Loki's smile grew sharper and he leaned forward, the golden barrier thickening in response. "I knew you would come around to my way of thinking," he told her.

"Don't flatter yourself," Darcy snapped at him. "You're a desperate means to an end."

"Desperation is a powerful motivator," Loki agreed. "So, little norn. Now that our bargain is struck, do I at least get to know your name?"

She crossed her arms. "Darcy," she replied reluctantly.

His expressions shifted. "That is not your true name," he observed.

"It's the only one you're getting," Darcy said.

"It's not wise to conceal information from your tutor," he said.

"Yeah, well, it's also not wise to trust a mass-murdering psychopath, either," Darcy told him.

"Oh, I would strongly advise against trusting me," Loki agreed. "You are far too intelligent to make that mistake."

Darcy frowned. "Thank...you?" she said uncertainly.

Loki backed away from the forcefield and gestured. "I am not going to teach you from there. Come inside."

She scowled. "I can't."

"You had no trouble before," Loki pointed out.

"I can't always control where I end up when I dreamwalk," Darcy told him, annoyed. "And I can't just hop from place to place whileI'm dreamwalking."

He tilted his head. "How do you have so much power yet so little control?"

"Because I've been trying to figure all this out on my own," Darcy spat. "I didn't have anyone to teach me, okay? I didn't even know I was a norn until last year, and I still don't even know what exactly a norndoes."

"The norns are eternal," Loki told her. "They guard the secrets of the universe."

"But what does that mean?" Darcy burst out. "In practical terms, what does that mean for me?"

"It means, Darcy, that the fate of the universe quite literally rests in your hands."

Darcy blinked at him a few times and then sighed. "Great. So no pressure."

Loki clasped his hands behind his back. "The secret to all control is discipline," he said briskly. "You have no discipline, so you have no control."

"Gee, thanks," Darcy snarked. Loki levelled a flat look at her.

"I cannot teach you if you are not receptive," he told her.

Darcy uncrossed her arms and frowned. "Okay," she said. "Discipline. Go on."

"Discipline must rule all aspects of your life to be truly effective," Loki said. "Your waking life; is it orderly?"

"Orderly?" Darcy echoed, and rubbed the side of her nose. "Not exactly."

"Make it so," Loki instructed. "Eat and sleep regularly, at the same times each day. Set aside time for exercise and meditation."

"Meditation?" Darcy repeated.

Loki gave her another flat look. "Your mind is your greatest tool, and your greatest enemy. Some say that true power comes from the heart. They are wrong. All power comes from the mind. You must have complete control over your thoughts if you are to control your powers. If you need instruction on how to meditate, I will provide it. Do you have any combat training?"

Darcy stared at him blankly. "...No," she said at length. "I'm in Poli Sci, not the army."

"Combat training offers discipline of the body as well as the mind," Loki told her. "You will need to begin that, as well. Human combat skills leave much to be desired, but it will be a start. I will instruct you in that, also."

Darcy sighed heavily. "Okay. So do I get a lesson plan, or something?"

"Set your waking hours in order," Loki said. "That is your first lesson. If you must, write down your daily tasks. Complete them in a timely manner. Return here when you have done so."

Darcy rolled her eyes. "Awesome. Thanks a lot. I didn't realize all I needed was a life coach."

"You accepted my offer," Loki reminded her. "If you truly wish to master your power, you will follow my instructions."

"Fine!" Darcy said, throwing up her hands. She checked her watch. "It's almost seven o'clock. I gotta go. Ja-my boss is gonna wake up any minute and she needs coffee first thing."

Loki dismissed her with a wave. "Remember what I have said. Discipline."

"Yeah, yeah, Darcy muttered. "Discipline."

Darcy opened her eyes a second before the alarm on her phone went off, and she rolled over to shut it off. "I'm really gonna do this," she whispered to herself. But the images of her dream-prophecy-were still vivid in her mind. She was not going to let anything happen to Jane on her watch.

Darcy hauled herself out of bed and took an I-overslept-and-am-already-fifteen-minutes-late-for-class shower before heading into the kitchen. Jane was poking random buttons on the coffee machine, trying to get it to dispense coffee, and Darcy shooed her out of the way.

"Three degrees and you can't work a friggin' Keurig," Darcy muttered, fixing Jane's coffee and placing it into her hands. "Okay, listen up, Janey, 'cause we're gonna make some changes around here."

