The Blessed Curse (The Elder Blood Chronicles, #4)(81)

Neph narrowed his eye at her, but remained silent. Talking was still too painful. He preferred it when she was the quiet half-starved waif.

Now that Zoelyn was healthy she was entirely too annoying, especially now. Before Seth had helped her she would hide in corners and simply watch people. Very rarely did she ever offer conversation freely or trouble him with her presence. Now, though, she was fit and energetic and Jala’s constant shadow, it seemed. She didn’t even bother with her hooded coat anymore. She had returned from the Darklands in new black leathers with what seemed to be a new body. There was barely a hint of her former self left. Where a starved girl had been, there was now a very attractive woman that had a confidence the girl had never known, and it was highly annoying. “Go away,” Neph mumbled.

“No. You wasted Jala’s time and now I’m reclaiming it. She would have had time to create the stones herself if you and Valor hadn’t attempted to drown yourselves. Between knocking you out, which, by the way, was very funny, and babysitting Valor, she lost several hours of her day,” Zoelyn responded coolly. She stared back at him with deep grey eyes and an expression of sheer stubbornness.

“I think I hate you,” Neph grumbled as he turned his face fully toward the pillow and pulled his blanket back over him.

“Fine, have it your way,” Zoelyn snapped as she rose from her chair.

Neph listened as her footsteps crossed the room and relaxed more fully. He hadn’t expected it to be that easy to get rid of her. A faint smile formed on his lips as he heard the sound of the door opening. Jala never would have given up that easily. A loud slam shook the room and Neph’s head exploded with pain. Rolling over as quickly as he could, he lifted his head just enough to stare at the door as Zoelyn calmly opened it once more and slammed it again with as much force as she could muster. “What in the hell?” Neph snapped as she pulled the door open once more and glanced at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Shall I continue?” Zoelyn asked calmly, swinging the door lightly back and forth with one hand as she prepared for another slam.

“No, you bloody, crazy bitch,” Neph growled and winced as she slammed the door once more.

“Don’t call me a bitch,” Zoelyn warned as she opened the door once more and watched him. “I can do this all night; it barely takes any effort at all,” she informed him.

“I do hate you; I’m sure of it now,” Neph hissed as he sat up slowly in the bed. “You win. Let go of the damned door and I’ll make as many stones as you want. All you have to do is explain what the hell tasting magic means,” he wanted to strangle her so badly, but honestly didn’t think he had the strength for it quite yet. Maybe by the time he finished creating the stones she wanted he would be up to the task.

“Seth says each magic has a certain feel to it when absorbed. He says I need to be familiar with how it tastes. So I need mage stones of the different types of magics to practice sensing it. Fire, water, shadow, whatever you can manage. I need to learn it all,” Zoelyn explained in a matter of fact voice.

“Did you ever consider that maybe Seth is just regretting what he did by helping you and is looking for a way to keep you occupied so you don’t annoy the hell out of him? I’ve never heard of flavored magic before. It sounds ridiculous to me,” Neph grumbled.

“Just make the stones so I can leave you to wallow in the misery you created for yourself,” Zoelyn sighed with disgust.

“Fine, if it means you are leaving, I’m happy to do it,” Neph snapped back as he pulled on his magic and created the first stone. “May you choke during your tasting,” he added in a lower voice.

“I have never wanted to hug someone as much as I’d like to hug you right now,” Zoelyn said in an overly sweet voice.

Neph paused before creating the second stone long enough to make a rude gesture and smile coldly at her. Coming from anyone else the words were friendly enough, but a hug from Zoelyn would be fatal. Just the brush of her skin against plants caused them to wither and any contact with a living creature was instant death. Jala was still working with Zoelyn trying to teach her restraint with her powers, but so far they hadn’t seen any improvement.

“Jala says you never drink, and she has never seen you drunk before today,” Zoelyn began in a conversational voice as she sat back in her chair.

Neph glanced up at her as she adjusted the long leather coat beneath her. The outfit she wore now was a far cry from what she wore when she arrived in Merro. Before, she had looked like a tattered peasant. Now she looked as dangerous as she truly was. Seth had done well on equipping her, though Neph couldn’t begin to guess where he had gotten the gear made. According to Jala, the leathers Zoelyn wore now were lined with lead as her former ones had been, but from the look of the slender elbow length gloves and the snug fitting vest, Neph couldn’t tell how. Zoelyn looked up and her grey eyes narrowed as she noticed his scrutiny.

“So what made you decide to drain the bottles today?” she continued in a voice that seemed somewhat colder.

“Politics,” Neph replied shortly. It wasn’t really something he wanted to go into detail on. Let Valor or Jala explain the problems. He had no idea where to begin or what to keep secret.

“Pity you can’t gem the world like you did your people, eh?” Zoelyn said dryly.

“You know it’s rather obvious that we don’t like each other. So why not keep this a quieter affair? You can shut the hell up and I will make the stones and we can part ways,” Neph snapped as he dropped another of the mage stones onto his bed and gave her a withering glare.