Chapter Twelve.

Declan's eye lifted to her face, his empty gaze fixed on her. Mandy almost regretted why she asked before Declan blinked and spoke up.

"You know...." he paused, biting his words. "I need it for the same reason everyone else needs a herb, to cure and ailment." He shrugged and lifted an empty glass to cheers in the air.

His choice of words was well picked doing little or nothing to feed Mandy's curiosity. She bit her lower lip while she peered at him.

"Okay then. Maybe what actually happened out there with May earlier will be an easier thing to tell. I mean I can't help asking, considering how you look" Her hands and eyes ogled him from head to toe as she spoke.

Declan chuckled lightly at the expression on her face.

"There's nothing to tell, you know. May was just in—"

"Trouble and you went to help her out and she's safe now. I already know that much. Tell me more. What was really the problem and how did you end up like this?" She sipped from her juice glass and cocked it at De