“Is the beast preventing you from responding?”
At this, he shook his head.
“Okay, not very helpful.”
“Sorry, it’s… improper.”
I frowned and opened my mouth to say something, but Kalyll cut me off.
“Please, don’t ask.” He glanced down the length of his body. “How long will the elixir last?”
“I can’t really say. It’s the first time you’ve taken it, so I’ll take notes to keep track.” I held up my journal. “Next time, we’ll know more. I can already tell that a higher dose would be safe next time. I will make another batch, and when you start to feel the effects wearing out, you can drink it. Sound good?”
“Sounds good.”
I started to stand, but his hand snatched mine, keeping me in place.
“Yes?” I asked.
He stared.
“Do you… have a question?”
He shook his head and let me go. I walked back to the table and quickly made a second batch, this time using one and a half the amount of marsh flower I’d used before. Cylea came back with a pocket watch, which she handed over.
“Here. It’s Kalyll’s. I remembered he had it. He got it from your realm,” she said.
The piece was made out of polished silver with a delicate rose etched on the lid. I opened it and marked the time. It was 12:26 PM, per the Roman numerals that adorned the face of the classic piece.
“Thank you.” I slipped it in a pocket of my tunic so I could have it handy, then returned to Kalyll’s side.
“How do you feel now? The same?”
He nodded.
I sat cross-legged next to him and took his vitals every few minutes, jotting down the results and the time. His pulse had slowed down a little, but it was still above normal.
“I never thought this would be possible,” Kalyll said after we’d been sitting quietly for almost an hour. “Your magic is special.” That gratitude from before returned to his features.
I shrugged, feeling a blush bloom on my cheeks.
“We tried a lot of different things. Nothing worked.”
“I got lucky.”
“I don’t think luck has anything to do with it.” He swallowed thickly and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment.
“Are you okay?”
He took a deep breath. “Fine.”
“Let me know when you think you should take the second dose.”
“I will. What about the stillstem?”
“We will save that for later. Combined with the marsh flower, I hope it will be enough to prevent you from shifting.”
His face lit up. “I pray you’re right.”