Chapter 20

20

O nce we were safely inside Noah's flat, he turned on me.

"So what happened with Fortenberry?" Gone was the light-hearted tone he'd kept the entire drive here.

"Nothing, I guess. He just stopped me when I was on my way to the Potions building to ask where I was going just before curfew."

"And you told him what?" Noah looked so incredibly serious, I took a step back from where he leaned against the kitchen island.

"I told him I was…meeting up with my boyfriend." Noah's brow arched, and a smirk took over his face. Damn that smirk.

"Boyfriend."

"Yes, just like we planned."

"And did you tell him it was me?"

"He didn't ask."

Noah nodded, biting down on the edge of his lip. "Then what?"

I took a deep breath, remembering the crazed look in my professor's eyes. "Then, when I tried to leave, he grabbed my arm to stop me. He gave me this weird warning about not getting involved in something I couldn't get out of and-"

"He grabbed your arm?" Noah interrupted, his pupils narrow.

"Yes. And it was really weird, because he held onto me for a bit too long. That's why I think there's something-"

"Which arm?" Noah suddenly moved close to me, grabbing both of my wrists tenderly and lifting them.

"My left one, but I don't know why that matters." My breath caught when he started inspecting my arm, as if there would be some mark left behind. "He didn't hurt me. It was just weird."

"He shouldn't have touched you at all." His voice was barely more than a low growl, but I refused to say anything in response. Noah touched my arm like it was glass, just a touch away from shattering, and his brow furrowed. "If he ever touches you again…"

"I'm fine," I whispered, reaching up to touch his face. I couldn't understand why he would be so angry about something so minor.

For a few seconds, Noah just stared at me, and then he retracted his hand and took a few steps back, turning from me and running a hand through his hair.

Clearing his throat, he changed the subject. "I found something."

I followed him out of the room as he picked up our bags and led me to a part of the flat I hadn't seen before. How did this flat just seem to get bigger and bigger?

He led me through a door into a literal brewery. In his flat.

"Of course, you would have your own brewery."

Noah just gave me a blank look, like it was odd for me to even note. "Of course I would." He started pulling things out of his backpack. Opening one of the enormous books we'd gotten last night, he pulled a slip of folded paper out and handed it to me.

"I found this when I went into the professors' brewery looking for an ingredient."

"You went in there again?" I asked, my focus quickly changing. As soon as I unfolded the paper, I began reading. It was a recipe for…something. There was no title, there was no explanation. Ingredients I'd become all too familiar with stared back at me until my attention snagged on the last addition to the potion.

"What is this?" I asked, moving to the brewing bench, where one of the Potionry books I'd read last night was stacked. Instantly, I started flipping through the pages like my life depended on it-and maybe it did.

"I am hoping you could give me a different conclusion than the one I came to."

My neck should have snapped from how quickly it swiveled. There was a grim look on his face that matched the feeling I had in my chest. He wondered the same thing I thought about this minor slip of paper.

Finally, I found the page of the book I was looking for.

Midwood is an illegal additive in most potions due to its volatile nature. When combined with hargen oil, it can turn any concoction from a potion into a poison. The resulting brew will amplify any side effects its potion counterpart would otherwise have, making the poison nearly unbearable. This additive is otherwise known as Pratbane.

Pratbane rarely reacts in expected methods. The few times it has been used, the resulting poison did not directly affect the victims. There are only two recorded instances of Pratbane, one being in the love potion. The intended effect of the poison was to kill the taker of the poison should they touch the person of their affection, yet it did quite the opposite. The poison forced its victim to be physically near the person of their affection; otherwise, cardiac arrest was imminent. Unfortunately, there has been at least one recorded death caused by the addition of Pratbane to the love potion.

I was in shock.

I'd skipped this section the other night, thinking it wouldn't help us in our quest to finish the anti-love potion. But obviously, I needed to know this.

"Poison." I looked up to Noah as I muttered the word, fear in my gut. "Why would anyone want to create a love poison ?"

"Whoever it is must be desperate," Noah said, his voice gruff.

"Desperate for love? Seems a bit extreme."

"I can't imagine what else the reason could be, not unless they're a scorned lover looking for revenge."

I shut the book, turning for the bench, but Noah didn't move out of my way. His frame was wider than mine, so I tried to scoot sideways to get around him. Both of his hands came up, gripping the edge of the counter on either side of me.

"This poison… If they spell-cast, it…" His Adam's apple bobbed in his throat as he swallowed, his eyes dark.

"I know…" I whispered, biting my lip in worry. This could be a disaster if we couldn't get ahead of it.

