Page 39 of Live Love Lasso

“I’ve never seen a more complicated potion.” I scan the ingredients and the incredibly specific directions then look up at Letitia. “Some of these ingredients are exceedingly difficult to come by. Do you have them on hand?”

She dips her head.

I glance at the sheet again, uneasy but determined. “And what’s the potion for? I don’t see any indication anywhere.”

She rises and leans over the desk. “Something we’re trying with the afflicted cattle. My hope is it will reveal whatever ails them and perhaps cure them. It’s a long shot, in my honest opinion, but if Glimmer can support our farming neighbors, we must.”

It’s the first thing she’s said that I agree with. I look around. “I presume you don’t want me to do this on the regular potion floor… some of these ingredients are pretty volatile. Is there somewhere you prefer I work?” I could almost scream with excitement at getting my hands on actual potion ingredients for the first time since I arrived here.

She rounds the desk and beckons me with one finger. “Follow me, Miss Denton.”

She leads me in total silence down the hall and into a second potions floor. It looks like it may have last been used centuries ago. Cobwebs cover nearly everything, although a stack of ingredients sits on a giant potion-making table in the center. Someone has already pulled them together.

Letitia rolls her sleeves up. “I will remain with you for a few minutes to ensure you have some idea what you’re doing. Assuming you do, I’ll leave you to it. This needs to boil overnight, but it shouldn’t take more than a few hours to prepare it.”

I nod and set the recipe down, smiling at her. “I’m going to reread this a time or two and then get started. Would you like to share anything else before I begin?” Confidence is key, and I’m hoping I can fake it till I make it with her.

She purses her lips and says nothing, which I take as my sign to get moving.

Rolling my shoulders, I read the recipe front and back twice. Confident I know what I need to do, I begin moving the ingredients around into process order. Chokecherries, black currant. Vitrium powder and purple turmeric from a haven in India. Two dozen other ingredients sit in neat piles by the time I’ve got everything situated the way I like.

One of the ingredients—chokecherries—is easy to mix up with blackened cherry branch, so I run a quick test on it to confirm it’s correct. Hunter’s flub with Serafina’s potion is top of my mind, and I can’t risk fucking it up with Letitia standing silently at the end of the table, watching with narrowed eyes.

Above us, Glimmer shifts the room’s lights to shine more on my table.

“Thank you,” I say softly, smiling up at the roof tiles.

Ignoring Letitia, I light a small fire under the potion table’s cauldron. Next, I empty acidified water into the cauldron then scrub the inside with a woven metal sponge until all the water’s gone. Now that the metal container’s clean, and the fire is crackling happily beneath it, I can begin.

I blow out a settling breath, but once I throw the first ingredient in, the work comes as naturally as breathing. I cook for an hour under her quiet watch. I’m on step three, watching the mixture burble just as expected when she clears her throat. I give the potion a final stir per step three before looking up at her.

“Well done, Miss Denton,” she says. “It’s clear you have some skill with potions. I trust you feel comfortable completing steps four through nine on your own? I’ll return at lunchtime to see how you’re coming along.”

I almost pump a fist at her half-ass compliment, but I keep the celebration to myself.

“See you in a few hours,” is the only other thing she says before turning to go.

I breathe a sigh of relief as she disappears into the hall. The potion pops and sputters, so I return my focus to it. I cannot afford to get sidetracked.

Losing myself in my work, I focus for hours until I’ve got all the steps completed. Banking a nice little fire beneath the cauldron, I watch for another half hour as the potion slowly sparks and turns a brilliant amethyst purple.

“Beautiful,” I murmur, proud of the work.

“You are.”

I squeak and spin in place at the unexpected voice.

Furyon stands in the doorway, both thumbs through his belt loops. He grins when I slump in relief. “Didn’t mean to scare you, city girl. I brought lunch, assuming you’d be able to get away for a few minutes.” Pale eyes drift to my bubbling potion. “Maybe you can’t, though. Can I bring something to you so you get a chance to eat?”

Letitia appears in the doorway behind him, sidling past him and into the cavernous room. “Ranger Zayle, welcome. The potion’s not quite done but well on its way, assuming everything went as planned.”

I nod in response to her comment, cautious now that she’s here again.

“I’m sure it’s perfect,” Furyon says. I could kiss him for the show of moral support.

Letitia joins me and glances into the cauldron with a smile. “Beautifully done, Lemon. That’ll be all for today. I’ll get this sent over to your office, Furyon. Something for the farmers to try.”

I’d blanch, but I don’t want to piss her off. Instead, I wave at the recipe. “It’s not quite finished.”