How many of those teas had she consumed over the years? She tried to do the math in her head, but her brain was too frazzled to add two and two, never mind years and days and whatnot.
As a child, she’d laughed over those tea times while they sat at her little table in their pink dresses and tiaras. She’d layered bracelets and necklaces onto herself and Sahira, and they would sometimes do their makeup and hair.
She recalled all the times she’d prattled on about dragons and palaces and faraway realms, all while drinking that tea. And it had all beenlies.
The betrayal of it twisted deep in her gut and tore at her heart.
And then she realized something else. Turning, she walked back toward her father and stopped next to Cole.
“How often do I have to drink this potion?” she demanded of her dad.
“Every day, without fail. We tried doing it more rarely while you were still young, but your powers would slip through after a couple of days.”
“Things have been so crazy lately that I can’t remember the last time Sahira and I had tea together.”
“Then she must be giving the potion to you in some other way, but it has to be consumed daily. The potion can go in anything; we put it in your bottle when you were a baby and in your tea later. Whatever the potion is in would probably still be effective for its intended use.”
“No, there’s nothing else… except… oh,” she breathed as that sickness returned, and much to her horror, a blush crept up her neck toward her cheeks.
Chapter Thirty-Three
“How is she doing it?”Orin demanded.
“Lexi?” Cole inquired.
When she looked helplessly toward him and the blush started burning her cheeks, he stared at her before nodding. He had come to the same realization as her…
The potion was in the birth control Sahira made for her. No wonder her aunt was so adamant she take it.
“I see,” Cole said.
“What is it?” Orin demanded.
Lexi refused to answer him.
“So youaretaking something from her every day?” her father asked.
“Yes,” Lexi murmured.
“If you were to stop….” Her father’s voice trailed off.
“What would happen?” she asked.
“I’m not sure. Your powers have been bound for most of your life. Sahira has continuously had to increase the dosage to keep them that way. The arach wereextremelypowerful beings, and if you were to stop taking the potion, there’s no telling what might happen.”
Lexi really wanted to sit somewhere and think, but she was acutely aware of Orin’s attention on her, judging her. That treacherous, manipulative bastard would not find her lacking.
So instead, in her head, she tried to remember the last time she took her birth control. “It’s ah… it’s been two or three days since I last took it. Things were so crazy in the Gloaming with the rebellion that I completely forgot.” She glanced anxiously at Cole. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
Was her face on fire? It took everything she had not to press her hand against it as her cheeks burned. She glanced at her father and Orin, but she couldn’t bring herself to air their sex life in front of them.
“You havenoreason to apologize. Things were crazy, you were doing your best to keep me alive and safe, and you barely slept. You also have nothing to worry about,” Cole assured her.
She was aware he took birth control too, but she still should have paid better attention. The last thing they needed was a baby right now.
And now she also knew why Cole could take a monthly dose of birth control while hers was daily. She felt like such an idiot.