Jane shook her head. "Not before coffee," she protested, shuffling over to the pantry and digging out a package of poptarts. Darcy gingerly took them away from her.

"How the hell did these get in here?" Darcy demanded, eying the silver foil package as if it were toxic. "This is a Kosher household."

Jane looked guilty. "I may have requested them," she said.

Darcy glared at Jane and tossed the poptarts into the trash. "Kosher. Household." Darcy shuddered and wiped her hands on her pants. "And that brings me to my first subject. No more skipping meals and no more eating out of a package. We are going to have regular meals of real food."

"Our schedule doesn't always allow for that, Darce," Jane said, looking wistfully at the trashcan. Darcy shook her head as she opened the refrigerator door.

"We'll make it allow it. Meat or dairy?"

Jane thought for a moment. "Dairy."

Darcy began pulling out the ingredients she needed. "You are going to kill yourself if you keep going the way you have been. Now that we work for SHIELD, we're gonna actually get your life into some semblance of order, which means regular mealtimes, and honest-to-god work hours."

Jane stared at Darcy, clutching her coffee mug with both hands. "Where is this coming from all of the sudden?" she demanded.

Darcy waved a wooden spoon. "SHIELD offered me a salary," she explained, only half a lie. "If I'm gonna be paid to be your personal assistant, I'm gonna start acting like one."

Jane's eyebrows shot up. "SHIELD is paying you?" she asked, surprised. Then her expression turned to horror. "Oh, my god. When did your internship end?"

"Nine months ago," Darcy told her.

"Oh, my god, Darcy! Why didn't you say anything?"

"I was having fun."

"But your classes!"

"Online courses," Darcy told her. "I have nine more credits until I graduate. How awesome is that?"

Jane shook her head. "I can't believe you didn't say anything."

"Jane. Stop it. I likeworking for you. I stayed because I wanted to. Besides, I was getting free room and board. A salary is just bonus. And this is off topic. Back to work hours. Because I'm feeling generous, I'm gonna allow you ten hours a day in the lab. Twelve if you have a breakthrough I deem worthy. Oh, and we're gonna start exercising. SHIELD has, like, twelve gyms in the Triskelion and we're gonna use them."

Darcy stirred the blintz batter a few times. "How do you feel about martial arts?" she asked.

"What?" Jane demanded, staring at Darcy in disbelief.

"SHIELD offers self-defense classes for civilian employees," Darcy told her. "I think we should take them."

Jane sat down at the table with a morose sigh. "If this is what you're like when you're officially working for me, you're fired," she said grumpily.

Darcy shook her spoon at her friend. "Too late. You're stuck with me. Besides, you love my challah bread pudding."

"Yeah," Jane agreed. She took a sip of her coffee. "I might keep you around just for that."

"Oh, and I need some time off next month. Just a couple of days."

"Sure. Why?" Jane asked curiously.

"Yom Kippur," Darcy told her. "Mom wants me to go back to Philly. She doesn't trust me to observe it on my own."

"Oh," Jane said. "That's the big holiday, right?"

"Yup," Darcy nodded. "Mom's always insisted we observe it as a family."

"Okay, yeah, take whatever time you need," Jane said. "Apparently I owe you nine months worth of back vacation."

"I'll take it up with SHIELD," Darcy said, pouring batter into a frying pan. "And you're distracting me again. We're really going to do this, Janey."

"You know I did just fine before I met you, right?" Jane asked, scowling at Darcy. Darcy flipped the blintz.

"No, you didn't," she replied. "Do you want raisins or figs in your blintzes?"

"We have figs?" Jane asked, perking up.

"Easily distracted by food," Darcy observed. "I'm gonna have to keep that in mind next time I need you to agree to something."

It took Darcy the rest of the day nagging at Jane before Jane finally relented. Darcy figured that if she had to bring discipline into her life, she might as well drag Jane along for the ride. Besides, she was serious about Jane working herself to death. The woman acted like she was the Terminator and then wondered why she would crash without warning.

So Darcy took Loki's advice and drew up a schedule, outlining the times they would wake up, eat, exercise, and work. She enrolled them both in SHIELD's self-defense classes and wasn't sure if she should feel excitement or apprehension when she saw that Natasha was one of the instructors.

She dragged Jane out of the lab at noon for lunch. "We'll eat from the cafeteria," she told Jane. "It's your one chance to get non-Kosher food, so you better take advantage of it."

