Page 31 of April's Fool
“No, first you are going to have some of this tea I’ve made,” Toth said, entering the room balancing a wide tray. On it was a silver teapot and cups for all of us. There was also a small plate piled high with cookies. “This is a special brew to help replenish magical energy. It won’t do you any harm, Damon. It might help with your healing.”
“The cookies?” Damon raised an eyebrow.
Toth blushed. He really was a sweet demon. The ideal son-in-law and mate for my Cody. “Soothing.” He cleared his throat. “Made with lavender and honey.”
Unwilling to embarrass him more, I reached for a cup and let Toth pour me some of the tea. I even picked up a cookie and nibbled on it as the tea cooled a little.
None of us spoke while we enjoyed the treats. My mind was too full of what had happened, the implications with my guard, and Damon, to really make chit-chat with the witches.
“Parker and Gregoris are sharing a room. Dad, would you mind sharing with Damon so I can put Oak and Thyme in a room?”
“I can sleep on this couch,” Oak said rather stiffly. I had noticed he was constantly putting distance between himself and the other witch. Did he think he was the traitor? Thyme was not the mole in the coven.
A flash of hurt passed over the other witch’s face. “No, I can. I’m smaller than you. You’d never get comfortable and we both need sleep.”
“You will share a bed because you are grown adults.” Cody’s expression dared them to say another word. “Oak, get over yourself. Thyme is not the problem.” Oak opened his mouth to speak and snapped it shut again at Cody’s dark look. “Who else was at the house?”
Oak named a couple of other witches. One of them, River, had shown us our rooms. They knew where Damon was supposed to be sleeping.
“And where were they when this all went down? Did you even let Thyme out of your sight?”
“He didn’t,” Damon answered. “Because they were arguing downstairs when we were shown to our rooms. Only a few minutes passed, so I doubt that Thyme had a chance to tell anyone anything.”
“I don’t even have a cell phone right now, so it’s not like I could call someone even if I wanted to.” Thyme just shrugged. “I get why the coven has beenso reluctant around me. Before Basil was made Head Witch, I was being trained for the job. My transition took me out of the running.”
“Seriously?” Cody asked. “I didn’t know you were supposed to lead.”
“It was before you were born.” Thyme laughed, a sweet sound. “I’m a lot older than I look.” He finished his tea. “Would you mind showing me the room? I’m feeling really sleepy suddenly.”
The tea’s effects were working on me, too. “I’m going to shower first.”
“I’ll help,” Damon stood, pulling me up with him. I’d forgotten he was still holding onto my hand. It felt natural for him to be touching me like that.
“Remember that promise!” Cody yelled as we left the room.
Damon’s laugh was the only answer.
There was something intimate about letting someone wash you. Damon didn’t linger over our joint shower, just got us clean and then toweled us off. “I can do it,” I laughed.
“No.”
I let him finish drying us and took the offered toothbrush. Damon began brushing his teeth, the moment even more intimate than the shower somehow.
“Damon… are you okay?”
He paused, spat out his toothpaste, and considered me for a moment. His mouth opened and closed a few times before he finally spoke. “Are we doing the right thing? Trying this between us?” He looked agonized. “Mori, you could have died!”
“I really wouldn’t have. A shot, even to the head, won’t kill me.”
He paused, “What?”
“Demons have to be beheaded and salted before we truly die. Well, it’s one of the ways to kill us. There are other, magical, means, but a bullet to the head isn’t one of them.”
“Salted? What the fuck?”
“Special salt with sage and other herbs. It kills the magic we have inside us. It’s part of why you won’t find sage growing in our realm.”
There was a long silence while he processed. “But when we got here, you looked so ill.”
