She seemed to ignore the horror on my face.
Inside I felt something crumble. I could not imagine ever letting Bella get hurt.
Sephrina turned to me but she only smiled, "I have something that will heal your legs a bit," She added matter of factly, "You have a fight ahead of you."
She shuffled off, moving into a side room without another word. I waited a couple seconds. I could hear her humming just a little. After I was sure she wasn't going to pop back into the room unexpectedly, I practically jumped on Justine.
"Justine," I whispered. "Wake up."
She looked at me perplexed, her eyes still cloudy. I shook her a little. Sephrina's humming stopped.
"Come on, come on," I whispered.
I heard Sephrina coming back. I was out of time.
I looked back at Justine's face, she seemed slightly more lucid. I put my finger to my lips and turned around just in time to see Sephrina entering the room.
I cleared my mind so my only thought was about hunger. She had a small smile on her face. She was carrying a small bottle. She walked over to a low stove and poured some of the contents into a kettle.
She bent over to put more wood onto the fire. She appeared so old that I half-feared she might fall as she bent, but she did so with such grace, had it not been for her appearance I would've believed she was young.
She began to laugh a little, "Preston, you don't miss anything," She smiled at me.
She stirred gently, the sloshing of the water the only sound that filled the silence.
I cast a glance around the room. There were plants on the window sills, more of the bright ones that were likely poisonous. Looking up, I saw herbs dangling from the rafters.
Sephrina broke my silent thought stream, "You'll stay the night of course," Sephrina said politely. The stirring stopped.
"Justine and I should be leaving," I glanced at Justine.
"It's dangerous out there, besides your legs need to rest." Saphrina swept her arm to the cabinet. A cup came flying out, obediently stopping in front of her. She poured the liquid into the cup and sent it flying to me.
It stopped in the air in front of me. I reluctantly picked it out of the air. I smelled it immediately, honey and mint mixed together, but something else too. I smelled it deeply. Something earthy I couldn't quite place. Sephrina looked at me expectantly, and the cup seemed to drift towards my mouth.
"It's not poisonous," she mused.
The cup was pressed to my lips, the hot liquid sloshing against them.
Did I trust her? My lips parted.
It was immediately sweet, way too sweet, like a mixture of all the different candies Bella and I would buy when money wasn't as tight. It filled me with warmth. Trailing it was a minty taste. Warmth poured through my body, and something else too. Strength returned to my limbs. I made to get up, but the world spun so quickly I fell hard, back into my chair.
Sephrina put a gentle hand on my shoulder.
"It will take a few hours," She said.
My eyes fell on Justine. She had her eyes closed, we were both weary. I nodded and closed my eyes. This chair felt so cozy. Maybe, just maybe, I'd take a little nap.