Page 43 of Tempt

Hepyn.

‘You are drunk,’ he tells me.

I scoff and nearly roll forward, but he reaches out and steadies me.

‘It is cold out. You are weak; you must go inside.’

I flip him off, but use the wrong finger and almost poke myself in the eye.

It’s better to stop trying to sign, so I give a small nod and let him heft me up into his arms and carry me through the front door.

It’s kind of nice to be carried around like this. I’ve never experienced it before because I’m always the bigger partner.

But Hepyn carries me as if I weigh nothing.

Something prods at my head, but I force my mind to go blank, unopened, and locked down.

The prodding stops momentarily as Hepyn sets me down on my sofa. I fall backward, staring at the ceiling, the paint swirling and bobbing above me.

In my periphery, I can see the monster is rummaging around in the kitchen, but I don’t bother watching what he’s doing. Instead, I close my eyes, and my vision turns black. I allow myself to relax, my mind conjuring up visions of Eissa, and as if calling to him, I see him clearly behind my closed eyelids.

He’s angry at me this time, his mouth downturned, his eyes narrowed.

I just stare back, daring him to do something about it.

But just like I asked, he does nothing, and a moment later he is gone, vanished from my head.

I blink my eyes open, seeing Hepyn standing over me. He holds out something to me, and I smell a strong odor coming from the cup.

‘What is that?’ I ask, wrinkling my nose.

‘It will help.’

I glance down into the mug, the warm water silver and almost glittering, like a cloud in a cup.

‘Safe?’

He stares at me like I’m an idiot.

Fuck it, I think. I have nothing to lose at this point. I push the mug to my lips and consume the entire thing. It’s an odd flavor, almost like drinking rain straight from the sky, mixed with something earthy, slightly floral, and then it’s gone, my head clearing in a matter of moments, my body loosening.

I don’t even feel like I’ve had anything to drink at all.

As if whatever I just consumed cleared it out of my system entirely.

What kind of magic is this? These monsters and their fucking cures.

I purse my lips and peer up at Hepyn, who is looking smug.

‘What the fuck did I just drink?’

‘Ossivora.’ He fingerspells the word to me. ‘It comes from an island in the sky.’

My eyes widen. ‘Wait…so you are different from the Vyastil, aren’t you?’

His head inclines, and he lowers himself down next to me. ‘I am.’

‘What are you?’ He hesitates, looking almost afraid, and I sit forward, closer to him. ‘I promise I won’t say anything.’