I take the container from him as his words unlock a rush of information.Blood.My hand trembles while I stare through the glass that’s full of leaves and magic-infused water from home, the ones that sprouted new life, a chill slithering over my skin. Blood. Haylee had cut herself in my workshop back home; she must have bled into the jar before I cleaned her up. It’sblood.
“I need you to cut me,” I state, the rush of adrenaline making the words come out shaky as I move to find a clean new glass bottle.
“And why would I do that?”
New hypotheses and possible solutions roll through my mind, followed closely by a litany of questions.How did I not realize it before?
“Bahira.”
I grab a new jar and pull the container of dark purple petals Jahlee picked this morning towards me.
“Bahira, what are you talking about?” Kai’s shadow floods the table from where he’s moved to stand behind me.
I sigh and hold up the jar containing the leaves from home. “This jar was part of an experiment I was working on before I was chosen to come here. Foryears, I had zero tangible results. But then, the leaves in this jarchanged,and finally, I had something new to work with. I thought it had been the magic from one of my test subjects, but you—” I huff out a laugh as I turn to face him. “You just gave me a piece of the puzzle I was missing. The red organelles that I saw under the magnifier weren’t something new that had grown from the magic in the water as I had previously thought. It wasblood, and the leaves… I think theyfedoff of it.” I smile up at Kai in excitement from this revelation.
His eyes bounce from the bottle I’m holding to my lips before reaching my gaze. “And why do you want to cut yourself?”
“I wantyouto cut me with a claw I’m sure you can summon because I want to test and see if my blood will make these petals—” A dark thought forces my words to a halt. Is it possiblemyblood won’t doanything? “I’ll need your blood too,” I tell Kai, moving out from under his shadow to grab another empty glass jar and then dropping more flower petals into it.
It isn’t ideal, trying to recreate the experiment without using magic-infused water, but I’m mostly testing to see if blood—anykind of blood—will affect the growth of these petals. Based on those results, I can alter the experiment as I need to. When I turn to look at him expectantly, my palm up and ready for him to slice into, Kai narrows his eyes slightly.
“I’m not sure that I understand why you want to do this.”
I groan in frustration, trying to slow my thoughts down enough to explain. “Imagine spending nearly your whole life dedicated to discovering something, only to be met with disappointment. It’s like you’re standing at the shoreline letting the waves batter you until you’re soaked and nearly drowning, hoping the next one will stop short of pummeling you. Think of this revelation with the blood as finding reprieve from the water. A shield cast over you so that you canbreathe.” That’s what this felt like—a lifeline. If the answer to our magic lies in our blood, then it would crack open a new door of possibilities. “Please, Kai.” I would beg for nothing else. But for a chance to gain my magic, to fix both of our kingdoms’ magic, I would beg for that knowledge. I would fall to my knees for it.
Perhaps it’s the combination of the plea and his name, but his nostrils flare as he blows out a breath. Reaching back, Kai draws a small dagger that must have been sheathed on his belt.
“No claws?” I ask, smiling at the way his lips twitch.
“Unfortunately, we either shifteverythingor nothing. There is no in-between.”
The scrape of his calloused hand tenderly cradling mine draws my attention down, freezing my inhale. Kai’s motion is quick, digging the tip of the dagger into my palm and dragging for half an inch before he releases me. I squeeze my hand over one of the glass jars until blood, thick and crimson, drips onto the petals. Counting ten drops, I move my hand up and then gesture for Kai to do the same in the other jar.
He repeats the motion on his own palm, letting his blood drip into the second jar until I count to ten. Reaching over, I cup my hand under his, guiding us both to the basin to wash. His gaze is hot on the side of my face as I gently massage the blood off of his skin, watching it trickle down the drain.
“Can your magic heal?” I ask.
“Small cuts like this, yes. Larger wounds take much more time and will still scar.”
I let my fingers drag over the back of his hand and up higher until they trace over one of the black lines of his tattoo. “What does it mean?”
His chest rises and falls steadily as I continue my perusal of his warm skin. Up close, I can see that the intricate lines vary in thickness. Some are straight while others curve, lines and swirls moving in alternate directions all the way up his arm.
“Solve the problem with our magic, and I’ll tell you.”
I let go of his hand immediately, earning a smirk from him, when screaming erupts from somewhere in the palace. My eyes widen as they meet his, both of us drying our hands quickly. The shrieking becomes layered, more and more voices blending into the cacophony.
I add some water to the petals before corking the jars and then bolting towards the door, Kai throwing it open as I follow behind him. It’s pandemonium as nobles rush across the foyer and down hallways. Two males halt at Kai’s approach, both bowing quickly before straightening.
“What’s going on?” Kai shouts.
“A body was found near the palace entrance,” one of the males answers, sweat gleaming at his temples. “A message in blood was left for you.”
My stomach churns as Kai curses and moves down the stairs. I stay in step with him until we reach the first floor and find ourselves at the edge of a large gathering of people. An eerie sense of dread—as well as the scent of blood—sits heavily in the air, one that only grows as Kai begins to wade through the crowd.
He stops in front of me, and I place my hand on his back as the object of everyone’s attention comes into view.
Strung between two stone columns, their white coloring so pristine in contrast to the now crimson-splattered floor, is a female body. Ropes are tied around her wrists, forcing her arms open wide as the rest of her hangs limply. She’s disturbingly mutilated, deep cuts stretching from shoulder to shoulder and down the middle have shredded her skin. Blood continues to drip from her toes and onto the floor below, right over a message scrawled out on the tile:Bastards are not kings.
