“They’re not even open yet, nerd.”
They are, too. It’s the afternoon, not morning.
I sighed. “I’ll get it later. We need to get a move on with this, and you need a more varied diet.”
She scoffed and turned away to climb back onto her chair. I left her to it, heading out to join Grey in my living room. He stood by the window, his pose tense and slightly uneasy, as if he didn’t know where to sit. He looked big and out of place in the tiny room.
“You can sit anywhere,” I said.
He turned to me. “Thank you.”
He didn’t sit, instead handing me my drink.
I took it gratefully and nodded my thanks. “Is this from the mages’ place?”
“Indeed. A cappuccino.”
“Thank you.” I sipped. “Oh, that’s amazing.”
He smiled, and the faintest bit of warmth entered his eyes. It made him appear almost human, although no less otherworldly in his beauty.
“So, the book?” I prodded.
“Apparently, there is another copy in the Order of Magica Archives in Chicago. My contact there, Ms. Cross, tracked it down.”
“And?”
“She’ll show it to us today. We are to meet her outside of the Order of the Magica’s Hall of Inquiry as soon as you’re ready.”
“I’m ready.” I grabbed my leather jacket off the back of a chair, then debated bringing the book. I didn’t really want to leave it out of my sight, considering it was cursed. In and of itself, that was a valuable clue. “Let me just get the book.”
He nodded, and I hurried back to my bedroom, slipping the book into the cross-body bag in which I’d been carrying it around. I returned to the living room and found him by the door.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Ready. How do we get there?”
“We’ll take a portal to save on transport charms. There’s one that leads directly from Guild City to Magic Side.”
“Perfect.”
I followed him down the stairs but paused briefly by Mac’s door.
He stopped and turned back, raising a brow at me.
“I’m going to check on Mac and Seraphia.” I knocked lightly, then stuck my head in. “Hello, you two. Are you all right?”
Mac and Seraphia sat at Mac’s table, their heads bent over cups of tea. They looked pale and weak.
I hurried inside and dropped into a chair beside them. “You guys look like hell.”
“I’m fine.” Mac’s voice was faintly raspy. “Eve is coming up with more of the potion that holds off the effects of this curse.”
“Is she any closer to a cure?”
“Not yet.”
Grey was standing in the doorway. I felt his presence like the warmth of a summer day and turned to him. “Do you have any contacts who could figure out what’s wrong with them?”