31. Phytomedicine
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
PHYTOMEDICINE
Saya Claymore
Reyes and his wife have reached Mire. They haven’t entered, but Serun informed me he would need to stop communicating with them while they are so close to the slayers, to avoid distracting them.
I don’t like it, but I also don’t want to be the reason for failure, especially so close to Cole. Yeah, I definitely don’t want to do that.
Even after training tirelessly, the block in my mind still felt like a tightening elastic band, so Serun suggested we visit Maeve. Hopefully, she can help me understand more of my vegodian side.
The entrance doors open as we approach, the perfume of the garden outside rising to meet us, dense with the earthy and botanical tones I’ve so missed. Blooming flowers breathe as I make my way down the stairs, their splendour painted with thick brushstrokes, dancing with colours long forgotten.
“Beautiful,” I murmur. The vervain flowers tilt towards me as we pass, always reminding me I am not entirely a nightwalker. “I’ve seen these flowers everywhere in the Undercity. Why?”
“Maeve might answer that better than I can. You can ask her when we arrive.”
“My mum would know. Vervain was all over Cherry Bloom,” I say.
“They bloom beautifully,” Serun admits, focusing on the flowers that lean towards me. “They adore you.”
I nudge my head at the vervain stems bending in Serun’s direction. “And you, too.”
“Because you are here with me.”
Clasping my hands together, I say, “I hope to learn more from Maeve—something to go back to my mum with in case she stubbornly doesn’t want to tell me about my vegodian side.”
Serun’s smile tightens around the edges before those very shadows slip over his meat-suit. Even in his own domain, he trusts very little.
I should be excited that I am one of the few who know what he looks like, but a weight plummets in my stomach, inking black at the thought of how lonely it must be.
No one knows the real Serun.
No one sees what I’ve been seeing.
To hide yourself from all who worship you. Wearing a mask for fear of what they would do if they really knew him. It makes me wonder if they adore him the way he believes they do, or if they fear him because they will never see him coming in a crowd of faceless nightwalkers.
Serun raises his hand to me once we reach the tunnel. I bite my lip, my fang sinking into flesh when I take the last step, my hand on his. “Your eyes aren’t as good as a nightwalker’s. I don’t want you to trip.”
“Liar.”
Serun breathes a laugh.
I wear flat-heeled shoes that don’t make my feet ache. Most of the blisters have healed enough, but I indulge Serun. I grip raw, taut muscle, and we enter the tunnel to the Undercity.
My breath is harsh, echoing in the passageway. Everything I do reverberates. The way I walk, the movement of my dress, my exhalations.
Serun, however, walks soundlessly. If I weren’t holding onto his arm, I’d believe I was walking alone in the dark. I decided not to bring the lantern this time, hoping that being in the pure dark might help my eyes adjust to it.
“Where does your sister live?”
“There are two passageways leading off this tunnel. Ahead is the Undercity as you know, but we are making a right to Maeve’s. Reyes lives to the left.”
“Lucifer doesn’t have a place here in the Undercity?”
“The Sunken City is his only home.”
My eyes narrow slightly, reminded of the way Lucifer looked the last time I saw him. “I get the impression he doesn’t like me because I am vegodian.”
“Lucifer is wary. You are a daywalker. A rarity—and likely the only one.” Clawed fingers cup my hand, his thumb brushing against my knuckles. “Nightwalkers cannot reproduce, so you are a wonder. What are you? And if we are questioning what you are, others will too.”
“Slayers…You all seem to believe they will want to experiment on me.”
The tunnel brightens enough to see the outline of Serun beside me.
“They want everyone but themselves dead. So, to eliminate us, they will exploit your daywalker qualities to create something that could turn us all to ash. Somewhat like that little portal orb—I assume they created it to infiltrate the Undercity.”
I nod slowly. “That’s why I need to control my magik. At least enough for me not to pass out or become exhausted using it.” Flesh peels away from my bottom lip when I bite down. “Anything to give me an advantage.”
“You have been able to hold your glamour for thirty minutes these past few days before you are completely drained.” Serun inches closer to me. “Soon enough, you will be able to draw on your power without needing pain to bring you back.”
Serun is…devoted. I find it difficult to keep these swirling feelings at bay.
My fingers slip through the cracks in his hand, holding tight—my way of silently telling him I enjoy his company.
He says nothing. Doesn’t gloat at the slightest hint of affection. Instead, his long claws close, holding my hand tighter as he guides me out and into streams of dusty red lighting.