The Final Formula (31 page)

“Amelia,” Rowan said.

I squeezed my eyes shut and hot tears scalded my cheeks.

“The last ingredient of the Final Formula.”

I swallowed and took a breath. “The blood of an Element.” My voice broke and I finished in a whisper. “One drop.” I fisted my hands against the floor, but kept my head down.

Footsteps approached and those familiar loafers came into view. The flame embossed on the slim metal band winked in the light. The journal smacked the tile in front of me and I jumped.

“Counter what you did to her and I’ll spare you.” His voice held that deathly calm that always made me so uneasy. Having it used on me turned my insides to ash. I couldn’t look up, so I just nodded.

“Rowan, the blood,” James said.

A flicker of flame where James had lain, and a sudden searing across my palm. I gasped and clutched my hand to my chest.

I didn’t speak. I didn’t move. I sat there cradling my hand and listened to them leave the room.

I opened my hand and looked down at my unblemished palm. James’s blood was gone. A good precaution. Never leave a blood alchemist with a sample.

Epilogue

I
stopped and stared up at
the stately Victorian house before me. It seemed larger than I remembered, towering over the spot where I stood on the sidewalk. Even the cheerful cream and yellow paint seemed somber this morning—or perhaps it was the leafless trees and overcast sky. I kept expecting it to storm, but the angry gray clouds just swirled and darkened, reserving their gift for a more appropriate moment.

“Hey, lady.” The cabbie had rolled down his window to poke out his head. “You know you’re still on the meter, right?”

I gave myself a mental shake and the man a smile. At least, I hoped it was a smile. I suspected it was closer to a lunatic’s grin and by his concerned expression, I could see he did, too.

“This won’t take long,” I told him—and myself—and forced my feet to move.

I didn’t remember the sidewalk being so long or the porch steps so steep, but I eventually arrived at the front door and let myself in. I stopped two strides into the room and the door closed behind me with a click.

The sound echoed in the empty space, and I took in the unoccupied receptionist’s desk and the dimmed lighting. I didn’t know why it surprised me. I knew that the Elemental Offices weren’t open on Saturdays.

“You’re late,” a female voice said from behind me.

I turned with a gasp and watched a gray-robed figure rise from one of several leather chairs grouped around the waiting area. Cora. I knew her voice and the graceful way she moved, though I couldn’t see her face beneath the hood.

“Traffic,” I said.

She ignored the excuse and closed the distance between us. “You have it?”

In answer, I slipped a hand into my jacket pocket and pulled out a vial. The golden liquid caught the dim light and twinkled in my unsteady hand.

Cora studied it in silence for one long moment. She didn’t reach for the vial. Instead, she pushed the hood back off her head. She’d pulled her dark hair up in an elegant twist that the hood hadn’t disturbed.

“Try anything and I will kill you.” Her eyes shifted from navy to black-indigo.

I didn’t doubt she meant every word. Even so, I lifted my chin and met her eyes. “Fair enough.”

“Cora?” Donovan’s deep voice rumbled from the hall.

My heart clenched in my chest, but I didn’t turn toward him. I couldn’t bear to see the disapproval in his eyes.

“Ah, she’s here,” his voice grew closer, and I knew he’d stepped into the room. “Are you coming?”

“Come along, Amelia.” Cora stepped past me, leading the way to the hall and the offices beyond.

I followed, my eyes locked on her back. Donovan didn’t speak as I passed him, but he didn’t threaten me either. I couldn’t summon the courage to check his expression. Knowing my destination and whom I’d face next, it was an accomplishment not to vomit all over the polished stone tile.

I followed Cora toward those double doors, and Donovan fell in behind us. It’d been sixteen days since I’d seen their brother Element. Sixteen days since the Lord of Flames had granted me a stay of execution.

Cora opened both doors wide and led me inside. Donovan closed them behind us, the snick of the latch audible in the silence.

“Addie!” Era’s shrill voice echoed around the room.

I closed my eyes.

“Where have you been?” She caught me in one of her crushing embraces, momentarily lifting me from my feet. “It’s been months!”

Guilt twisted through me at her inability to grasp something as basic as the passage of time. I looked up, meeting her smiling eyes. I’d done this. I’d caused the damage to this incredible girl.

As if reading my thoughts, a frown gradually replaced her grin. “You don’t look so good.”

Okay. Maybe it wasn’t my thoughts she read.

“Have you been sick? You’re all pale and skinny.”

“Give her a little room, honey,” Donovan said. He stopped a few feet away and beckoned her to him. Like Cora, both he and Era wore their gray robes, though neither had pulled up their hoods.

