Page 12 of A Passion for Potions (Petalfall #1)

Twelve - Shared Hopes

Viggo

Blicks follows close behind Penny as he returns to my room.

“I don’t know when she will be back.” Penny turns back to him, placing his hands on Blicks’ shoulders. His voice is reassuring when he says, “As soon as I do, I will inform you when you may dote on her.”

The butler straightens, tugging down his coat, but he doesn’t shift to remove Penny’s hold from his shoulders. “And may inform the others of our future guest?”

Squeezing Blicks’ shoulder, Penny lets him go with a laugh I’ve always considered reserved for Blicks alone. “As if I could keep any of you from telling the others anything.”

Blicks lets a tiny smile grace his lips, but only for a moment. “Does she have a name?”

“Anastacia Eventide,” I say, wanting to feel her in my mouth any way I can.

“Eventide?” Blicks’ brows pinch and for a moment I fear what he might be thinking. Who knows what an elf that old might know about a random human family line.

But he doesn’t say anything more about it.

He bows and takes a step back, hand on the door latch. “I will attempt to maintain business as usual, but I cannot guarantee that Loric won’t come to dress you as soon as a visit to the village would be appropriate.”

I’ve no doubt they’ll bombard us with questions the very moment we emerge from this room, but only Blicks and Loric will come in after us if we take too long.

Blicks pulls the door closed behind him and Edric drops his robe to the ground with a sigh. “He will be insufferable until he gets a proper introduction.”

“They all will be.” I reach for him as he crawls to me. “What if she doesn’t want us in that way?”

Settling beside me, he kisses me, soft and sweet. “Then he and the others will be disappointed along with us and we will all try to console each other.”

The idea seeps into me, heavy and cold. “There will be no consolation.”

“I don’t think we’ll find ourselves in that position you dread.” He pulls me tight to his chest, arms a warm cage around me. “We simply need to get to know her better before we try to convince her to change her whole life around to let us fit into it.”

“Fine.” I nuzzle his throat, but I don’t bite. “I will be patient... but only because I can’t go run after her and drag her back.”

“You wouldn’t, even if you could.”

“I might.” Kissing the smooth column of his throat, I tell him, “For her, I might.”

Edric would only laugh at me if I tried to put the poetry of her blood into words.

At first sight, I knew I could love her. When she had looked at us with that challenge in her eyes—quick and wry and brave in her own particular way—I knew I did love her.

Now that I have tasted her... there is no future without her that is not bleak.