Page 90 of A Taste of Torment
I shrug. “Beggars can’t be choosers.”
He pulls out the chair beside me and sits with no sound at all. “Bea is a dangerous choice for anyone.”
“Oh, I know.”
He nods. Especially considering how that conversation ended. She was a bit too pleased with my mention of wanting my own power. If she knows something about the Akrasia Games, would that be the kind of comment that would peg me as a possible contender?
“But,” he continues slowly, “if you get her on your good side, she’s incredibly influential. She’s had her hand in essentially every major event that’s happened at this school in the last three years—good and bad. She’s often underestimated.”
“Understood.” None of that surprises me. She comes across as a love-struck priss at first, a mean girl second. But there’s certainly intelligence there too. She showed some of her hand during that conversation. The only question is, how much did she mean to show? Was it all a carefully orchestrated scheme to push me in one direction or another?
“I’m not a huge fan of Bea, personally,” Jarron admits, leaning back in his chair. “But she’s the kind of strong I’d like to find in a mate. Resilient, intelligent, tenacious.”
I fiddle with my pile of books, unsure how to respond to that.
“Next week is the fundraiser. You need something formal to wear. I’m assuming you didn’t bring anything?”
“Definitely not.”
Jarron nods. “I can recruit someone to help. Manuela and Lucille would be my first choice, but Bea has more dresses than schemes, which is saying something. So, she’s an option if you feel comfortable.”
“I’d prefer Bea, I think.” I’m not sure how I feel about Lucille after Bea’s admission that she’s secretly into Jarron.
His eyebrows rise in surprise, but he concedes.
Jarron and I take another public walk around Elite Hall, then he escorts me back to the potions study hall to work for a few more hours.
As I busy my hands with work, stirring the now frothing liquid, crunching leaves, and skinning a rabbit’s foot, my mind spins through several things.
Mostly, my relationship with Jarron.
It began as a pragmatic solution to a problem. But now it has become a sincere friendship. To be honest, I’m not sure the relationship has helped the investigation much. I mean Jarron has helped, but being his “girlfriend” hasn’t helped much beyond access to a few books and putting a massive target on my back.
So far, I haven’t uncovered anything significantly helpful in my investigation, just more questions.
But at the same time, I’m so much more comfortable here than I’d ever expected. I feel comfortable around Jarron, which is mind blowing to me. I trust him to protect me, which gives me a bit more leverage to make risky choices.
I’m learning potions I never would have dreamed of trying, and they’re going surprisingly well. I’ve started two more already and have three more planned—all to be brewed at the same time. The speed increaser, silencer, confusion, and dizzy potions all require a hot environment, so I put those to the side for now and try to manage the several I’m working on.
“This looks like a lot,” Jarron comments eventually, peeking up over his book.
“I have a lot to overcome.”
“I will keep you safe, you know. Even if…”
I consider asking him to finish that sentence, but after a long beat, I decide not to. “I don’t want to have to rely on you,” I say, not for the first time. “I appreciate the help, and I won’t turn it down, but I want to know I can defend myself without you if I ever need to.”
“I know,” he mumbles. “It makes sense. I just don’t want you to overwork yourself.”
“I’m good. I thrive on this, to be honest.” And I do. I feel more energized after my potions work.
I use a magical gemstone to increase the nullifier’s development. It’s not a requirement, but it does speed up its completion. Potions are not large magic users; they build on themselves to get stronger and stronger, which is often why they take a long time to be completed.
“Or is it simply that you’re bored playing bodyguard?”
“No,” he says quickly. “I wouldn’t be doing much different if I weren’t here with you. I’d be a bit more comfortable, but otherwise—”
“The poor demon prince wants his velvet throne back?”
