Kerestyan growled as his fangs slid into place. “She deserved more than that when I met her, and she deserves even more now!”

“Why? What the hell is so special about her? Your city’s full of hundreds of humans just like her.”

He cast a glance back to Logan. Nothing he said, no matter how well he wove the words would make Odin see her in the same light. “They aren’t like her. I’m not going to stand here and list all of her qualities to someone who doesn’t care. Suffice it to say I’m not the only one interested in her. Father wants her in his chamber in two days time.”

Odin’s jaw went slack. “Oh shit. That’s not good, Kerestyan. There’s no way in hell she’ll be done with withdrawal by then. You’ll be lucky if she doesn’t puke on his boots.”

Kerestyan frowned. He really didn’t need Odin’s vivid brand of imagery at the moment. “I know what could happen, Odin. And you’re right, I asked Vouclade for help and he refused. He made it very clear that I missed my chance for his assistance.”

Odin paced back and forth for a few moments. He alternated staring at Logan and mumbling to himself between closing his eyes and concentrating. Then all at once he jumped, whirled around and grabbed Kerestyan’s shoulders. “Do you still have all the spices and shit Alfred gave you?”

He rolled his eyes. What was it with his siblings and spices today? “Yes. Everything Alfred gave me is exactly where he put it.”

“If you want any chance of helping her, come with me.”

Kerestyan did as his brother asked and followed him to the kitchen. He watched as Odin picked through different unmarked bottles, opened them and sniffed, put some back in the cabinet then placed others on the counter. He did the same with the packets and canisters.

“Odin, what are you doing?”

He smiled. “Opium has been around forever.” He filled a glass with water and began dumping his chosen spices and powders into it. “Back in my warring and whoring days, some of the troops used it as a pain killer. Most of the time either the effects lasted too long or the guys got addicted and couldn’t function without it.” He pulled out a spoon and stirred the noxious brown liquid he’d concocted. “Obviously I couldn’t take a bunch of strung out warriors into battle, so the healers used to make this elixir to help purge their bodies and negate the effects. It pretty much speeds up the withdrawal process at the cost of making it ten times worse.”

Kerestyan took the glass when Odin handed it to him. “Are you sure this won’t hurt her?”

He laughed. “It won’t do any lasting damage, but for the next 45 to 47 hours she’s gonna feel like her own body is trying to crawl away from her.”

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean is she’s gonna get sick as all hell. And when I say sick, I mean put a towel on the bathroom floor and keep her close to the toilet. She’ll sweat like a hooker in church until her fever spikes, so keep her full of water. If she pukes it up, make her drink more. If she starts scratching, don’t let her. She won’t have any concept of how hard she’s pushing. She’ll scratch her skin off until she’s a bloody mess. And for God’s sake, I don’t care how much she screams and begs, do not get her more heroin, Kerestyan. If you do while that mixture’s in her system, she’ll die instantly. If all goes well, with a little luck and your help, she should come out of the entire withdrawal cycle about two hours before you have to take her to Dad.”

Kerestyan stared down into the frothy substance and grimaced. “How long after she drinks this will the effects start?”

“Within five minutes, ten at the absolute most.” He rested a hand on Kerestyan’s shoulder. “I know it looks bad, but believe it or not, it tastes like a really chalky protein shake.” He pointed towards the hallway. “The longer you stand here and stare at it, the closer you cut it. I’d suggest you get in there and get started.”

Kerestyan nodded then headed for Logan’s room. For the first time since he’d become an immortal, he didn’t have the luxury of time. Before he reached the hallway, he turned around and looked at his brother. “Thank you, Odin.”

“You’re welcome. For the record, I did this for you…not her.”

With nothing else to say, Kerestyan returned to Logan’s room and placed the homemade potion on the counter in the bathroom. After spreading the comforter from the bed, as well as a few pillows on the bathroom floor, he gathered Logan’s unconscious body in his arms and held her close as he sat down in the middle of the makeshift bed.

