"Well what did you expect?" Azel asked as Sybil floated away, even though she had already cleaned the blood from his finger. "I just cut onions so of course they taste like that."
"You tricked me," she said with a small harrumph, crossing her arms as if he had committed a personal crime.
He wiped his fingertip against his apron before turning back toward the counter filled with ingredients.
His hand reached for another bowl, and he picked up the Cloud Sage.
"The Cloud Sage is meant to be cut, my lord," Bella said as she stepped slightly forward. "So that the oils and the body will—"
He crushed the herb right above the bowl without hesitation, crimson oil dripping through his fingers as he pulled his hand back.
The soft herb collapsed in his palm like spun wool, releasing its sweet aromatic oil in a concentrated burst.
To complete it, he crushed two more Cloud Sage stalks, letting the fragrant oil pool beneath them before discarding the leftover husks.
