Page 20 of Mated in Flames

“No,” I say quietly. “But someone I loved went missing, I know he’s dead, by now.”

“I’m sorry,” Warwick says soberly.

I quirk a small smile at him and we sip at our coffee in silence.

“So, last night,” I say after a moment.

“Do you regret it?” Warwick asks.

“No,” I say readily. “It was just a surprise, is all.”

Warwick nods. I notice that he doesn’t look surprised in the slightest and I raise an eyebrow at him.

“I’m a phoenix, Luciana,” Warwick says when he notices me staring. “There are… certain aspects of that which makes it easier for me to understand things like this.”

I frown at him.

“Like?” I ask.

Warwick opens his mouth and then hesitates.

“Can you leave this one for now?” he asks. “Just for a little while. I promise I will tell you… just not at this moment.”

I’m burning with curiosity. But I also know I’m not going to force him to tell me. He had already revealed so much of himself to me last night. If I ask for any more, I’m just being greedy.

“Alright,” I agree, nodding. “Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you about. Do you have a sample of that poison you were talking about?”

“The one that can kill us?” Warwick asks, frowning.

“I don’t remember talking about any other poisons,” I say, rolling my eyes.

“Well… yes,” Warwick says. “We have a blade that was used to kill… another phoenix, a long time ago.” There’s grief in his voice and I don’t ask, sensing that it’s sensitive. “It has the poison on it. Why?”

“If you get me a sample of that poison, I’d like to study it,” I explain. “I’m a toxicologist, Warwick. My job is to find and identify poisons… and to develop antidotes. Maybe I might be able to make an antidote for your poison.”

Warwick freezes.

“Seriously?” he asks, mouth dropping open.

“Maybe,” I warn him. “It’s tough work, and it doesn’t always happen.” Then I smile slightly at him. “But I’d like to try. I love doing this sort of thing, and it would have the added bonus of helping you and Dane.”

“That would be amazing,” Warwick breathes, and that intensely warm look is back in his eyes again. “I’ll get a sample to you as soon as possible.”

“Will Dane agree to that?” I ask; I’d gotten the impression that Dane doesn’t like me.

“Dane is paranoid, don’t take it personally,” Warwick says dismissively.

“His paranoia might have been what’s helped the two of you stay alive all these years,” I point out. Then, because I’m suddenly very curious, “Remind me who’s older between the two of you?”

“I am, why?” Warwick asks, blinking at me.

“No reason,” I say quickly, trying to pretend that I’m not very surprised by this.

With how careful and responsible Dane is, I honestly would have picked him as the older sibling. I take a quick sip of my coffee and smile at Warwick over it, hoping he doesn’t get suspicious.

“Right…” Warwick says, eyeing me. “Well, anyway, he’ll come around. Even he can see that it would be beneficial to have an antidote one day. Is there anything we can do to help you with it?”

“Probably not,” I say, amused. “I’m trained in this field; I can just imagine you accidentally poisoning yourself.”

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