Jane dragged her feet at all of Darcy's new changes but Darcy, when she was in the mood, was implacable, and Jane had become so used to Darcy's presence that she could no longer fully function without Darcy's assistance. That, and Darcy changed all the passwords to Jane's lab computers and refused to give Jane the passwords until she agreed to Darcy's plans. Hey, when logic failed, blackmail worked, right?

That night Darcy did her best to arrive in the dungeons when she fell asleep, and was pleased to find her aim had been halfway decent. She had been smart and wore real clothes to bed, so she felt less vulnerable. She could use all the confidence boosting she could get.

Loki was doing...something...when she arrived. He sat at a small desk in the corner of his cell, bent over with a tiny scalpel-like knife in his hand. Darcy couldn't see what he was working on, but every once in awhile he would blow away shavings and brush his workspace clean.

"Yo," Darcy said, rapping her knuckles on the stone frame of the cell. "Ice-man."

Loki stopped his work and looked around at her, raising his eyebrows. "What did you call me?"

"Ice-man," Darcy repeated. "You know: cold, unfeeling, and compassionless. Or did you think I was talking about the fact you're a Frost Giant?"

He put down the knife and stood, walking over towards her. "You are attempting to provoke me," he observed. "You feel threatened, so you attack first, hoping to put me on the defensive. It's an admirable tactic, if I were an imbecile."

"Great, so now we're psychoanalyzing all of our conversations?" Darcy asked, crossing her arms, and then uncrossing them, not wanting to seem defensive, the way he had pointed out.

"If you are to be my student, I expect excellence in all things, include verbal riposte," he replied.

"Fine, I'll join the SHIELD debate club," Darcy said sarcastically. "Look, I did what you told me. I put my life in order. Wrote up a schedule and everything."

"See that you follow it," Loki said.

"I will. Now how long until you start teaching me how to use my powers?" Darcy demanded, setting her hands on her hips.

He gave her a significant look. "What do you think I am doing?"

"I think you are trying to take control over my entire life," Darcy said. She jabbed her finger at him. "You just want me under your thumb so you can have control over a norn."

"And what control could I possibly have over you, from this cell?" Loki asked, spreading his arms to his sides. "I am, as you can see, a prisoner here."

"You've already told me you don't think I'm an idiot," Darcy said, shaking her head at him. "So please don't patronize me like that. We both know your power is in your words, not where you are. You know you are the only one who's been willing to help me and you're holding that over me. Don't think I don't know that. But that's not how this is going to go."

"Oh?" Loki asked. "Is that so?"

Darcy jabbed her finger at him again. "You want out of that cell. I'm you're one shot at that. But you, however, are not myonly option."

"Pray tell," Loki said, gesturing theatrically.

"According to Heimdall, I can learn my powers on my own. You are not necessary."

"But I amyour fastest means to that end," Loki taunted her. "And you are desperate, are you not? You are not one to wait on others to get what you want."

"No, I don't," Darcy told him. "I'm a norn. I don't have to."

Loki abruptly smiled triumphantly. "Yes," he said softly. "That. That is what I have been waiting for."

Darcy eyed him, suddenly nervous. "Ooookay?" she asked slowly.

"The norns are implacable," Loki told her. "They are enactors of Fate, of the Universe. They are not to be defied." He paced forward. "You are the greatest power in existence. You do not wait on the goodwill of others. You takewhat you want and you make it your own."

Darcy stared at him, wide-eyed. "If you believe that," she asked softly. "Why are you helping me?"

"To have a norn in my good graces," he replied, his smile growing smug. "Well, that is a powerful thing."

Darcy took a full step backwards, unease pooling in her stomach. "I will not let you have power over me," she told him.

"Then we are at an impasse, my dear norn," Loki replied. "If you cannot give me what I want, I cannot assist you."

Darcy shook her head. "No. You don't get to say no." She stepped forward again. She took a deep breath. She didn't know for sure if she could do this, but if she could pull it off it would be incredibly impressive. She took another deep breath and held it, letting the world crystallize around her. She could see the pulse of the force field, see the frequency it vibrated at. To her sight it flickered in and out with each pulse, and she stepped through the gap, passing easily through the barrier.

Loki stepped back as she marched up to him and stuck her finger in his face.

"You are a lying, manipulating, selfish son of a bitch. I don't trust you as far as I can throw you, which believe me, buddy, ain't far. So if we're gonna do this, it's by myrules. Got it?"

