A Bitter Pill

ROWAN’S POV

Dr. Desai nods, no judgment in her expression.

“Do you want to take it now, or bring it with you?”

“Now. Please.”

She pours water from a pitcher on her desk and hands me the glass. I uncork the vial, and the smell hits me immediately — bitter and earthy, like something dug up from deep underground.

I think about Vance’s face this morning, soft with sleep and want. The way he whisperedm