Laurel pulls a small vial from her pocket, then fills it with a small measure of liquid. She hands it to Silene, who stares at it for just a moment before throwing back her head and drinking it. She licks her lips as she passes it back to Laurel. Laurel refills the vial, corks it, and hands it back to Silene.

“It tastes better than I expected,” Silene says.

“My friend…er… my advisor, Nemesia, developed the recipe herself. She brews refined thayar with sugar, honeysuckle, and lavender. It’s delicious and also potent. That dose is equivalent to about four flowers.” My jaw drops. Velmarans consider the petals of one flower brewed into a mug of tea to be a standard dose. Silene also looks at Laurel with wide eyes.

“Four flowers? This will amplify my magic for hours, maybe even days,” Silene says, wonder in her eyes.

“I know you’re going unarmed today,” Laurel admits quietly. “I just wanted to make sure you would be safe. Especially if something happens and you’re there longer than you expect.”

Something in my chest squeezes, and I look into Laurel’s eyes, trying to convey my gratitude to her. She finally returns my stare, acknowledging the unspoken words between us before looking down at her hands in embarrassment. The ice queen has a soft spot for Silene. It gives me hope that maybe—just maybe—she’ll fully open up to us one day. And that maybe I won’t need to seduce her to get her to trust us.

“How are you feeling?” I ask Silene to distract myself from the overwhelming desire to wrap Laurel in my arms.

“Like I could aerstep this whole fucking castle,” she squeals. Laurel’s lips quirk, and I meet her eyes again. This time, she doesn’t look away, meeting my gaze full on. It’s intimidating as fuck, and I want to run from it and drown in it in equal measure.

“Then let’s go,” I say, tearing my gaze from Laurel’s. “We’ll aerstep back to our apartment when we’re done. Now that I’ve been to your rooms, I can flicker the lights here to signal that we’re back.” Laurel nods, then Fionn and I grab Silene’s hands. Technically, we don’t have to be touching for Silene to aerstep up, but it helps her control the magic she rarely uses. As I look up and down Laurel’s body one more time, the familiar pressure of being aerstepped compresses my body.