Page 73 of A Bond in Flames

“Deal.” I rounded the counter and popped two pieces in the toaster. “Ren home?”

“Nope, he had to go to work.” She poured me a coffee and slid it over. “How’s the head?”

“I mainly stuck to Mags’s potion, so not bad at all. Our cousin has a gift,” I said and took a sip.

“She really does.” Her gaze held mine for a moment, and I saw the questions there, so many, but she took a bite out of her toast instead.

Now would be the perfect time to tell Jazzy everything that had happened. She was dying to ask me how my time in Limbo had been, but everyone tiptoed around the subject now, though. They waited for me to bring it up first, because I’d made it clear that’s what I wanted. I opened my mouth to tell her what was happening, but the words wouldn’t come out. I didn’t know where to start or how to make her understand the way I was feeling. Everything was so messy and confusing, I just wanted to keep it to myself for a while longer.

You’re keeping it to yourself because you haven’t decided what you’re going to do, and that would hurt your baby sister.

“So Else and Aunt Daisy are having a dinner tonight, just the family. You’ll be there, right?” Jazzy said and sipped her coffee.

“Absolutely. I have a few things I need to do today, but I’ll meet you there later. Can I borrow your car?” I said as nerves filled me.

“Or course. Anything I can help you with?”

My nerves shot higher. “No, not this time. Thanks, though.”

* * *

“Do you have any white snakeroot?” I asked Wills, who was working at her store, The Cauldron, today, and pressed a kiss to Violet’s peachy-colored hair. She was strapped to her mother’s front, fast asleep. Hemy poked his head out of my bag, saw that Vi was asleep, and, disappointed, disappeared again.

Wills chuckled and broke off a piece of bread from her sandwich sitting on the counter. “We’re all out, and our next delivery’s not for a couple weeks. The council are being hard-asses on certain ingredients, and snakeroot’s on the restricted list.” She rested her hip on the counter. “What are you using it for?” She held the bread, and Hemy’s nose appeared, twitching; then he took it and vanished again. “Something important? Anything to do with your bargain?”

I shook my head. “I have a job,” I said, lying through my teeth. “An old soul, like really old. I’m thinking I’ll need a little more juice to make contact.”

“I hope…” Her green eyes held mine. “I hope you haven’t given up, Zin, because we haven’t. Jazzy hasn’t stopped trying to find a way to free you from Death—none of us have.”

Guilt filled me. I should have told my sister this morning what was going on, but I didn’t know how. Everything was so complicated. “I appreciate it, I do, but whatever happens, I’ll be okay,” I said and gripped the edge of the counter when another wave of guilt washed through me.

She nodded, not looking convinced. “As for the snakeroot, I know of a place that has a steady supply, but it’s in the demon part of town. Yeah, they mostly follow the rules there—Rune runs a pretty tight ship—but still, going alone, no matter who you are or how capable you are, wouldn’t be a good idea,” she said, changing the subject back. She knew when not to push, and I loved that about her.

“Cool, where do I need to go?”

“There’s a store—Malicious Brew.Give me a few hours, and then War can take Vi, and I’ll come with.”

If I hung out with Willow all day, there would eventually be questions, questions I wasn’t ready to answer, that I didn’t know how to answer. “Thanks, Wills, but I told my clients I’d get back to them this morning. I’ll call Relic to keep me company.”

My cousin looked disappointed, which just made me feel even more guilty. “I’ll see you tonight, though? At your mom’s for dinner.”

“I guess I can let you off the hook this time then, but I want some one-on-one hang time and soon, okay?” she said, studying me way too closely. Out of all my cousins, Wills and I were the most alike, in appearance and personality, and she always seemed to know when I was hiding something.

“Absolutely.”

I texted Relic as I headed out and asked if he could meet me. Relic being Relic, he immediately agreed. Traffic was heavy, and by the time I could park and let him know where I was, he was already close.

I found him a street over, standing by his bike, tall, in worn jeans and his leather vest, tapping away at his phone. The hound grinned when he saw me. “Just couldn’t stay away from me?”

Hemlock poked his head out of my bag to see where we were and who we were with, and Relic gave his head a scratch. I snorted. “You wish.”

“You have no idea. But since sex is off the cards, I’m happy to display my superior fighting abilities and protect a damsel in distress.”

“I’m not a damsel.”

He planted one of his massive hands on top of my head and mussed my hair. “Whatever you say, princess.”

“You’ve been going to Willow’s movie nights, huh?”

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