Something’s wrong, she thought. And it has to do with the Eye of Ten’gu.
But she couldn’t think of how to ask what was the matter without sounding like she was insulting the Chieftain’s gift to his mate.
“Merchant V’rex,” the Fox’en Chieftain continued. “Let’s see your wares again. Now that dinner is over, I’ve a mind to barter.”
“With pleasure, your Excellency.” V’rex nodded and began pulling things out of his furry black pouch and placing them carefully on the table.
“What I’m really interested in is that Silka spice,” Lady Bright Coat remarked as the carved wooden box came out of V’rex’s bag. “How much would you barter for that?”
“Well…” V’rex pretended reluctance. “To tell you the truth, your Excellency, it’s really rather expensive. I was just telling my Lady Penelope, here, that a single stick of it could buy my entire ship.”
“Expensive stuff indeed!” The Fox’en Chieftain looked shocked. “Why would anyone pay so much just for some spice?”
“Perhaps because, as I believe I told you in your throne room, the Silka has many fine uses. It is said to impart great wisdom—visions of the future and answers to the most pressing questions in the mind of the one who takes it. I know many leaders who use it for mental clarity or guidance before making important decisions,” V’rex told him.
Chieftain Swift Tail frowned.
“But how could I be certain that it was really worth such an exorbitant price? And what would you ask for it in return?”
“I’ll tell you what—before I answer that question, let me give you a small sample of the Silka to prove its worth,” V’rex told him.
Carefully, he lifted the bright orange cushion holding the spice sticks out of the box and set it on the table. Under it was another cushion, this one plain white, Penny saw. It had a few broken sticks of spice on it, with none of the pieces being larger than the size of a Peanut M&M.
“Once the Silka sticks are broken, they lose some of their potency,” V’rex explained. “But they are still strong enough to grant visions and wisdom to those discerning enough to see them.”
Carefully, he chose a piece of the broken stick to give to the Foxen ruler. Then he offered a piece to Lady Bright Coat as well. She was about to pop it in her mouth when Swift Tail stopped her.
“How can we be certain this spice will not hurt us in any way?” he demanded, frowning. “It sounds like very potent stuff! Give some to your lady first, so that my mate and I can see the effects.”
“Me?” Penny asked, surprised.
But V’rex only nodded.
“Of course, if it will ease your mind, Lady Penelope will be happy to take some,” he said smoothly. “Don’t worry, sweetheart,” he murmured, when Penny looked at him with wide eyes. “It’s perfectly safe.”
Penny bit her lip. It seemed that this was her night for ingesting strange new substances. She wasn’t normally into experimental drugs, but the deal for the Eye of Ten’gu was hanging in the balance.
V’rex handed her a small piece of the broken Silka stick and Penny took it doubtfully. At a motion from him, she obediently put the small, chalky piece of indigo-colored spice on her tongue, though she wasn’t sure what the effects would be.
What else, she thought, could she do?
Chapter 102
At first, Penny didn’t feel any effects from the Silka spice at all, except that it took the meaty aftertaste of the meal she’d just eaten away and replaced it with a tingling heat and the intense flavor of cinnamon. It reminded Penny of some really strong cinnamon toothpicks she and her friends had liked in middle school—they burned your lips and tongue but tasted so good you couldn’t stop sucking them.
But then, gradually, she noticed some differences. The colors around her began to bleed and run, like chalk drawings in the rain and her body felt much, much lighter than it had. All except for her breasts, which felt extremely heavy and full.
What’s wrong with me? Penny wondered. What’s happening?
But to be honest, she felt too good for these musings to make her upset. In addition to making everything around her look weird, the Silka spice had also had an effect on her mood.
“I feel wonderful,” she told V’rex as he nodded at Chieftain and Lady Bright Coat, who had apparently decided the spice was safe and were popping the pieces he had given them into their mouths. “I love everyone. Especially you,” she told him.
As she said the words, she knew they were true. She had been holding herself back all this time, telling herself that V’rex couldn’t possibly be interested in her because she wasn’t skinny or because he’d been affected by the Spice in the air at the Compound. But now she saw that none of that was true. He’d been interested in her from the first—when he saw her in the Lucky Lounge—and there was no Spice there. So the only place her size was a problem was in her own head.
The realization felt like a true moment of clarity—an epiphany made possible because the Silka was allowing her to see past her worries and concerns to discern the truth.
“You know,” she said to V’rex. “I need to get over myself and own my curves.”
“Your curves are gorgeous, baby,” he agreed softly.
“And I meant what I said,” Penny went on, recklessly. “I really do love you! I wish you hadn’t Forsworn me because I want to be with you!”
The big Hybrid’s eyes widened and then he murmured, “I love you too, sweetheart. Love you will all my heart.”
“I wish we could be together,” Penny whispered and a tear rolled down her cheek, despite the happy feelings. “I wish I knew how we could stay together forever,” she told V’rex.
At that moment, a chorus started humming near her head.
“Huh?” Penny turned around, trying to see where the
