Page 81 of The Devil May Care

Caziel’s expression doesn’t shift much, but there’s a flicker of understanding—and maybe the faintest touch of horror.

“I see.”

“You’re lucky you don’t.”

“I believe you.”

I rub the back of my neck. “I might not even have anything in the cabinet. I wasn’t planning to be gone this long. It’s not like I keep track of my tampon inventory.”

“I assume that is… a necessity?”

“Unless you want to sacrifice a bedsheet, yeah.”

His face does something—tightens almost imperceptibly—but he doesn’t look away.

“Continue,” he says. “What else would you reach for?”

I let my hands drop into my lap.

“My meds.”

He straightens slightly. “Where are they?”

“Typically? Bathroom. Top shelf. Orange bottle, white label. Currently? No idea. Maybe still in the conference hotel unless they’ve already torched my stuff.”

“For what condition?”

I glance up at him, surprised at the phrasing.

“Depression,” I say flatly. “Chronic. Sometimes spicy. One of the many perks of being a human with unresolved trauma and subpar insurance.”

His jaw ticks just a little.

“How long has it been since your last dose?”

“No idea.” I pause. “Time’s weird here, remember?”

His silence is sharper this time.

“Is that dangerous?”

I shrug. “I’m not going to hurl myself off a parapet if that’s what you mean, but it’s… not great. The symptoms sneak in. Slowly, and then all at once.”

“What symptoms?”

“Fatigue. Fog. Irritability. Feeling like I’m watching myself through frosted glass.”

His brow furrows. “And there is nothing here to replace it?”

“Oh, totally,” I deadpan. “I’ll just pop down to the local apothecary and refill my prescription. Maybe ask the soul-fire cult if they take prior authorizations.”

He doesn’t respond, which is annoying, because that was solid material. I sigh and rub at my eyes.

“It’s fine. It’s manageable. I’ve done worse stretches without it. College was basically a four-year experiment in untreated mental illness and ramen noodles.”

“Still,” he says, “you shouldn’t be without it.”

“Yeah, well. You’re not exactly brimming with pharmaceutical infrastructure here. Do drugs even exist here?”