Page 84 of A Forgery of Fate

“Tea is different. It needs to be consumed.”

“So no art either?” I pressed. “You had quite the collection.”

“I forgot how many questions you ask.” He reached forthe pot simmering on the hearth. Before offering me a bowl, he presented a dreaded vial of sangi. “Drink this first.”

I recoiled. “For someone with a dragon’s nose, I don’t see how you stand this smell.”

“Humans smell worse.”

“Even me?”

A flicker pleated Elang’s brow; he clearly missed the hours I’d been unconscious. “Just drink.”

“Humans aren’t all that bad, you know,” I said. “We invented noodles and silk and porcelain. And we discovered tea, your favorite.”

“Theimmortalsdiscovered tea.”

“There’s no proof of that.”

“Don’t debate history with a dragon, Lady Saigas. It isfact.”

“Then why do you drink human tea?”

Elang turned back to his cloak. “Because I am not permitted to drink in the presence of the gods, let alone partake of their tea.”

Oh.That silenced me, and out of penitence, I finished my sangi in one gulp.

“Now, this,” said Elang.

A marble bowl floated my way, bubbling with a tawny orange liquid.

“Another potion?” I asked.

“I’ve wasted enough magic on you. What else is there to enchant?”

“It could be a love potion,” I said archly. “Might make acting as your wife a bit easier.”

Elang wasn’t amused. “Drink. Be careful, it’s still hot.”

Hotwas an understatement—it was practically boiling. Cautiously, I brought the bowl to my lips. Medicinal soups were bitter, so I grimaced in anticipation. But this was sweet. Almost pleasant.

“Ginger, codonopsis root, red dates,” I murmured. All ingredients to help blood circulation and improve healing. I wondered—but I didn’t dare ask—if he’d brewed such a soup especially for me. “And a dash of turmeric.”

Elang looked vaguely impressed. “You have training as an herbalist.”

“Hardly,” I said. “My mother used to make me drink all sorts of concoctions to try turning my hair black again.” I warmed my hands around the bowl. “Sometimes I’d get sick, and I’d have to drink a soup like this to feel better.”

“What was wrong with leaving your hair blue?”

“I think she was worried. The neighborhood children would spit at me whenever I passed. One girl even tried to burn my hair off.”

The hint of a frown clouded Elang’s face. “Don’t tell me you let them get away with it.”

“I didn’t.” I hid a smile behind my spoon. “I punched that girl in the face. Quite sure I broke her nose. She left me alone after that.”

“Do you still wish to change your hair?”

“I never did.”

---