Chapter 515: The Taste That Would Not Leave

Chapter 514: The Taste That Would Not Leave

Brynhild adjusted her clothes and leaned back on the chair after Raina finished eating.

Raina made a soft noise of contentment, her eyes halfway closed.

Lysander stepped forward almost immediately and took Raina from Brynhild’s hands.

His large hands looked almost comically oversized around her tiny body, but the way he held her was steady.

Raina blinked up at him sleepily, then she smiled. Lysander’s expression softened and he leaned close to bop his nose against hers when Raina let out a burp.

Lysander’s face twisted. "I love you, baby girl, but that is just nasty."

She only smiled at him in reply.

He couldn’t help but chuckle. He nudged his nose lightly against her cheek and she made a soft squealing sound.

Ronan, who was no longer looking at the hearth, made an offended sound. He closed the distance between him and Lysander, hands outstretched.

"Give her here," he demanded.

Lysander didn’t even look at him.

"No."

"That’s unfair, brother," Ronan said as Lysander adjusted Raina against his chest.

"You see her every day," Ronan continued, already reaching for Raina again. "I don’t. This is the first time I’m even seeing her since she was born."

Lysander finally glanced at him.

"And?"

Ronan rolled his eyes.

"Give me my niece."

Lysander stared at him for another moment.

Then he sighed.

Ronan took advantage of that pause and gently lifted Raina out of Lysander’s arms.

"There," Ronan said with satisfaction as he cradled her. "Now go sit down."

Lysander just shook his head and then moved to sit down.

Ronan had already turned his full attention to Raina by then.

"Well hello there," he whispered.

His voice changed immediately. It became soft and gentle.

"I’m your uncle, Ronan," Ronan told her seriously. "And I’m currently in the competition for the coolest uncle you’ll ever have."

Raina blinked at him. And then smiled sleepily.

Ronan gasped dramatically at that.

"Oh? You agree already?"

Raina just squealed softly and he grinned.

"Of course you do. You clearly have excellent judgement after all."

Lysander rubbed his temple.

Ronan continued speaking softly to the baby.

"You’re just so cute," he murmured, rocking her slightly. "I knew a baby from Brynhild would be extremely cute."

Raina smiled again as a droplet of spit formed at the corner of her mouth.

Ronan closed his eyes briefly.

"My heart," he said dramatically. "She has my heart already."

Then he turned to Brynhild. "She’s perfect. A job well done," he told her, making Brynhild chuckle.

Lysander’s voice came flat.

"She has my DNA too."

Ronan slowly turned his head.

Then he made an extremely irritated face.

"Oh," Ronan said lightly. "Did someone speak?"

Lysander glared at him and Ronan pretended not to notice.

He turned back to Raina.

"Anyway," he continued gently. "Ignore that voice. It’s not important, especially when we are having our time together."

Brynhild chuckled again from where she was seated, then turned to Sophia and Orion.

"I am very certain you guys didn’t come here just to watch Ronan compete for the title of coolest uncle," she said. "Is there something wrong?"

Sophia shifted slightly in her chair.

"Not really, but like you said we didn’t come for Ronan, or you too."

"I’m not sure how I like that wording," Brynhild said with a frown.

Sophia chuckled, then turned to Lysander. "We are here for you actually," she told him.

Lysander blinked.

"Me?"

Sophia nodded.

"Yes."

Lysander straightened in his chair slightly. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"Well that’s...concerning. Is there something you require my expertise for?" He asked them.

They both nodded.

"It’s no news that I’m recovering my memories," she told them.

That was news to Ronan, who was now staring at Sophia with a frown on his face.

"The thing is, I recovered some of them again. Just a little part though... while I was in the medical facility."

Lysander leaned forward. "Was it like before?" he asked her.

"Not exactly, but it was similar. This time though, she didn’t hurt me. But she did give me something and she was insistent that it would help me complete the task she gave me to do," she told him. "And it’s exactly because of that that we are here."

Sophia was quiet for a moment. Then she spoke again.

"There was a vial she gave me... that’s what I was telling you she gave to help me with the task. There was a green substance inside of it," she told him.

Lysander leaned back slightly.

"Can you give me more details about this substance that was in the vial? I’m certain that’s why you came to me, isn’t it?" he asked her.

Sophia nodded. "Yes. The vial was small, very small. And the substance inside was green in colour but not dark green. It was pale..." She said, testing the words in her mouth, then she nodded. "Yes, pale would be the correct word."

Lysander’s fingers tapped slowly against the arm of his chair.

Sophia continued.

"It looked... almost watery."

She paused.

"But not completely."

Lysander nodded slowly.

"And the taste?"

Sophia’s face immediately scrunched slightly. "I didn’t like it."

Lysander chuckled. "That much is obvious. I just need you to give me details on how it actually tastes because just from it being green, I can give you numerous herbs and tonics, but the taste and perhaps smell would determine what was given to you."

Sophia nodded, then frowned, her face scrunched up in concentration.

"There were... several flavours," she said slowly.

Lysander leaned forward slightly.

"Go on."

Sophia inhaled slowly.

"There was something bitter," she told him, then frowned. "But it was not just bitter, it also had a woodsy aftertaste mixed with something tangy too."

Lysander nodded, a frown on his face. He could not outright tell her what had been given to her because he did not recall any mixture or tonic with the description she had given him.

"What about the smell?"

"It smelled strong," she told him. "And um very strong... almost like the smell of something rotting."

"That’s all I remember," she said softly.

The room grew quiet after that, all eyes focused on Lysander now, who rubbed a hand through his hair, his brows pulled together in a frown.

"I’m going to be honest with you," he told Sophia. "Nothing that fits that description comes to mind at all."