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“You mean I can be messy because he’s so… Not.” Madi peers over at Lyell. “He’s the bubbly one, right? It’s not me.”
Lyell coughs to cover his chuckle and turns to Pyris. “How much have they had to drink?”
“Only two.” Imryll jumps forward to catch Ada as she nearly tips out of the chair. “What are you doing?”
“Taking my sandals off,” she sings, kicking her feet like she’s swimming. “They’re like bondage fashion. Do you know what bondage is? I’m sure you do. But is it the same thing here?”
Imryll covers his face as he laughs at Ada. He doesn’t offer her an answer, but she doesn’t wait for him either. She and Madi start mumbling to themselves as they sip their drinks.
“What did you put in it?” I inquire, giving Pyris a curious glance. “I’ve never been that drunk off two drinks.”
“They haven’t drank spirits since they got here. I asked them before we began this experiment,” he tells me. “It’s mixed with crab berry and star flowers among a few other things. Madi and Ada helped speed the fermentation process along.”
“Why?” Lyell drawls, as if he can’t understand the reasoning.
Pyris throws his hands in the air. “Ask them. I’m merely spectating.”
“Was that Ada’s idea or Madi’s?” I grin and shake my head. “Never mind. The star flowers are Ada’s newest obsession.”
“Hit me,” Ada demands, holding her glass out to Pyris.
“I’d rather not,” he retorts.
Madigan bursts with laughter. “Oh my god.”
“I didn’t mean for you to really hit me.” Ada squints at the Shade doctor. “I meant pour me another drink, please.”
Pyris takes her glass, brows knitting in confusion. “Why didn’t you just say that?”
“I thought I did,” she mutters.
“What does it taste like?” the Shade doctor asks, passing Ada’s glass back to her. “You’ve yet to answer any of my questions. Both of you.”
Ada swirls the drink, and then sniffs it, which causes her equally drunk friend to giggle again. “This tastes like sangria.”
“I’d rather have a margarita.” Madigan sighs wistfully. “A watermelon margarita. Or raspberry. Or maybe just tequila.”
“Of course you would,” Ada snarks. “I’m not surprised that it’s still your favorite.”
“Sangria is like…” The new Shade queen stares at the wall for a moment. “Fancy hunch punch.”
Lyell rubs his temples, cheeks twitching as he tries to fight his smile. “I thought you were going to taste test and help us with the maps.”
Madi props her elbow on the table and smirks. “You look like you have it all under control.”
Ada nods. “All you have to do is lay the clean map on the old one and trace the marks I’ve made. I even put a legend on the side so it’s easier to differentiate the marks.”
“He just made a bunch of dots.” I pump Lyell’s elbow. “You might need to fix his work.”
“You did not,” Ada says with a gasp. “It took me weeks to sort out all that information.”
“Seeing as how I’m not in charge…” Lyell trails off, acting as if he’s using the charcoal to make another circle. “I just transferred everything over the easy way.”
Madi pats Ada’s arm. “He’s fucking with you.”
“Who’s messing with her?” Ecaeris asks, walking into the dining area. He doesn’t get further than the threshold before he stops to survey the scene. “I have so many questions.”
“Yeah. Me too,” Ada snarks. “Is he fucking up my maps?”