Once he’d situated her between his legs, with one arm wrapped around her waist to keep her upright and the back of her head resting against his shoulder, he reached up and grabbed the glass.

Again, he stared down into the thick liquid as doubts clouded his mind. What if it didn’t work? What if her modern body didn’t handle it the way Odin’s ancient warriors had? What if Odin had let his obvious disdain for her overshadow what she needed right now? Would he do such a thing knowing their Father had personally requested her presence?

If so, the punishment for interfering with his demand would be legendary.

Drawing in a useless deep breath, Kerestyan blew it out along with all his concerns. Right now, he had to believe Odin had done nothing but attempt to help him.

He pressed his lips to Logan’s ear. “Logan? Logan, you have to wake up for me. I need you to wake up.”

It took a few tries, but her eyes slowly blinked open. “Kerestyan?”

“Yes?”

“Why are we in the bathroom? Did I throw up on your bed?”

He smiled. “No, you didn’t vomit on my bed.”

“Oh, God.” She tried to cover her face with her trembling hand. “I didn’t pee, did I?” Her voice was quiet and filled with horror.

“No, Logan, you didn’t relieve yourself in my bed, either.”

“Good. It’d be really embarrassing to pee in such a hot guy’s bed. I know if I was a guy and some chick pissed in my bed, I’d never be able to look at her without thinking, ‘Hey, that’s the bitch who pissed in my bed. She ruined my satin sheets’.”

Although the humor was definitely her style, and Kerestyan was more than pleased to hear she thought he was “hot”, the way her words rolled and slurred together told him she wasn’t completely aware of what she said.

He couldn’t resist. And in his own defense, he felt it was important to know if she’d simply loosened up because of her state, or if she was delirious. “Logan, did you enjoy what happened between us in the kitchen?”

She over exaggerated the nod and when she threw her head back, her skull cracked hard against his clavicle. “Oh, yeah. If your little freak of a brother hadn’t shown up when he did, you’d have been screaming Logan Ellis all night long. Well, maybe not all night…but a good fifteen minutes at least.” She reached up and rubbed the back of her head. “My head hurts. What did you do to me? I’m thirsty.”

He smiled again. Had she loosened up? Markedly so. Was she delirious? Not quite. But if nothing else, at least he now knew the last name of the woman he’d more than willingly “pressed against an appliance”.

And when all was said and done, and she found herself safely returned to his home, he silently promised her he would finish what he’d started.

“Can I have some water?”

He raised the glass to her lips. “Drink this for me.” Before he’d even finished asking, she wrapped her fingers around his and began drinking in large, eager gulps.

She’d nearly swallowed it all before she pushed his hand away. “What the hell was that?” He could hear the suction between her cheeks and tongue as she opened and closed her mouth. “It tastes like… like…chocolate covered ass.” She pushed back against him and flipped over in his arms. “I’m serious, what was it?”

He set the glass back up on the counter then laid back and turned onto his side, pulling her with him. “It was a mixture of old ingredients that will help you through the withdrawal process.”

“It tasted like shit.”

“I’m sorry.”

He felt the heated burst of her breath against his throat as she snickered. “No, you’re not…but I forgive you.”

He didn’t comment further, focused instead on the hollow echo of seconds ticking away in his mind. Silence seemed to still the air around them as he internally counted, knowing at any moment he would lose her to herbs that hadn’t grown in the wild for thousands of years. Spices that now only grew in the mystical gardens nestled in the shadowed courtyards of Nelek castle.

Kerestyan closed his eyes and waited. Would it take five minutes for the elixir to begin working, or would luck gift them ten?

By two, he could feel the temperature of her skin rising.

Luck withdrew its support at three and a half as her body violently seized and convulsed in his arms. She screamed into his chest, her tears burning his skin, and then locked her arms around him with such force that if he’d needed to breathe, he wouldn’t have been able to.