Page 4 of Sugar & Dragon Act I: Temptation

Helovedto embarrass her.

“Dorian is resistant to logical arguments,” he said. “How did you convince him to let you in?”

“I said I would turn his cookies into gold if he didn’t.”

“You amaze me, Galenos. I didn’t know you were capable of such confabulations.”

“It’s not a confabulation. Ireallythink I could turn cookies into gold.”

Something in her voice made Dago look at her more closely. She seemed frustrated, but desperate. Like she didn’t want to be here but had no choice.

Interesting.

When he didn’t reply, Hera carefully removed a glove he hadn’t noticed before. Then with her other hand she reached into the pocket of her long, light dress and took out something that looked like a sugar cube. The moment she placed the cube on her right hand, the white structure smoothed out and turned golden.

“I think I’m cursed,” Hera said.

Dago approached her, entranced by the metallic sheen. “Is this real gold?”

“It’s acurse,” Hera repeated, as if she was talking to an unbright specimen.

She transferred the metal cube to her left hand and the gold changed into sugar.

Dago shook off his awe and sank into dismay. He recoiled and looked around the dark, spacious room. He calmed down only when he remembered that the bathroom was designed in such a way that he was its only decoration.

He caught the gaze of Hera, who was watching him with moderate interest. He cleared his throat and asked in a neutral tone, “How did it happen?”

“I’m not sure.” Her gaze dropped to her hands. “I was doing research on the healing properties of gold…”

“Gold has healing properties?”

“Yes. Quite a lot. My research—” seeing his impassive face, she broke off and finished in a less enthusiastic tone “—my research showed that.”

Dago smiled politely.

“So…” Hera continued. “I was doing research, and when I finished, I washed the empty vials. I brewed some tea, but when I tried to put sugar in it, it changed into gold.”

Dago was appalled. “Yousugaryour tea?” Then the rest of her words hit him, and he added with even more indignation, “Using yourfingers? Galenos, don’t you know what a teaspoon is?”

Hera clenched her jaw.

“That’s why you’re here,” Dago guessed. “You came to borrow a teaspoon?”

“No,” Hera snapped. It seemed like she wanted to add something like a nasty epithet, but instead she repeated, “No.”

Dago waited.

“I want…” She faltered, as if the words were stuck in her throat.

Dago still waited.

“I need your help,” Hera choked out, reddening.

If Dago wanted to be nice, he would have suppressed the smile pinching his lips. But being nice wasn’t particularly fun, so he let his face take on a mischievous expression. “Is that so?”

She clenched her fists. “If you expect to hear me begging, Midais, thenyougot carried away by your imagination.”

“Perhaps,” Dago agreed lazily. “But it’s not me who has a problem, is it?”

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