I nod.
“Yeah…Well, I haven’t actually been using it to create new drinks.”
“Fabia!”
“What?It’s for research for my books.I have to get the smellsof my poisonright.”She cocks her head to the side as she makes a little noise in her throat.“And the taste and the symptoms.”
“Fabia!”My jaw hitsthe floor.She’sgoing to be the death of me.
“What?I only eat a little.And look at me;I’mnot dead.It’s fine.”
Ishakemy head at her.Aren’tI supposed to be the dumb one that needslooking after?
The heck that’strue now!
“When you came down with a bug on my birthday –” Isaysternly.
“Yeah… that was antrix.”
I haveno idea what thatis, but it soundsbad.I place my hands on my hips.
She rollsher eyes.“Hey, you had wasps.You don’t get to get on to me about my dangerous hobbies.And it’s way less dangerous than yours.”
“You’re eating poison!On purpose.”
“And you lived with murderous wasps.”
“No, because Hyatt was the only one that murdered someone, and he left right after.”
She raisesa brow as she crossesher arms.“You really want to argue technicalities?Because the wasps were not the first dangerous stunt you pulled.”
I open my mouth, then close it again.To be fair, she hasme there.
“So when are we doing this?”she asks.The way shesaysit so flippantly, so assuredlymakesmy blood run cold.
When itwas justme attemptingthis, Iknewdeep down, that it wouldn’t really work; I’dmess it up somehow, and he would live.But it gave me the pretence of having at leastsome standardsabout who I slept with.ThatwayI could tell myselfI wasn’t really having sex with my executioner; I was seducing my executioner to kill him, and that sounded infinitely better.Classier.Way less slutty.
And I really like him.I really, really like him.
“I think we should do it tonight,” Fabiasays, cutting into my internal ramblings.
My chin jerksup as I stare at her.“Tonight?”
Tonightistoo soon.
I need to think.I need tofigure out a way to stop–
“Yes, tonight.”She nodsfirmly.“When everyoneis downhere and slightly buzzed rather than guarding his room.I’ll slip in there now to help you hide his body later.”
“But what about making the poison?”I ask desperately.
She wavesa hand.“Oh, I already have loads to choose from.”
“But… I haven’t baked him a cake yet.”
“So grab one from here.Trust me, if he’s already putting toys inside you, he’s not going to care if the cake you bringhimis one you made or not.He’s just going to want to eat it off you.”
Grabbing my hands, shegivesthem both a squeeze.“It’ll be okay,” shesays.“I’ve already thought of a way to make it look like an accident.Once he’s dead, we’ll pour a bottle of ambrosia down his throat, then throw him out the window.They’ll think he fell, too drunk to fly.It’ll be fine.”
