He slid the ring onto my finger. “Then be with me,” he said. “Stay with me.”
I pressed my lips to his, trying to convey all the emotions hurtling through my body. He gripped my hips and pulled me closer, then wrapped his arms around my body until we were flush together, the two of us drenched in moonlight.
It took a while to return to business, and when we did, it was with my arm tucked through his, smiles plastered on our faces. Still, Daziel’s voice was serious as he spoke. “The spell requires four casters. With you channeling my power, we’ll want someone else to take your place reciting it.”
I nodded. Yael, Gidon, and Stefan should be three of the four; they were intimately familiar with the spell. And any of my friends would rise to the task. But the best spellcaster I knew, the one who would easily pick up a new, complicated spell in a foreign language…
I groaned. The best spellcaster I knew was the last person I wanted to ask. “Maybe we can ask Professor Altschuler.”
Daziel shrugged. “It’s up to you. If you don’t think he’d shut this down…”
He would definitely shut us down.
Which is how we wound up knocking on Élodie’s door half an hour later. She opened it, wrapped in yellow silk from head to toe and looking like she wanted to murder someone. “Tell me you have good news.”
I almost stepped back in the face of her rage. “You heard?”
“That the Ziz is dead? It’s all anyone is talking about.” She looked furious. “The Sanhedrin wouldn’t even believe the Zizexisted, and now they’re up in arms it’s dead. It’s ridiculous. Why are you here?”
“We want to go to the Rocks.”
She squinted. “Your plan is to get high and dull your mind from the end of the world?”
“We think the Ziz might have dropped an egg here thousands of years ago. The cave system might allow us to reach it, deep under the river. And once we do, we want your help casting the spell to strengthen it.”
“You’re insane.”
“Do you have something better to do?”
“No.” She was already unpinning her hair wrap, her curls falling out in perfect ringlets. She took one sad look at them, then braided them back in a long plait from her crown. She ducked into her bedroom and continued talking from there. “I assume we’ll be joined by the rest of your friends?”
“My cryptography cohort, yes. Meet us in my rooms in an hour.”
She made a noise of agreement, and Daziel and I headed out. He went through the mirrors to wake Yael, Stefan, and Gidon. I woke Leah, since someone should know our plan. Just in case. Jelan heard the commotion and came out, which meant Gilli was also awake. They came to my rooms, and when Élodie arrived, she brought Birra. By midnight, ten of us crowded in my living room, listening gravely as I explained the situation.
“If the Ziz is dead, we’re screwed.” Stefan spoke through a yawn. “And if there’s an egg—what, you want to cast the spell on it instead?”
“We should be prepared to,” I said. “The spell is supposed to make the Ziz more itself, to keep it strong and healthy. Hatchlings usually have parents to feed them and tend them, and this one won’t. The spell might give it a fighting chance.”
“We can’t cast the spell,” Gidon said in his worried way. “We don’t have the magic.”
“We do,” I said, hoping to put an end to this line of questioning. “It’ll be fine.”
Yael’s head jerked up. Élodie exchanged a look with Birra. All three of them had been at the beach at the Rocks. “Naomi, no.” Yael sounded like my mother.
“It’s illegal,” Élodie whispered.
“And dangerous,” Yael said firmly.
I remembered how Daziel’s magic had torn through me. How it had threatened to consume me, had been almost impossible to let go. Surely it would be different this time with the betrothal complete.
“What are you talking about?” Gilli asked. Then her gaze caught on Daziel’s, and I could see her rewind back a few moments to me sayingWe doregarding having magic.
Everyone seemed to be coming to the same conclusion, mouths parting and stances stiffening. I had only told Leah, who gave me a much-needed supportive nod.
“You’re not serious,” Gidon said. His voice squeaked. “You’re going to bind him?”
“It’ll give us the power for the spell,” Daziel said. “We need four casters for the four points of the compass, so Naomi can focus on handling the magic.”
