Queen of Ruin(Book three of the Immortals Series)
CHAPTER FIFTEEN THE LEATHER BOUND JOURNAL

"Please, come in." Standing aside with his hand pressed against the heavy iron door, Rafik tilted his head inside. The soft scent of strawberries followed behind Tessa and made him miss the days spent on his grandfather's farm. "Thank you." She clasped her hands behind her back and glanced around the long vast basement lined in shelves full of glass bottles and books and scrolls. "I'm sorry I'm late."

Working her way slowly around the room as she examined the vials and papers, she inhaled through her nose, and a smile rose on her lips. The scent of old books would always take her back to the days of sitting on her father's lap in his study while he read stories to her before bed.

"You're not late. I am at your service." While she inspected her new surroundings, he stood by the door with his arms crossed as his eyes traveled all over her. The curly hairs that fell from her loose bun framed her long slender neck, and he grinned to himself as he recalled placing soft kisses there that night on the balcony.

Feeling his eyes on her back, she curled her lips under and glanced over her shoulder. "It smells like my father's den in here. At least I think it does. I haven't been home in a long time."

He sighed as he tried to breathe away the burning in his chest. Not even a Minister of the witching world could resist her magic. He ached to be near her, and even though he stood in the same room with her for the first time in a decade, it wasn't close enough. "Is that a pleasant memory?"

Her eyes moved to the cobweb-filled corners, and she nodded.

She always wondered what it would be like to live in a fairytale, but she imagined herself to be a princess and not a wicked witch toiling with potions in a basement. Tessa thought if Haldir saw her now, he would have a smart-ass comment to make about the irony. "Very much. One of my favorites."

His eyes traced every curve of her body in her long black dress as she continued her stroll. Her recently sunbathed skin poked through the intricate appliqued sleeves, and the long slit up her leg showed glimpses of her firm, toned muscles when she moved.

The chill of the damp morning air caught up with her making Tessa cross her arms and rub them in her hands. "Is it always so cold down here? I hate the cold."

Not wanting to pass up the opportunity to have her in something that belonged to him, Rafik took his cloak from the hook on the wall and offered it to her. "Please, take it."

He wrapped the warm wool covering around her shoulders and took the liberty of sliding his fingertips across her collarbone, sending goosebumps across her body. "My apologies for the cold; I must keep it so." He brought his face over her shoulder beside her cheek and lifted his chin to the shelves. "Many of these are unstable, and I must keep them cool at all times."

As his breath crossed her cheek, she tilted away as if to invite his lips to sample her skin again. Catching herself giving in to the chemistry between them, she pulled the cloak around her and stepped away. "I understand. I'll remember to bring a sweater tomorrow."

The tingle in his fingers still pulsing with her essence, he held out his hand towards the work table. "Shall we begin?"

In dreams over the last ten years, the mystical sound of Rafik's accent still rang through Tessa's ears as he spoke all those words to her again and again. She remembered every single syllable that rolled off his tongue that night, but those faded remembrances were no substitution for the tangible music of his speech today. Every word that came from his mouth was beautiful, even the ones that hurt.

He closed his eyes as her scent bathed him while he walked through her path. "We will begin with something simple."

Gasping as her hot hand met his arm, he hoped for something lovely to fall from her lips as her eyes darted back and forth between his before they fell to his mouth. "No. We will start with the potion your father used to murder my family." His eyes fell to the floor when he lowered his head, and his hand found the ache in his heart. "As you wish."

Reaching across the table, Rafik put his hand on an old leather-bound journal and slid it to her. He brushed his shoulder against her as he came closer and flipped through the pages. When he found the right recipe, he tapped on the worn, yellowed paper. "This one."

Leaning over the book, she shook her head and chuckled. "That's beautiful and all, but I can't read Arabic."

"Of course, you can. Just say..." His hot breath sent a shiver down her spine when he leaned in to whisper in Tessa's ear. "Is féidir liom a fheiceáil."

Swallowing down the ache that rose from the palms of her hands to reach out for him, she took a deep breath through her nose. "Is féidir liom a fheiceáil."

The foreign words' attractive brush strokes transformed to English, and she slapped her fingertips to her mouth and grinned. "Well, isn't that clever?" Without looking at him, Tessa put her hand on his shoulder. "You certainly are a tricky witch, aren't you?"

Gazing at her cute button nose and thick dark lashes that wove together like a blanket when she blinked, Rafik smiled at her childish way of speaking sometimes. "I'll teach them all to you, Rohi. All the things I know, every secret, they are my gift to you."

