Chapter 27
Ilook up at Finn’s apothecary, and my stomach twists with the last memories of being here. It was all to save Willow, and to think that I still don’t know where she is makes me feel sick to the stomach.
“So, you’re telling me that this little apothecary is the cover-up for a whole illegal operation?” Ajax asks. Why does he sound impressed?
Because he is, Athriel says. I smile at this.
“Something like that,” I mumble.
I blow out a breath and turn to Kaia.
“Let me do the talking. He’s a runner, and he’ll already be on edge just seeing the two of you with me. He’s not a big fan of surprises.”
She rolls her eyes.
“If he runs, I’ll catch him.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of. Just remember that Karius has agreed to give him immunity, so you can’t hurt him.”
My mind plays back to the conversation we had when I agreed to bring them here.
It took time, but I finally got Karius to agree not to punish Finn for any illegal activity he has been a part of.
It was the only way I was going to agree to bringing them here.
He was reluctant, but he finally agreed, and thanks to the newfound tug of the bond, I knew somehow that he was being honest. Even if he wasn’t happy about it.
I step up the small, familiar steps to the apothecary and tap against the door. It takes a few minutes before it swings open, and when Finn sees me and the two vampires standing behind me, he closes his eyes.
“Why are you always bringing trouble to my doo—”
I slam my fist into his face, cutting the last of his sentence off and sending him flying into his shop. I almost forgot about my new strength, but truthfully, I don’t care.
“What the fuck, Adina?” he says as he clutches his mouth and scrambles from the ground.
“That was for Tori,” I hiss, the memory of him leaving us alone that night still fresh in my mind.
He mumbles under his breath as he fumbles behind the counter, pulls out a cloth, and presses it to his bleeding mouth.
I know that if he had come too, he would likely have been another death on my conscience, but I cannot help wondering whether, had he come, he might have noticed something was off and been able to warn us. Maybe Tori would still be alive.
“I thought you said that we couldn’t hurt him?” Kaia says, and I swear I hear amusement in her voice.
“I said you couldn’t. I didn’t say a thing about me.”
She laughs, and I’m pretty sure it’s the first time I’ve ever heard her do that.
“The gods choosing you for Karius is starting to make a lot more sense to me.”
“Great, and she brought members of the royal guard to my door, of course, she did. Why wouldn’t she?” Finn walks around the apothecary, throwing his hands up in the air and talking to himself.
“He’s the one you say can make a cure for this thing?” Kaia looks at me like I’ve lost my mind.
A flash of the black veins trailing up Willow’s stomach comes to mind. “He can do it.”
Finn turns his attention to me.
“This,” he says, pointing to the cut on his lip, “is gonna’ swell, you know.”
“I’m sure a drop of your little concoction will heal it right up.”
His eyes widen as if I have just committed the worst crime in the world. My eyes flash to Kaia and Ajax, who are both watching him, one in disgust and the other with pure amusement.
“They already know all about your little operation, Finn.”
He looks between the two of them and then back at me.
“Are you insane? Are you trying to get me fucking killed?”
“Watch it, Curls,” Ajax warns as Finn takes a step in my direction.
“I wouldn’t be here if I weren’t desperate.”
He laughs incredulously. “Yeah, that’s what you said when you showed up here a year ago, and look how that turned out.”
“We don’t have time for this,” Kaia interrupts, clearly done with Finn’s bullshit.
“We have a problem, and I’m told that you can fix it; it’s the only reason you’re still alive right now.
So, either prove to me that you’re as useless as I already think you are or shut the hell up and make yourself useful. ”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, let's calm things down a little,” he says, holding his hands up in surrender. “I’m much more of an option two kind of guy, by the way. So, a little less on the threats and just tell me what you need.”
“The stuff that you’ve been making for me, do you think that you can make an even stronger version? One that doesn’t run out?”
He twists his face in confusion.
“Why would I do that? I would lose out on money if I made one that didn’t run out. What kind of idiot does that?”
“Screw Karius’s immunity, I’m going to kill him.” Kaia starts to march in his direction.
“I didn’t say I couldn’t make one,” he stumbles over his words as he hurriedly tries to stop Kaia from reaching him. “For example, if an old friend and two members of the royal guard were to turn up on my doorstep and ask, then yeah, I could definitely figure something out.”
