Total pages in book: 182
Estimated words: 171176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 171176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
“I didn’t feel any sickness.” Vemar sat back down.
“Me either. The build-up effect was drastically cut as well, hence being able to have a lot. Have five in a twenty-four-hour period and you’re going to throw up. I don’t know how many it would take to die. My product would be very bad for the mind if someone were to take more than five doses in a short period of time. I doubt anyone would or could.”
“Wait.” Finley held up her hand while squeezing her eyes shut. “Are you telling me you ingested this stuff?”
I frowned at her. “Of course. I had to test it.”
She pointed down at the last beige round. “You ate five of these in twenty-four hours and just, what? Hoped you wouldn’t die?”
“I was on hand with Hannon’s special brew.” Vemar winked at Hannon sitting in the corner. His face was devoid of his usual good-humored expression. Instead, his blue eyes had a poignant sort of focus. His lips were pursed in a straight line, his body relaxed but expectant, as though he might be called upon to battle at any moment.
No one was taking the security breech well. I was quickly learning that the dragon kingdom might sparkle and shine like a well-polished gold coin, but the people here had grown up fighting. Struggling to stay alive. They were ready, able, and more than willing to defend their homes, and would do so with a vicious sort of aggression I likely couldn’t comprehend. I could be in no better place to face the threat of Granny.
I had to keep reminding myself of that, lest the fear start picking away at my courage to push on.
“It should be me trying those things,” Hannon responded.
“Nah.” Vemar waved him away. “Then you’d have this horrible itch to consume more of it. It’s not pleasant.”
“Yeah.” I wiped my face. “That elixir you guys make to stave off addiction is much too slow.”
“Much too slow,” Vemar agreed.
“How do you test your products?” I asked them. Arleth and Delaney were gathered around the table as well.
“On people who need it,” Finley responded as though I were daft.
I lifted my brow. “You give test samples to your patients? Isn’t that . . . dicey?”
“If we don’t have the ailment that needs to be cured, how will we know the product worked to cure that ailment?” Finley returned.
Vemar and I shrugged at each other. She had a point.
“Right. So.” I blew out a breath. “This is what we’re working with. I have a lot of ideas to counter this stuff. It should work on Granny’s coating like a dream. I’ll test that, obviously. If I am captured by her and forced to work because she threatens children or something—which doesn’t seem above her, to be honest—you will know how to counter the best of my addictive products.”
Vemar’s rage spiked, sending the other dragons into their own hum of aggression. Hannon adjusted in his seat, leaning against the wall projecting pseudo-calm. The guy seemed to always look unruffled, and I had a feeling his killing you would then be quite the shock.
“No one will capture you and live to tell the tale,” Vemar growled. The women nodded, Finley’s intense agreement sending my stomach rolling.
Taking a page out of Hadriel’s book, I said sarcastically, “Great. What a load off.” Hannon started to laugh. It made me realize I hadn’t yet seen Hadriel that morning.
“Does Weston know you took these?” Finley demanded, obviously stuck on our testing practices.
“No,” I answered, organizing the samples out of the way. “He’d be pissed. It would be nice if you didn’t tell him. I’m fine. Vemar is fine. All is well. The worst is over.”
Finley looked at Arleth, who was studying me. Neither commented.
“Great. That’s that, then. You guys wanted to learn how to make the product on the market, right?” With a cleared workspace, I pulled a list over. “Let’s start with Product X. That’s the stuff to stave off pregnancy. People here have a lot of sex—a lot more than in my old village. My own stock is running low, and I don’t want to resort to that horrible tea. Here’s a list of ingredients. I’ll let the gardeners among you collect them while I pull out the right contraptions.”
“Which we don’t need yet, but it’s a good excuse not to have to help them,” Vemar mumbled. I elbowed him. That was supposed to be a secret.
After they’d looked over the list and checked the things they currently had cooking, Arleth and Delaney opted to collect the ingredients.
“So, all of this is made with Everlass, huh?” I pointed at the many steaming and cooking items around the room. Special vents had been put in the roof of the work shed to whisk away all the smoke and scents.
Finley didn’t glance behind her. “Almost all of it. What are those?” She pointed at the contraptions I’d pulled out.