62. Loveleena
LOVELEENA
Loveleena had waited all week for the right opportunity to use the truth potion on Ren. Finally, the day after the Slayer party, she found it. She hadn’t seen much of him since joining his covert adventures in Jarrah. He had confessed Park’s involvement, but that was where the conversation ended.
It had taken months for him to even reveal that.
She wasn’t waiting around to find out the rest. If the truth potion didn’t work, she would use whatever leverage she needed to get the truth.
That included going to the authorities about Ren’s secret activities.
She didn’t care if Park was in support of it or not.
What did it matter if he was gone and she never found him?
Sitting with Serena and Lennox in the mess hall, Ren drank casually with his friends. The rest of the hall was sparce as all the students were off cramming for the final assessment or recovering from the night before.
Late afternoon sunlight streamed through the windows, catching on the far wall and bathing the room in a warm glow.
Act casual, she told herself as she sat beside Ren, truth potion in her pocket.
A lot had changed since she had asked Zeina for the truth potion.
Her magic was out of control. Worse still, Ren knew.
She was now an accomplice to a traitorous heist. And Park felt so far away he might as well be dead.
Being cordial hadn’t worked.
Putting up posters and harassing students in the mess hall hadn’t worked.
Becoming the best student in her year meant she gained the respect of her peers and Defenders alike but it hadn’t given her answers about Park.
She learned from her father that the best way to get someone to talk, was to wear them down over time and she had promised herself she would try everything she could.
Consequences be damned.
So, when she had learned of a rodent whose teeth imbedded into one’s flesh, causing seizures and requiring extensive surgical removal, she knew what she needed to do.
What was unique about the rodent is that it regrew new teeth in seconds, allowing it to bite human after human, without so much as a dent in its day.
A few nights prior, she had purposely left a breach in the wall open, with an attraction potion at its base, and the entire Academy awoke to an infestation of the small creature, with at least twenty students and faculty needing a healer.
The professors were pissed.
The students were frantic.
But it’s not like anyone died or anything.
And until the Academy gave her what she came for, she would continue to make it unbearable. At some point, someone would crack.
They had to.
Maybe under the influence of a truth potion, it would be Ren.
“Serena, I’m so glad I caught you because I’ve been dying to ask you something,” Loveleena said in her friendliest noble voice, ignoring Ren.
“Lay it on me,” Serena said confidently.
“How would you come at your opponent from behind and effectively head lock them if they were bigger than you?”
“Oh, yeah, that’s a tricky one!” Serena lit up as she talked. Even while speaking about fighting, Serena’s aura held a special lightness.
“It makes sense on paper, but I think I need to see it, you know? To really get it? Maybe you and… whoever is the tallest can show me?”
Loveleena knew very well Ren was the tallest at the table.
“Ren,” Serena ordered, “Stand up.”
Ren side-eyed Loveleena but listened to Serena’s orders and took his place next to her. As soon as Serena grabbed Ren from behind and they were both distracted from the movement, Loveleena dropped the truth potion in Ren’s cup.
“And the key here is to actually go up and under.” Serena explained her movements, while Loveleena nodded along, even though her mind was wrapped around the truth potion. All she could think about was Ren drinking what was left in his glass.
Serena had Ren in a headlock in no time, a smile plastered on her face. “You just gotta practice a little and I bet you could get it,” she said brightly. “Hey, maybe Ren will let you practice on him!”
Ren’s gaze was piercing as he locked eyes with Serena, who shot back a full smile in response before they both returned to their places at the table.
The seconds ticked by as Loveleena watched Ren grab his glass and hold it up to his lips. He paused, and Loveleena held her breath in anticipation.
“Hey!” Lennox called over to Ahmina who had just entered the mess hall with Rory, Artie, and Emerson. “Come sit with us.”
Ahmina looked like she would rather singlehandedly face a Tigress than sit with them but reluctantly agreed. Emerson fist bumped the men before sitting down beside Loveleena. They exchanged greetings, while Loveleena’s eyes remained locked on Ren and his glass.
“Are you guys drinking?” Rory said, nodding at the drinks in their hands.
“Gotta enjoy ourselves before final assessments, yeah?” Serena said.
“We never know which first years are going to die, so we celebrate beforehand,” Ren said dryly. Serena swiped Ren’s drink out of his hand and held it up to Rory. “Want some? Ren loves to share.”
“I don’t think you should drink that,” Loveleena said before she could stop herself.
A perplexed Rory tilted her head. “Why?”
“Uhhh…” Loveleena searched for a reason. “Weren’t you two at the party last night? Shouldn’t you go easy, you know, with assessments this week?”
Ahmina looked mortified. “Oh Goddess, give me that,” she said, grabbing the drink from Rory and taking three large gulps.
Loveleena shook her head slightly, hoping Ahmina would pick up on the fact that it had the truth potion she had made in it, but Ahmina was too distracted by her own embarrassment.
Fuck. This was bad.
“You!” Ahmina shoved the drink at Lennox. “You drink too.”
Lennox didn’t waste any time, more than happy to follow Ahmina’s orders. Loveleena hung her head in her hands. This was going horribly wrong.
“Ren,” Lennox said, swirling the liquid around in the glass. “What is this? It tastes incredible.”
