𝐒𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 | 𝟏𝟖+

☽♡ 11 ♡☾

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕰𝖑𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖓

❝Nestled in the bubble of their embrace, the outside world fades away, as if protection were a charming forcefield guarding against the unknown beyond.❞

Saphyrine woke up on her lab sofa feeling a wave of bewilderment pass over her. She just noticed that Rowan's blazer was covering her. Her body flinched as she raised herself on her elbows, but the little nap had one benefit - her eyes stayed open and her eyelids weren't feeling heavy anymore.

"What time is it?" she said, disturbing the stillness in the space. It was still afternoon, and sunlight flooded through the tall window and it wasn't even golden in a sunset.

Good.

She blinked and winced. Inside her lab, Rowan was fully engrossed, tossing ingredients into cauldrons with a rhythm of practiced efficiency. His shirt bore a few undone buttons, his hair in a state of disarray, much like the chaotic arrangement of ingredients on the potion table. An open tome rested in front of him — most likely a manual.

"It was just twenty minutes, don't worry. Rest more, Sapphire," he reassured her with a softness that contrasted his swift movements.

"Rou, do you need help?" she asked while stifling a yawn.

Rowan gestured for her to remain on the sofa. "No, no, no. I got this. I remember. I'm brewing more healing potions. I ran out already."

"You ran out?" she echoed, looking bewildered. "I've given you strong supplies, like for a whole store."

A long sigh escaped his lips. "I have big usage and it's been already an hour I didn't take one..."

Saphyrine tilted her head, giving him a stare. He should have informed her earlier — she wouldn't mind helping him. "Rou..."

"I will not die, don't worry. I will have my magic." He saw her puzzled glance and gestured to the tome on the potion table — it was the vampiric book from Adryn she had been given. "The reason mage can die at third day is the lack of magic in their system. It's very rare but without magic the body can reject the vampirism. And I will be magical soon again." He patted the cauldron containing his personal concoction in work.

Saphyrine was processing his words and then asked, "What if you drink a magical enhancer?"

Rowan exhaled with frustration, "I've already tried that — no effect. I can't teleport, and I'm a little hesitant to use any spells-"

"You're scared that you'll run out entirely and someone will notice," she stated with a long glance to his eyes. His brown hue sparkled.

It would be suspicious that from all the people Rowan would be the one without magic — best friend of Silvermoon's son and couldn't afford elixir that replenish magic? Someone might realize that it doesn't work on him and that he is in fact bitten by a vampire — most mages knew something about vampire transformation, except for Saphyrine a few days ago. Because she had cared only about deleting vampires, not creating.

Adryn would know — not that it would be possible to sense it while under the effect of ScentLure elixir, but he was far from foolish. Adryn would be outraged, because he absolutely adored having a complete control of everything as much as Rowan's skillful spell casting. The solution would be to inform him about how to break supernatural laws to make a hybrid, but that was exactly what Adryn desired. She didn't trust him after all the lies he had spoken while gleefully enjoying her 'nonfunctional' potion inventions. He would abuse the discovery same as he had been abusing people around him.