Violette was left standing on the same spot. She gasped.
The cure is working.
And it's working better than she even expected. She couldn't remember the time her father looked that fresh and active. He still was weakened and his hands were proof of it but it was already something. The stranger. Dante. Did not lie.Fascinating.
Chapter 3
DEAL
Tick. Tock.
The golden arrow pointed to nine o'clock in the evening.
Tick. Tock.
Again it sounded like it was in Violette's mind, loud and warning. Her eyes darted to the clock when the door lock click reached her ear. She didn't turn her head until she heard the low voice a few feet away.
“And how is your father?”
Dante.He kept his promise and came just in time.
Her gaze shifted to his face. The sound of his boots echoed throughout the room. His eyes brightened with a hue, the color of which she didn't have time to detect as it disappeared.
“He's fine,” she said calmly, trying to look indifferent. “What did you give me? Some of the ingredients in the scroll are coded.”
“I can't lay all my cards on the table. But I will give you the rest if we make a deal.”
“A deal with a stranger is not a good idea. And not smart indeed,” she stated incredulously.
“Unfortunately, you don't have much of a choice. Time is running from you faster than you can imagine.” He leaned towards the counter. “So, what do you say, Purple?”
She frowned. “I'm Violette.”
“Same color.”
“Violette, as a flower.” Her fingers pressed against the counter surface.
“Okay, Hibiscus.” Again his words were spoken with complete indifference, even disrespect. His eyes not leaving hers as he finally let out an important fatal question, “Deal?”
His voice was velvet and sweet like a deceiving dream, every word an alluring invitation to something that promises to be a pure fairytale instead of the impending calamity it actually was; everything he could say she would believe without a second thought. He talked not like a stranger but like a longtime friend. But that was what was making it even more suspicious.
She looked away.
It's a bad idea, right?
The idea of sealing a deal with a stranger was indeed incredibly bad and even stupid but she felt this unexplainable feeling it might be for the best. She didn't know how it could be possible or if she even could trust him at all but… something was whispering to her that he was telling the truth.
It's definitely a bad idea,her inner voice kept warning her and she knew she should listen to it. But also all she was hearing was a ticking sound in her head. Louder each time.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
Time was slipping away like sand through her fingers, and she simply didn't have a vessel to put it in for later. The sound of the clock was ricocheting through her mind with every second, reminding her of this. She doesn't have any options, no time to find one. Maybe it's her only way to save her dear father. Even ifit was an incredibly bad idea.
She raised her eyes to him.
“Deal,” came out from her mouth with surprising confidence.
“Great, I knew you'd make the right decision.”