Loki stared down at her for a long time, his smirk wiped from his face. He took another step backward and bowed slightly, his upper body tilted forward. "Once again, I am at your mercy."

Darcy squared her shoulders. "You're damn right. Now where do we start?"

XxxXxxX

"Miss Lewis?"

Darcy blinked and came to herself. She was standing in the hallway of her apartment building, facing the door of the apartment she shared with Jane. Her keys were in her hand, as if she was in the act of opening or locking it, but she couldn't remember which. She realized that someone had called her name and she looked around.

Captain Rogers was standing a few paces away from her. He was wearing a brown leather jacket and jeans, his hair windblown. He carried a backpack over one shoulder; he clutched the strap with one hand and had the other shoved in his pocket.

"Are you alright, Miss Lewis?" he asked.

Darcy stared at him, her brain trying to find an explanation for what was happening at this moment and couldn't find one. "Are you stalking me?" she squinted up at him.

He frowned, looking suddenly nervous. "Uh...no. Why would you ask that?"

"Because you're in my apartment building," she said, blinking at him.

"This ismyapartment building," he replied, half turning away and then back. He shifted his weight uncomfortably. He gestured past her to the last door in the hallway. "I live in 14D."

Darcy shook her keyring at him. "Does SHIELD own this whole building?" she asked.

"I...don't know," Rogers replied. "You never answered my question."

"You asked a question?"

"Are you alright?" He enunciated each word carefully, to ensure she understood him.

"Yeah," Darcy said quickly shaking herself. "Yeah. Just, haven't slept in...you know what? I can't remember the last time I got a decent night's sleep."

Rogers frowned again, this time in concern. "Why's that?"

Darcy sighed. "Um, hang on a sec." She reached into the bag she was carrying and pulled out a tshirt. She sniffed it experimentally and made a face. "Okay. Definitely coming." She looked up and saw that the Captain was staring at her curiously. "Uh, dirty laundry. Coming back to the apartment to pick up new things."

"You are so tired that you couldn't remember if you were coming to your apartment or leaving?" he asked in disbelief.

Darcy grimaced. "Did I mention the fact I haven't been getting much sleep lately?" She unlocked the door and pushed it open. "Come on in. Can I get you a cup of coffee?"

"I don't think you need any coffee," he commented, but still followed her into the apartment. She dropped the bag in the entryway and headed straight to the kitchen. She turned on the Keurig and got two mugs out of the cabinet.

"Real or soy?" she asked, opening the refrigerator.

"I beg your pardon?" he asked, standing awkwardly in the middle of the kitchen.

"Milk," Darcy explained. "We have both. We're not lactose intolerant or anything, we just have both, you know, 'cause of, 'cause of…" she trailed off, staring at him blankly for a moment before finally finishing her sentence. "No dairy and meat," she said.

"You're Jewish?" he asked, more curious than surprised.

She nodded. "Real or soy?"

"Uh, real," he replied, and she got the bottle from the fridge and poured it into each mug before loading a kcup into the Keurig and punching the button to dispense the first cup. She placed it and the sugar bowl onto the table and made the second cup. Then she plopped down into one of the chairs at the table. She nodded at the chair across from her.

"Sit," she ordered.

Rogers obediently sat and reached for his cup of coffee. "So, you gonna tell me why you haven't been sleeping lately?" he asked.

Darcy propped her elbows on the table and stared at him over the rim for her mug. "You know how I can travel to places in my sleep?"

"That's what you told me," he replied, taking a sip from his cup. "Not really sure how it works, but I've seen the evidence, so…"

"I used to only do it sometimes," Darcy told him, and she was not about to shock a man from the Forties with the truth about the early patterns of her dream-walking. "And I'd have plenty of time to rest in between, but these days I'm doing it pretty much every night. And that means I'm not really sleeping anymore. So." She shrugged.

"Where do you go?" he asked, putting his cup aside and resting his forearms on the table. "When you travel. How do you do it?"

Darcy groaned and dropped her head between her arms. "Oh boy." She liked Captain Rogers. She really did. She didn't have to read him to know he was a Good Guy, capital letters and all. It wasn't a question of trusting him. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt she could. The problem was more of himtrusting her.

She looked back up. "I don't know," she said honestly. "I've just been able to do it since I was thirteen. I used to not be able control it. It was a long time before I realized I was travelling, and not just crazy." She set down her cup and rubbed her nose. "But I've come to the realization that I may still be crazy."

