-sized creatures floating in the concoction that keeps them in suspended animation. “They’re asleep, but they will awake when they sense blood, and become voracious. They eventually grow into lovely frogs. It takes them about a month.” I worry I’m boring him, but when he leans in with a glint in his eye, I continue. “I kept one as a pet a long time ago.”
Hawk grins. “That’s awesome! I always liked frogs. They taste good too!” he says but obediently takes a step back as I unscrew the jar. “You’re a real brainiac, aren’t you? If I were your lord cousin, I would have kept you imprisoned in some tower. Sending you out here is such a waste of the skills you have.”
I blush when he tickles me between the shoulder blades. “Thank you. I know that for you all this is new and different, like electricity and phones are to me. You’d probably find even something as simple as swamplight impressive, but I won’t deny that coming up with the combination of ingredients I’m using now required thought and ingenuity.” I drop the redpoles into the bathtub one by one. “I do have a lot to offer, and once I have access to your shadow, my power will be multiplied so many times that my cousin will have to respect me.”