Era gave us each a frown, clearly not understanding, but did as Donovan asked.

A chair scraped near the oblong table that took up half the room. I didn’t look over, focusing instead on the floor a few feet ahead of me. Gray robes trimmed in black triangles moved into my line of sight, stopping in that very piece of carpet I’d been so diligently studying.

No one spoke.

I steeled my courage and raised my eyes to Rowan’s expressionless face. He looked tired, and I wondered if he’d had another adverse reaction to his gift. Worry washed away my other concerns.

“Rowan—”

“The antidote,” he said, cutting me off. But it was his cold gray eyes that silenced me.

I unfisted my hand and held up the vial of golden liquid.

A glimpse of movement to my right, then someone plucked the vial from my fingers. I jumped and took a step in the opposite direction before I realized it was James.

“What is it?” Rowan asked, his attention shifting from me to James.

“Antidotes are typically in shades of blue or green.” James eyed the vial.

“It’s not an antidote,” I said.

James lowered the vial and every eye in the room focused on me.

“Clarify,” Rowan said.

“I don’t know what formula Neil used. The journal didn’t say.” I suspected the potion contained properties much like Emil’s Identity Crisis. Something to confuse the target and make her unable to use her magic. Neil had either given her too much or not bothered to make the effect temporary. “I can’t counter what I don’t know.”

“Then…”

I took a breath. “That’s the Final Formula.”

James’s eyes widened, and he closed his hand around the vial.

“But she’s already immortal,” Rowan said.

“The Final Formula has regenerative properties. Powerful properties. It resets the body to its peak.”

“I know.” Rowan studied me.

I tried not to squirm under the scrutiny. “She’s twenty-three. Outwardly it won’t change her, but it will repair her mind.”

“Then why didn’t it fix you?” Cora demanded, joining us.

“Emil got me after I took it.”

Her blue eyes narrowed. “Then you could fix yourself. Regain your memories.”

“Yes.”

“Have you?”

“No.”

She frowned. “Why not?”

I shifted my attention to Rowan. “It will work.” I just managed to stop myself from adding
trust me
.

“I thought you needed the blood of an Element,” he said.

“I do.” I didn’t look away. “The formula isn’t complete.”

He considered this a moment then turned to James. Rowan’s brow rose a little, questioning. The trust between the pair surprised me. But then, they were no longer competing for the same woman. Neither of them wanted anything to do with me.

James offered Rowan the vial.

“Use mine.” Donovan stepped forward.

“I’ve got it.” Rowan turned toward the table, but Donovan gripped his shoulder.

“I need to do this.” Donovan’s low voice just reached me.

Rowan frowned, but didn’t comment. Clearly a story existed behind the exchange. Did Donovan feel responsible for what happened to Era, or something else?

The two men moved to the table, shielding Era from what they did. I watched their backs, keenly aware that James still stood beside me.

“One drop,” Rowan said.

I didn’t see what Donovan used to prick his finger, but a moment later, Rowan capped and shook the vial.

“Era.”

She bounded across the room to his side. “What is it, Roe?”

He removed the cap from the vial. “Drink this, honey.”

She looked at the vial he offered her. “Why?”

James stepped up beside her. “Addie made it for you, Er. It’ll help you remember things.”

“Like where I left my camera?”

“Yes. Exactly.”

She gave him a grin and plucked the vial from Rowan’s fingers. “Cool.” She drained it without further comment.

“It might be—” I didn’t get to finish.

Era cried out, her hands pressed to her temples. Rowan stepped forward and caught her before she dropped to the floor.

“I knew it!” Cora grabbed me by the front of my jacket. She shoved me back, slamming me into one of the straight-backed chairs encircling the table.

I grunted on impact and tried to grab her wrists, but discovered I couldn’t move.

“What did you do to her?” Cora demanded.

I tried to speak, but my body didn’t respond. She’d done something to the liquids inside me.

“Cora, let her go,” Donovan said. “She can’t tell us what’s wrong if she can’t speak.”

Suddenly, I could breathe again. I gripped the chair behind me and drew in a deep breath. Era whimpered in Rowan’s arms.

“Speak,” Cora demanded.

“The regenerative process is uncomfortable,” I said. “But it doesn’t last long.”

“How would you know?” she asked. “Emil took your memories after you took the Final Formula.”

She didn’t miss much, I had to give her that. I’d done an experiment with the Formula before giving it to Era, but I didn’t want to elaborate on that.