"I don't think you're crazy," Rogers said, giving her a thoughtful look. "This world, this...place. A lot's happened. A lot's changed. And...I think it might be this world that's crazy, not you."

She gave him a small smile. "That's the nicest thing anyone's told me in a long time."

He shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable. "It's just the way I see it," he muttered. "And you didn't really answer my question."

She tilted her head inquiringly at him. "There was a question?" she asked, half teasing.

"Where do you go?" he asked again, leaning forward. "When you travel?"

"I've only ever gone two places," Darcy told him. "New York City, just the once, and Asgard."

He blinked and straightened abruptly. "Asgard," he echoed. He placed his palms on the table and leaned back. "Asgard. Where Thor and Loki are from?"

"Yeah," she said with a tired smile. "One and the same."

He still stared at her. "How?" he asked again.

"Oh my god," she groaned. "You don't give up, do you?"

He snorted. "Not really."

Darcy threw her hands up with a resigned sigh. She was gonna have to tell someone human the whole truth eventually. She might as well practice on Captain America. "I'm not good at subtlety," she said. "So I'm just gonna come out with it. I'm a norn."

He frowned at her. "A norn?" he repeated.

Her face crumpled in disappointment. "You know, this went a lot better when I told Thor."

"You told Thor?" he asked. "When did you talk to him?"

She scrunched up her face as she thought. "Uh...few days ago. I think. What day is today?"

"Tuesday," he supplied.

Darcy nodded. "Yeah. Day before yesterday."

"In Asgard," he added. "Which you go to when you sleep. Because you're a...norn." He raised his eyebrow. "Okay. What is a norn?"

"Honestly, I don't really know," Darcy told him. "Everyone's been kinda vague. A couple of people have told me that norns are...sort of goddesses."

Rogers nodded slowly. "Goddess. Okay." He frowned. "Really?"

"I don't know," Darcy groaned in frustration. "I really don't know enough about it to tell you. I just know that norns are supposed to be these super-powerful, all-knowing beings and I'm...not." She hunched in defeat. "I don't know," she said again. "And I haven't slept in, like, a week. I'm having enough trouble putting a whole sentence together, much less figure out the age-old existential question of 'who am I?'"

Rogers shook his head. "You're exhausted. You need to sleep. This...this can wait." He stood up and crossed over to her, sliding her cup away from her. "Get some rest, Miss Lewis."

"Darcy," she corrected. "If you know my secret, you can call me Darcy, Captain Rogers."

"Only if you call me Steve," he insisted. He gestured at her. "Come on. I'm making sure you get some shut eye."

She giggled. "You gonna tuck me in?"

He colored pink up to the tips of his ears and stepped back. "I didn't mean, I'm not saying-"

She waved at him. "Joking. Joking. Really, though. I'm fine, I just need a shower and caffeine."

"No," Rogers-Steve-said. "You need real sleep."

"Jane's expecting me," Darcy protested.

"Well, then sheprobably needs to get some sleep, too." Steve pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and tapped it a couple of times, squinting at the screen. Then he held it to his ear. "Hi, Natasha, can you find Dr Foster and make sure she gets back to her apartment? I have it on good authority she needs to get some sleep. No, Darcy's with me."

The tips of Steve's ears colored again and Darcy clamped her hand over her mouth to keep from giggling again. "Romanoff," Steve said warningly into the phone. "Just make sure she gets home." He tucked the phone back into his pocket and gave Darcy a look. "Time for you to hit the sack."

She saluted him mockingly. "Aye, aye. Can I get a shower first? Pretty sure I've been wearing this bra for the last three days."

"Geez, Miss-Darcy," Steve said, coloring a third time. "I don't, I really don't-"

She hauled herself to her feet. "You make this too easy. Shower, then sleep." She waved her hand around the kitchen. "Help yourself to whatever." She shuffled into the bathroom. When she emerged fifteen (maybe more like twenty) minutes later, he was sitting at the kitchen table, his coffee cup empty. He was reading a newspaper. Darcy didn't know where he'd gotten it. He folded it as soon as she stepped into the kitchen.

"All clean now," she said, tying off the braid she'd plaited her wet hair into.

"Natasha should be bringing Dr Foster back any minute," he said.

"You planning on babysitting us the whole time?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Just until I'm sure you're both actually resting," he replied, returning her look.