When she turned to face him and caught a glimpse of the mark on his lip and the fading bruise beneath his beard, her hand left his shoulder and met her chest. She was more than a little famous for her thoughtless temper, and she shook her head at the proof of it on his face. "I'm sorry I hit you."

Even though her strike hurt like hell, he grinned as his fingertips slid down the curve of his jaw. "It is nothing. Don't think of it again because I will not."

"Thank you for that." She glanced back to the book as her fingertips slid over the page. "These are your family's secret formulas, aren't they?"

Rafik licked his lips and nodded. "Yes, they were. Now they are yours."

Not once in all the years they were apart did Tessa ever feel guilt for what might have happened to him, not until now. "Delia told me about your family, Rafik. I'm really sorry."

He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to Tessa's shoulder as she turned her face towards him. Rafik was nearly a man by the time he came to England to live, but still a boy in many ways. He'd been without the comfort of an actual family all these years and having her close by made him want to throw his arms around her and never let go. "No, you're not. You don't need to pretend with me."

As his soft curls grazed her face while she leaned into him, she agreed but spoke softly because not every word was meant to be cruel. "You're right, I'm not sorry about what happened to them, but I am sorry it left you all alone. At least I had my brother and Haldir. I can't imagine what it must have been like for you; I'm sorry for that. I wish you could have come with us."

He lifted his head, and his nose brushed against her cheek. "I could not protect people who so easily killed the love of my life. I regret nothing." He shook his head as Tessa bit her lip and blinked away the tears of regret for things she had no control of. "Nothing."

Fanning her face as she tried to bring herself back from the spell Rafik had her under, she sighed and nodded towards the book. "So! What comes first?"

He took her hand in his and stepped backward as he led her to the shelves. "First, we gather."

Looking over the endless supply of rare and exotic provisions in front of them, he named off herbs and roots from memory as she took the small bottles from their homes and placed them in a basket.

When she brought them back with her to the table, she lined them all up in front of her as he explained each one's pharmacology. Thinking back to what Teddy told her about the night she was poisoned, Tessa glanced at Rafik. "You're immune to all of these, aren't you?"

Scanning the room with his narrowed eyes, he took stock of his supplies in his mind. "Yes. All of them."

She glanced back at the bottles and nodded as her face pulled together. She envied Rafik, despite their history. He had the job she always dreamed of, and she wanted the comprehensive education he promised her. "Can you do that for me? How much do I have to consume for it to take?"

His head shook no as his twisted lips gave her the best news she could remember receiving. "You don't need to. You got those antibodies from me. No poison can kill you, Tessa."

Her pointy finger poked him and made him stumble sideways. "Are you fucking serious?"

"Always." He crossed his arms and pointed at the shelves. "They may indeed make you ill, but that will be all. Even the largest dose of the most lethal among these will wear off quickly, as will snakes and spiders and alcohol and any other manner of toxin which may pollute you. The Fates blessed us both that night. Death will have to replace another way to conquer a creature like you, my love."

She wagged her thin, pointy finger back and forth across the room. "You mean to tell me I could knock back every bottle on these shelves, and I'd wake up tomorrow just hunky-dory?"

While his hands made their way to his hips, he nodded. As unbelievable as it sounded to her, it was merely a regular part of his way of life.

He was inoculated against every poisonous substance on the planet little by little since he was born; it was a common practice in the witching world's secretive potion-making societies. "Yes, that is what I am saying."

With her devious mind racing with the possibilities of such a gift, she licked her lips and looked over at him. "What about when I have children? Will they be immune as well?"

He grinned at the thought of seeing her pregnant, and he shook his head as he glanced away from it. "No, I'm afraid not. We must immunize them over time as they grow up; it is easier and safer than carrying around antidotes for every potion you create. Whenever you need it, just," he clicked his tongue and flicked his finger across his palm, "make sure the blade is very sharp."

"Hmm!" Her smile fell as she thought about what he did. "I never did thank you for saving me, did I?"

Sucking in a breath through his nose as he curled his lips and rolled his eyes to the ceiling, he remembered seeing her bleeding to death on the checkered floor. "You do not need to, Tessa.”

Whatever humility she had did its best to hide as her anger wore off and the embarrassment of how she reacted the day before pulled at her shoulders. "Yes, I do. You could have let me die and gone on with your life, and you lost everything because of me. I can't ever thank you enough to make that alright."

"I lost nothing." His fingers curled around her arms below her shoulders as he inched closer. "There would have been no life to return to regardless of if I had done the spell or not. I either had to lose them or lose you, and I'm comfortable with what I did. Do not waste any of your guilt on me, not an ounce of it, never."