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“I can see that. You definitely have a type, V,” she says, smirking. “Some wine, like always?” I give her a nod and she leaves.
“So, Vivienne, what truth do you want to tell me?” Junie asks, frustration clear in her tone. I hate the sound of my alias on her tongue.
“Don’t you call me that,” I grimace. Junie stares at me wide-eyed.
“But that’s what the barmaid called you,” she stammers.
“That’s not my name,” I say, watching as her eyebrows pinch in confusion. “I’m a girl with no name trying to get it back. That’s why you’re here, princess.”
“I don’t know you. How am I supposed to help you with that?” she says with a huff. I take a moment, debating on where to start. Thankfully, Ruth returns with our wine, and I take a few long pulls, delaying further.
When I put down the mug, Junie is studying me. Her eyes fixate on my hair as her brows pinch tight together. I want to reach out and tell her everything, but I know that will only cause her to run away.
“I think we can help each other. But first we need to ensure there are no lies between us,” I say, pulling the vial out of my pocket and setting it on the table. The black liquid swirls in similar agitated spirals as my shadows.
Junie scrunches her nose, as if catching a whiff of something unpleasant from the vial. “What is that?”
“It’s a truth elixir. To move forward, we must unravel the lies. This is how we do that,” I say, opening the vial. “The only side effect is a mild headache which should pass quickly.” I place a few drops of the thick, black liquid on the tip of my finger. It’s oddly warm against my skin.
I show Junie the dots before sticking out my tongue and wiping my finger across it. I shudder as the rough metallic tone of the elixir bites at my taste buds. Picking up my mug of wine, I down the rest of it to get rid of the feel in my mouth.
Sliding the vial over to Junie, I wait anxiously to see if she’s going to go through with it or if her courage has run dry. She closes her eyes, taking a deep breath. “For Theo,” she whispers to herself.
I can barely breathe as she matches my movement and smears the black liquid on her tongue. The taste gets her too, and she drinks her wine, trying to douse it.
She sets her mug down and wipes her hands on her thighs under the table. I stare at her, frozen by my nerves and her bravery. She doesn’t know who I am, yet she’s willing to take a chance to get answers about her friend.
Gods, I hope this works.
Junie puts her elbows on the table, rubbing at her head. She winces in pain as the elixir clears the veil placed over her memories. I touch her arm and she jerks away, offended by my attempt to comfort her. I try not to let it sting, but it does. As far as she knows, we’re strangers. Not long-lost best friends.
“How are you doing this?” She stares at me with a pained expression.
“Doing what, Junie?” I ask as her nostrils flare.
“Who told you about her?” she hisses at me. I narrow my eyes at her, trying to figure out what she’s talking about.
Loma missed something. This isn’t working.
Junie breathes raggedly as her face reddens with anger.
“Juju,” I say hesitantly.
“Who told you about her?” she yells, slamming her hands on the table as she stands. I’ve never seen Junie this mad before, and my heart breaks because I did this to her. But icy rage freezes that emotion.They did this to us.
Looking around the tavern, several people have stopped their conversations to gawk at the princess having an outburst. “I’d suggest you sit down, Juniper. Unless you want this little chat to get back to your father because you’re making a scene, and people around here like to talk.”
Her gaze rises to see villagers staring, and she reluctantly sits. Her jaw flexes as she clenches her teeth.
“What hallucination elixir did you give me?” she asks. Her anger is palpable, and faint sparks of lightning dance along her fingertips. My shadows coil in response but want to soothe instead of harm.
“I gave you a truth elixir, Juniper. All the lies you’ve been told for the last decade are now gone. Your father stole your memories, and I gave them back so you could finally see me,” I say, locking eyes with her as she glares right back.
“It’s really me, Junie. It’s Lily. I didn’t die,” I whisper, trying to break through her anger.
“You’re a vile mortal. Lily’s dead. There’s no amount of elixir that’s going to convince me you are her. You can wear her face, but you’re not her,” she says, pushing away from the table to stand. I need her to stay, but how?
“Do you remember the night before I died? We were in your quarters, and you asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I gave you the usual answer of wanting to spend time with my two best friends.” I smile up at her as the memories spread warmth through me. It feels like a different life, that version of me. And in so many ways, it is.