"No, you don't. The love potion doesn't affect you at all. The love potion itself creates a desire so intense, I can barely manage myself around-" He stopped just short of revealing the object of his infatuation, and I found myself wishing he hadn't. Who was it that had him wound so tight? "If the poison was to be weaponized in the same way, I'm a dead man."

"Can't you just tell whoever it is? Even if it doesn't result in anything, at least you can be around them so your heart doesn't stop beating."

"That text went very light on the consequences of the love poison. The text I read detailed how it didn't just require the victim to be around the individual they were in love with. It required them to stay in constant physical contact, which exacerbated the love potion itself, which always drives a victim mad. It's the perfect way for someone to destroy Forrestbriar. There will be more assaults than you can imagine, and if anyone steps in to prevent it, the poisoned people will die."

I stayed silent. The effects of this poison would be more nefarious than I ever could have imagined.

"I would never put her through who I would become if I was poisoned. I couldn't." Noah shook his head and bent down, getting closer to me. "I can't do that to her. We have to stop this."

"Let's do it." I moved forward, and for a second, I didn't think he was going to get out of my way. Instead, I looked at his lips again, wishing to kiss them. But he had someone he was obviously in love with, and any kisses we shared were purely to keep up our fa?ade, nothing else.

Oddly, I found a thread of sorrow in my chest over that.

When Noah let go of the bench behind me, I turned, grabbed my bag, and found the notes I'd made for our newest potion.

"I think we've had the right procedure this entire time, most of the right ingredients and the right order. But I think we needed to be boiling the honeyroot before adding it. That way, the essence will blend properly with-"

"With the pepper seed. I came to the same conclusion last night. And we need to add-"

"Brynberry," I finished. Noah smirked, nodding in agreement. "Hence why you were in the professors' brewery."

I grinned, glad we'd finally come up with an iteration of the potion that could work. We'd believed in ourselves, but this time, I was sure.

Once again, I groggily made my way to Noah's room, an imprint of my golden bracelet etched into the side of my face. We'd been breaking the potion the last I remembered and had gotten to a part where the wyndstock had to boil for an hour. I'd done more reading on Pratbane, which was when I must have fallen asleep.

To my credit, we'd brewed the anti-potion for hours at that point, and it was already past ten.

"Sorry. I can't believe I fell asleep," I muttered, ashamed and embarrassed. Thankfully, Noah hadn't fallen asleep and was able to move the potion to the next step-keeping it at a neutral temperature for twelve hours to make sure the brynberry would meld with the other ingredients.

"It's fine, Baker."

I wouldn't look at him, even though his response seemed genuine.

"Hopefully, this iteration is the last one. Now we just need an antidote for the poison."

"My brain can't handle that thought right now," I groaned, pushing the door to his bedroom open as though it was my own. I'd only stayed here one night, and already, I was too comfortable.

But sleep had a way of completely clouding my brain, so I thought little else about it as I moved straight for his bed. I had no qualms with sleeping in his bed if it meant I could have my eyes shut and my brain off within the next ten seconds.

"Would you like something more comfortable to wear?" I could barely make out the chuckle in his voice, but when I peeped my eyes open, I could see the smile on his face.

"Mhmm." I nodded, burying my face in the comforter. I hadn't even made it to the top of the bed.

"Come on," Noah whispered, grabbing my hand and gently tugging until I slid back off the bed, groaning as I did. "Why are you so tired?"

I mumbled an incoherent response as I slipped into the bathroom and groggily changed into the silky night clothes Noah provided then pushed back through the door, desperate to get back in bed.

Noah was across the room, buttoning up his own shirt, which was the same silken gray as the one I wore. He turned when he heard the shuffling of my feet against the plush carpet-how did I not notice how nice it was last night?-and instantly moved to my side.

"If I hadn't been with you for the past five hours, I'd say someone gave you a sleeping potion," he commented, laughing as he pulled the blankets from the bed and helped me in. Everywhere he touched me burned, but in a relaxing, addictive way.

"Nope, just tired." I snuggled into the pillow, taking a huge inhale. It smelled delicious , so I just had to take another whiff.

Noah was laughing again, and then the blankets were laid over me.

With blurry vision, I watched him retreat. I barely stifled a yawn as my fatigued mind spoke.

"You could stay in here tonight."

I couldn't keep my eyes open enough to watch his face, and the intoxicating smell of the pillow was drawing me closer to slumber.

"Another night, Baker."

I wiggled, further burying myself in the bed as I assumed he left.

"Bloody adorable." I heard, but I couldn't comprehend as I drifted off.