“Rowan?” Era’s voice drew our attention back to her. She straightened, stepping out of his arms, and rubbed her temples. “Damn. That must have been some party.”

A light breeze kicked up around the room, lifting my hair and ruffling some loose papers on the table.

“Easy.” Rowan gripped her shoulders, his brow wrinkled in concern, though a hint of a smile teased the corner of his mouth.

“What happened?” Era raised her head and frowned at him. “I remember…” Her voice trailed off.

“What do you remember?” James asked.

I cringed at the question. Please don’t make her go there. Not with me in the room.

Era stared at James. “I remember you,” she told him. “James, the grim.” Her cheeks pinkened and she pressed her palms to them. “Oh my God. I’ve been flirting with a dead man.” Her laugh sounded forced.

My guilt took a back seat to the urge to smack her upside the head. But she seemed to notice that her words were unkind—or maybe it was James’s strained smile.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said. “That was rude as hell.”

James shrugged. “I am dead.”

“But hot.”

He smiled. “I’m part hellhound.”

Era snorted and the pair exchanged a grin. It appeared their friendship would survive.

“Era?” Cora stepped up beside her and then pulled her into an embrace. “You are back,” she said against Era’s spiky blonde hair.

“I was gone?” Era looked up at Donovan who had moved over beside them. “Where did I go?”

Donovan just smiled and touched her cheek. He blinked several times, but didn’t answer.

“You were abducted,” Rowan said. “Your mind was damaged during your confinement.”

I glanced at him, surprised by the answer. He hadn’t lied, but I had expected some finger pointing.

Era pulled away from Cora and slowly turned to face me. “Addie.”

I froze. Now she would remember me, and my role in her abduction. She started toward me, but I stood still. I wouldn’t run. I’d face whatever she did to me. I certainly deserved it—and more.

“Oh my God,” she whispered and abruptly pulled me into another rib-crushing embrace. “You saved me!”

“Huh?”

She’d caught my arms in the hug so I couldn’t return the gesture even if I wanted to.

“That sparkly potion.” A final squeeze and she released me. “Everything was so…hazy before. Now I can think.”

I released a breath, hoping she wouldn’t notice the way it shook. “That’s good.”

“And you feel okay?” Cora asked her.

Era laughed, turning to face her. “Right as rain. Even the headache is gone now.”

“And your element?” Rowan asked. “You’d regressed.”

A wind kicked up, whipping around the room and catching the neatly stacked papers on the table, whirling them into a small tornado.

“Era,” Rowan complained.

She laughed and gave me a wink. Her amber eyes had taken on a metallic sheen.

“Everything seems to be working, Roe.”

He shook his head and pulled her into a hug. His eyes caught mine, but I couldn’t read his expression. A moment later, Cora and Donovan joined the embrace.

Feeling like an intruder, I thought it a good time to leave. I’d done what I’d come to do, and aside from Era, none of them wanted me here. I crossed to the door and when no one seemed to notice, slipped out into the hall.

I shoved my fists into my jacket pockets and willed them to stop shaking. Once again, my potion was a success. I should be celebrating, but all I wanted to do was cry.

The shadowed foyer hadn’t changed, and I could still see the cab waiting at the curb. It didn’t seem too much time had passed.

“Addie?” James’s voice stopped me with my hand on the door.

I turned to face him. His silent tread had carried him halfway across the room, but he stopped when I turned. Silence stretched.

“I need to go,” I finally said. “I have a cab waiting.” I hooked a thumb toward the front door and the car beyond the glass.

“You said the Final Formula regenerates the body. Resets it.”

I swallowed, painfully aware of the hope burning in his eyes. “You’re already in your prime and immortal.” But that wasn’t what he was asking. “It doesn’t restore life,” I added, my voice softening.

“James?” Rowan stood in the doorway.

My heart lodged in my throat, and I tried to swallow it back down. “I’m sorry,” I whispered to James. “About everything.”

I didn’t wait for a response, but turned and hurried toward the door. My fingers closed over the cold knob.

“Wait.” To my surprise, it wasn’t James, but Rowan who spoke.

I slowly turned to face him, hopeful, yet fearful at the same time.

Rowan walked to the receptionist’s desk and laid a manila folder on the surface. “I need your signature.” He sifted through the pages, but didn’t look up.

Disappointed yet curious, I moved over to the desk. The overhead lights were off, but the multitude of windows let in enough light that I could make out the official-looking forms he thumbed through. I stepped closer and read
Amelia Daulton
at the top of the first page.

“What do you need me to sign?”