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He nodded, placing his hands in his pockets. “Of course. I’ll coin travel you.”

“It’s fine. I’ll walk. It’s not that far.”

While she awkwardly fumbled with her blouse, he stood there shirtless, just smirking at her. She kept avoiding eye contact because she was worried he might see the lie in her eyes. See that all she really wanted was to stay with him.

—

When she returned to Ivercrest, she sent Rylan a scroll.

There is another side effect of your potion. Meet me at the Circular Hall.

—Mira

The researcher appeared seconds later.

“Are you all right?” he asked in a panic, scanning her body. She suddenly realized she should have checked if she looked halfway presentable or if her appearance gave away exactly what she and Dawson had been doing.

“Yes, I am. Coin travel doesn’t work right, though.”

“Oh?” He took a notebook out of his jacket. “Walk me through everything.”

Researchers were meticulous like that.

“I tried to coin travel to my room and landed…somewhere else.”

“Where?”

Thankfully, the potion had worn off. “Doesn’t matter. Not here.”

He paused and looked at her. “Well, actually it matters quite a bit. Depending on where it took you, I can adjust the potion accordingly.”

“Or just tell people not to coin travel with it.”

“I’m working on a potion that can help people in dire situations protect themselves. If I tell them they can’t coin travel, it makes the defensiveness of the potion a lot less valuable. Where did it take you?”

She sighed. “To Dawson’s estate.”

He started to open his mouth and then pressed his lips together. Slowly, he closed his notebook and placed it back into his pocket as if her answer was no longer important to him.

“What?” she asked, frustrated.

“Coin travel is based on intention.”

“I didn’t intend to go to Dawson’s while under the influence of truth elixir, I’ll tell you that right now.”

He was fighting not to laugh. She failed to see what was so funny.

“Intent is normally you telling your brain where you want to go. In your case, you say home and your brain knows that home is currently your room at Ivercrest. While under truth elixir, however, it changes to where your subconscious truly believes home to be.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “If you’re suggesting that my subconscious thinks Dawson’s estate is my home, I’ll curse you.”

“Not the estate. Dawson himself.”

She felt as if someone had shot her. The implication of that statement rushed through her. It simply couldn’t be.

“Home is a concept, yes?” he continued, and she wished he wouldn’t, feeling increasingly lightheaded. “To some, it’s a place; to others, it’s a person.”

“Or perhaps you’re just wrong. I’ve read about truth elixir, and it doesn’t mention anything like this anywhere.”