Ajax laughs next to me, earning a glare from both me and Kaia.
“What? He’s kind of funny, you’ve got to admit.” He shrugs.
“You would need to come to the palace,” I tell him, and he nods.
“Fine. I just need to gather some things first.”
He moves behind his counter and dips down to retrieve something, and then in a flash, he lifts a bucket and throws the contents in our direction.
The liquid hits my eyes, and a burning sensation rips a scream from me.
The same is obviously happening to Kaia and Ajax as I hear them screaming, too.
Beyond it, I hear Finn’s footsteps pound against the wooden floor before the door flies open. Shit.
I feel my way through the apothecary until I reach the small basin, turning on the faucet in a rush.
Splashing water into my eyes, I blink rapidly until my vision settles into a soft blur.
I rush over to Kaia and bring her to the sink, leading her hands under the running water.
Once I’m sure that she is ok, I go and get Ajax, bringing him to it too.
“I’m going to kill him!” Kaia says once her sight starts to return.
“Get in line,” I say.
Ajax blows out a breath and leans against the wall.
“What the hell was that stuff?”
I shake my head. “I have no idea, he’s always cooking up something. He’s a weasel, but he’s a damn smart one.”
“He’s going to be a dead weasel the next time I see him,” Kaia says.
Just then, the door to the apothecary slams open, and a dark figure enters wearing a black cloak.
They have Finn clutched in their hands, his body dangling lifelessly, before they throw him into the apothecary.
He lands with a thud at my feet. I look up as the figure removes the hood from their face.
“Ivana?” She gives me a small smile.
“Always bring backup,” Ajax says, and despite the sting that still lingers in my eyes and my frustrations over Finn, I still manage a smile.
“Let's get out of here before he decides to poison us next time,” Ajax says.
He hauls Finn’s body over his shoulder as if he weighs nothing before he joins Ivana at the threshold. Kaia and I exchange a look before following behind him.
I don’t know what Ivana did to him, but Finn is still out cold.
A smile slips onto my face as the carriage makes a turn, causing him to fall against Kaia’s shoulder for the seventh time.
She shoves him away, causing him to hit his head against the side of the carriage, and I half wonder if that’s why he still hasn’t woken up.
Ajax decided that he would go back with Ivana in her carriage. I did ask why she didn’t just use one of her portals to take us all back, but apparently, even magic has its limits.
I sink back into the chair, knowing that this is going to be another long journey until we arrive back at the palace.
I imagine that Karius will still be seething over the fact that I left to come with Ajax and Kaia, but he has to understand that I’m as much a part of this as he is, and there’s no point protecting me outside the walls of the palace if the dangers lurking within it are just as bad.
Finn falls on Kaia again, and she shoves him hard, and I can’t help the laugh that escapes this time. Her eyes snap to mine instantly.
“What?”
I try to hide my smile. “Nothing.” An awkward moment of silence passes between us before I decide to speak again. “Thanks for coming to get him, by the way.”
“I didn’t do it for you.”
“I never said you did.”
The wheels of the carriage scratch against the ground, creating a steady rhythm that fills the silence.
“Why do you hate me so much?” I don’t even know why I ask or why I care.
She blows out a breath as if talking to me is more irritating than Finn leaning on her.
“Other than the fact that you tried to murder the prince, oh, I don’t know.”
“I didn’t have a choice,” I snap.
“There’s always a choice, so don’t give me that crap. We choose exactly the kind of life we want, and we live it. Don’t make excuses just because someone doesn’t approve. Own it.”
Anger boils within me at her words.
“You have no idea what my life is like. You live inside the walls of a fancy palace, while we humans are nothing but slaves to your kind. We get ripped from our families before we even get the chance to know them, and then every step of our lives gets decided for us to please you and your kind.”
She studies me for a moment.
“You don’t know my life, and you don’t know what I’ve chosen.”
I think back to how she was when she was with her mother. The way her head was dipped, and she remained silent.
“You’re right. I don’t,” I say. “But right now, the only thing I want is to get my sister back, and that means for now, we are on the same side. So perhaps for a short while we can call a truce.”
She eyes me almost suspiciously as she takes my words in, and then she nods her head.
“I can do that. For now.”
“For now,” I repeat, and I’m not sure if I imagine the slight smile that appears on her face.