"I am an adult, you know," she told him. "I don't need you to take care of me."

"There are times we all need someone to take care of us," he replied softly, his eyes dark and somber.

She was so tempted to read him, to reach out and snatch his secrets from his brain, but she held herself back. She had seen the damage that psychic trauma could cause. She wasn't about to risk inflicting that on someone else, even accidentally.

"Thanks," was all she said out loud.

The front door opened and Jane walked through, followed closely by Natasha. "...And my instruments are very sensitive, they require regular calibrations. If I'm not there to monitor them, the readings are going to be compromised!" Jane was protesting.

Darcy pointed at Jane and asked Natasha, "She been like this for long?"

"The whole way back," she replied, looking exasperated.

"You were in on this?" Jane demanded from Darcy. "She practically kidnapped me from my lab!" She then realized that Steve was in the room. "What is Captain America doing in our apartment?" she asked Darcy in a stage whisper.

"Apparently he's our neighbor," Darcy stage-whispered back.

"What?" Jane yelped, eyes snapping open.

"Yup," Darcy said, nodding.

"Bed, both of you," Natasha said, making shooing gestures at both of them. "The lab will still be there when you wake up."

"I can't believe you recruited Captain Americato your schemes," Jane accused Darcy.

"Actually I found her in the hallway," Steve said, getting to his feet. "She'd practically fallen asleep standing up. I think it took her about ten minutes to realize I was talking to her."

Darcy yawned abruptly, her jaw cracking. Natasha gave her a significant look. "Okay, okay," Darcy said, waving her hands in defeat. "Going to bed now. See, I'm going." She waved at them as she headed to her room, though she heard Jane start to make a new protest.

She managed to crawl under her covers before losing consciousness.

And almost as instantly found herself to be in Loki's cell.

"Son of a bitch," she groaned, and ground the heels of her hands against her eyes. She lowered them to find Loki watching her, eyebrow arched. "No," she said, holding up a hand. "I am exhausted and I haven't slept for weeks. I can'thandle anything more right now."

"It would not be wise to teach you anything in your state," Loki observed. "You would neither retain it, nor would it be beneficial to your health. Humans are delicate creatures, and your vessel isunfortunately human."

"What, really?" Darcy asked, lowering her hand.

He gave her a look. "Did you expect me to tell you to push yourself beyond your limits? Only a foolish teacher demands more from their student then the student is capable." He gestured toward toward his narrow bed. "Rest. We will continue your lessons when you are stronger."

"Dude, I am not sleeping in your bed," Darcy said, shaking her head. Loki gave her another withering look.

"Truly, if I had plans to bring you to my bed, I would not be so obvious that you would be able to refuse me," he replied.

"That...that was smooth," Darcy admitted, and shuffled over to the bed and flopped onto it. There was a fur blanket at the foot of the bed and she pulled it up to her chin and closed her eyes. She abruptly opened them again. "What happens if I go to sleep while I'm dreamwalking?"

He smiled at her. "It's very simple, Lady Darcy. You dream."

Darcy frowned. The last time she had dreamed, it had been a prophecy of Jane's death. She didn't relish experiencing that again. "I don't want to dream," she said out loud. He picked up a chair and turned it towards her before sitting back down.

"You fear your dreams?" he asked.

"No," she said defensively. "I just do enough dreamwalking. I don't need to dream."

"Yes, I imagine it must be very taxing," he said flatly, and reached out to take a tiny silver vial from his desk. He handed it her. "Put a drop on your tongue."

Darcy held the vial in her hand for a moment "What is this?" she asked suspiciously.

"It will stop your dreams," he told her.

She looked at the vial and then back to him. "Why do you have this?" she asked blankly.

He gave her a long, level look, and it was the most honest thing she'd ever gotten from him. "Yeah," she said. "Okay." She unscrewed the top of the vial and tipped a drop into her mouth. It was sharp like peppermint and sweet like honey. She handed the vial back. "Thank you."

"I do not need your gratitude," he replied. "I need you to fulfill your end of our bargain, and I will do everything necessary to fulfill mine. Do not mistake that for kindness."

Darcy scowled at him. "Sure. Kill the moment. You're a jerk, you know that?"

"Guilty," he said, almost smirking. "Go to sleep, Lady Darcy."

"You're not the boss of me," Darcy mumbled, her eyes drifting shut.