Chapter 31 Drecken
drecken
. . .
The glass vials on my workbench trembled as I siphoned Rune’s magical essence from a droplet of her venom into a potion bottle with telekinesis.
My magic wouldn’t stop popping off around it like it couldn’t get enough of her magical essence.
I’d been trying for hours to replicate the sensation she left behind in me—the Fates-damned butterflies that spread warmth under my ribs.
Unfortunately, it slipped through my grasp every single time.
The memory of that flutter Rune left in my chest when she touched me, when I held her in my arms, haunted me.
If I could bottle this feeling, it would be worth more than any other potion. It would bring a sense of excitement and belonging that not everyone could feel. I’d been alive over a century and never felt the way Rune made me feel. If it worked, even humans would beg for this.
The problem was that it wasn’t working.
Every formula I tried just burned out.
My gaze drifted to the photo propped on the shelf above me. My parents, frozen in their laughter, heads tilted toward one another like they shared a secret language. There was a time in my adolescence when they’d described this feeling to me as romance, as love, but I had dismissed it.
Hypotheticals.
Poetic exaggerations.
The Fates’ intervention.
It wouldn’t happen to me.
But it was.
Because of her.
I dragged a hand down my face, muttering under my breath, “This is ridiculous.”
The more I thought of Rune and the way her body had been pressed against mine, the more unbearable the pressure in my body became.
My stomach tightened, and my breath went ragged.
I looked down in utter fucking alarm.
Oh.
Oh no.
I had…an erection because of another. For the first time in my long, long, life.
My panic was instantaneous.
I shoved back from the workbench, nearly spilling three different toxins. My fail-safe runes alerted and handled the mess as I fumbled for my damned tablet and called Rowan.
Rowan’s voice crackled through as he answered. “Drecken? Using the tablet, how sensible.”
“I’ve never—” My voice cracked, and I cleared my throat. “Rowan. I’ve never had a boner due to attraction before.”
Rowan coughed, a little too close to laughter. “…I’m…sorry, what?”
“I know how attraction works,” I snapped, pacing in a tight circle.
“I’ve read every book. I know the biological processes.
I’ve seen porn. Did nothing for me at all.
I’ve had boners, but they would just go away with time.
They were never a problem. I don’t know, but I just…
never had one of significance. Until now. ”
“Do I want to know what triggered it?”
Rune’s body flushed against mine when she wore one of those tight academy-issued suits.
My throat bobbed. “…No.”
He was still struggling not to laugh, that bastard, when he changed the subject. “The twins agreed to attend Blezen Academy in four years, after basic schooling. Very polite, actually. Oh, and Ted’s granddaughter has apparently come out of hiding.”
I latched onto the change of topic like a magic-deprived warlock. “Excellent. Though—wait. Ted had a granddaughter? Since when?”
“Apparently, his child hid her from him. It’s complicated.” Rowan’s sigh was audible. “Kalista grows more complex every day.”
I grunted, shaking my head, but he kept me talking until the edge of panic dulled.
“Before I hang up, are you good?” Rowan asked, tension in his voice. “Do you…know how to handle the situation you’ve landed yourself in?”
“I’m fine,” I told him, not entirely sure if I was telling the truth or not. “I know.”
When I finally hung up, the tension was still in my body, simmering, but it wasn’t unbearable.
My relief lasted until my communicator crystal flared.
Lake Bloodwyne’s voice carried through my lab, urgent. “Drecken?”
My erection was long gone. It shut down the second I heard her father’s voice.
Interesting yet helpful.
I answered, voice clipped. “Lake.”
“Students at the academy are getting sick. These symptoms look like the human flu, but as you know supernaturals can’t catch that. I’m hearing whispers that it might be a human-made poison.”
My pulse quickened. “Poison?”
“Yes. The side effects are fatigue, chills, and weakness. Nothing natural for us.”
My thoughts raced.
Rune.
Venoms.
Curiosity.
Obsession.
Poison.
If anyone could figure this out, it would be her. “If it’s poison, Rune—”
“She cannot.” His voice cracked sharply. “If Rune knows, she will try to consume it. She’ll treat it like an experiment. Drecken, she’s my daughter.”
I swallowed hard. He wasn’t wrong. “But she understands poisons better than anyone I’ve ever met, and I’ve been alive a long time. It’s literally part of her special power to be immune, is it not?”
“And what if this isn’t like anything she’s ever tried?” Lake’s tone dropped, strained. “What if a human-made poison kills her?”
The silence stretched.
Impossible.
I pressed my hand against the vial of her venom.
Cold.
Fatal.
Beautiful.
Just like her.
“Okay,” I murmured. “I won’t let her consume any. But it stands that she knows this topic better than anyone. Venoms too. I may need to consult her in the future, but I need a blood sample from a sick student. If it’s poison, I can confirm.”
“I’ve already got one. Come pick it up.”
The crystal’s line went dead.
I sighed heavily, staring at the glow of her venom.
The butterfly-feeling fluttered again like it was mocking me, and it was addictive.
I whispered into the empty lab, “Viperling…what are you doing to me?”