Ren frowned but didn’t say anything.
“Ren, you’ve been holding out on us?” Serena took the glass from Lennox and took a sip. “I want to try it too.”
By the time the liquid was gone, everyone at the table had had a taste, everyone except for Ren and Loveleena. She dug her fingernails into the skin of her palms. That potion took Ahmina months. This couldn’t have gone worse.
Serena giggled. “Let’s play a game.”
“I’m down,” Lennox said, slamming his palm on the top of the table. “How about cups?”
Emerson groaned, “not again.”
“Truth or dare!” Rory cut in, jumping up and down.
Now it was Ahmina’s turn to complain. “Rory, that game is so overdone. Can’t we play something else?”
“Coins, then,” Ren said, and everyone agreed. He gave Loveleena a cocky look, and she scowled in response.
“Alright, let’s go over the rules for anyone who hasn’t played before,” Serena said, pulling out a pentacle from her satchel. “Flip the pentacle. If it lands on a nobleman, you get to ask anyone a question and they have to answer. If it lands on a creature, you get a pass.”
They all agreed, and Rory, Ahmina, and Artie all found empty seats at the table.
“I’ll go first,” Loveleena said, grabbing the pentacle. If everyone but Ren was influenced by the truth serum, she wanted to at least use it to her advantage. She flipped the coin and it landed on a creature. Cursing, she slid it across the table to Ahmina.
Ahmina flipped the coin, which jingled as it hit the table. “Nobleman,” she said, smiling. She looked so carefree that Loveleena suspected the contents of the glass—not just the truth serum—had erased most of her anxiety. “Lennox.”
“Ask your question, stress-mina,” he said, leaning forward on the table.
“How did you feel last night? Be honest.”
Everyone at the table was completely silent, waiting for his answer. Loveleena could have sworn his eyes softened as he spoke to her. “Stupidly, embarrassingly in love.”
The tension between them was palpable. They looked at each other like they were the only two people in the room. It wasn’t until Emerson spoke that the tension broke.
“Oh for the love of—can you two just get on with it already?”
“My turn,” Lennox said, taking the pentacle out of Ahmina’s hand, who stared at him like she was seeing him for the first time.
Lennox flipped the coin and a few of them cheered. Nobleman. Confidently, Lennox looked to Serena. “You have to tell the truth.”
“I know,” she said, taking another sip of her drink.
“Did you and Ren hook up?”
Serena looked at Ren before giving Lennox a light punch to the shoulder. “You can’t ask that.”
“I just did.”
Ren gave nothing away.
“Lenny, give me the pentacle.”
“Answer.”
“Yes! Okay? Are you happy now? Give it to me!”
Lennox handed her the coin. “I knew it! You two lied about it, but I knew.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Ren said. “Hasn’t happened again.”
At his words, Serena froze then quickly regained her composure. “Cheers to that,” she said, clinking her drink against Ren’s now empty glass.
“Why do you need to know that anyway, dude? She’s your sister,” Emerson mumbled.
“Because they both lied to me!” Lennox laughed. “And I knew it too. I was right all along. And it’s not like I asked them details on if they—”
“—Shut up, Lenny,” Serena said, uncharacteristically annoyed, and Lennox stopped talking. “Loveleena.” Serena’s eyes locked in on her and she sat up a little straighter. “Tell us what really went down with you and Kumani.”
“When did this turn into a relationship exposé?” Loveleena said. The last thing she wanted to talk about was Kumani. All of that was behind them now.
Serena shrugged. “When else are we going to talk about it? All we do is talk about battle and strategy around here.”
She could feel everyone’s eyes on her. She didn’t need the truth potion; she couldn’t lie anyway.
“I hurt her. That’s all there is to know.
” All eyes were on her as she took the pentacle from Serena.
This time, when she flicked it in the air, it landed on a nobleman.
If Serena was going to ask her personal questions, so was she.
“Serena. What happened to Park? Where is he?”
Serena’s face suddenly went rigid and she set down her drink.
“I’m not answering that.”
“You have to.”
“I don’t kn—” she choked on her words, confused. The truth potion was working. Serena couldn’t lie.
Ren leaned back into his chair, seemingly amused. “Finally, this is getting good.” His knee touched hers under the table, sending a jolt through her body.
Serena shot Ren a death glare. Her hand flew to her throat; she realized she was under the influence of a potion. “The game is over.”
“We didn’t even get a turn,” Rory said, frowning. “And who is Park?”
Serena stood and placed both hands on the table. “Park was Lennox’s roommate, until he disappeared.”
Loveleena’s heart sank. Lennox’s roommate? She immediately looked to Lennox, who casually leaned back in his chair, tossing his dagger. “Wow, we really spilled all the lore tonight, didn’t we? Great job, Sis,” he said sarcastically.
“Come on, Ren,” Serena said, fuming. “I need someone to beat the shit out of.”
Ren leaned in close to her ear as he stood. “Next time you try to poison me with a truth potion, make sure I actually drink it.” He turned to follow Serena. “Oh, and Alva, Ori, you’re to report to the headmaster tomorrow at midday sharp.”
Loveleena felt Ahmina's concerned glance, but she could only think about one thing: the truth potion had failed.