The Magician's Witch

The Frog and the Scorpion

Eilis sat up with a jolt the following morning, gasping on horror.

"The vial."

She had been so focused on leaving the Shah's room that she had completely forgotten the empty vial that had rolled under the sideboard.

Eilis grappled with the sheets, trying to untangle herself. She waved her hand towards the door and the deterrent spell vanished.

Erik reached for her hand, halting her frenzy.

"What is wrong?" He sounded groggy. They had only fallen asleep a few hours ago.

"The vial with that held the tincture," Eilis explained, her words coming out in a rush. "It fell out of its...hiding place and rolled under the sideboard in his room. I have to go get it."

Erik was immediately alert. He sat up too.

"You left it there?"

"Not on purpose." She felt sheepish. "I got distracted by his freak-out, and then Behzad dismissed me, and I couldn't just stoop down and grab it while he was watching me. Even magicking it to me would have been too obvious."

"Merde."

Erik threw the covers off, coming around the bed to collect his discarded clothes.

"What are you doing," Eilis demanded.

"I am getting dressed," Erik informed her in an obvious tone.

"Yes, I can see that," she returned in a matching attitude. "Erik, I'm the one who left it there. I should be the one—."

"No," he snapped. "You are not to be within a hundred feet of him without me."

Eilis scoffed. "I can take care of myself, you know. I can disguise myself as a cat and sneak into his room," she suggested. "He'll never know."

"I am not taking any risks, Eilis," Erik stated, shoving his arms through the sleeves of a fresh shirt. His trousers hung from his hips. "If you are caught sneaking into his room to find that vial, if he believes you to be responsible for his lapse in sanity last night, he may have you executed."

"Or he would just think that I came back to finish what we started."

Erik's face grew homicidal at her proposal. Eilis shrank away from his gaze, realizing that she had crossed a line.

"You. Are not. To go. Near him. Do I make myself clear?"

Eilis gritted her teeth, staring at him warily.

Erik's face softened, his temper cooling.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. But the Shah is far more dangerous than you give him credit for. Please trust me with this. I know what he is capable of. And I would rather place myself at risk than have you ensnared by him and...God knows what."

Eilis heard dread behind his vehement words; he wanted to keep her safe and out of the Shah's hands. She nodded.

"Ok."

Erik relaxed at her acquiescence. He came up to her, cupping her face in his hands.

"If anything happened to you...Eilis...I would burn Tehran to the ground. I would tear this palace down brick by brick."

His words made her eyes prick. She wrapped her fingers around his wrists.

"Erik, please be careful. If he catches you, it could be just as bad for you."

He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "The only person in the world who would miss me is you."

"Then you had better return to me in one piece," she warned him.