“Look, clowns,” said Rui, drawing on her shallow well of patience. “I think we have more important things to worry about than terminology. Zizi, make him a cup.” After a beat, she added, “Please.”
“Maybe he shouldn’t be drinking coffee. We don’t know if it’ll affect him negatively because of what happened.”
“What does coffee have to do with anything? If you don’t want to make me one, I’ll do it myself.” Yiran reached for the coffee machine, but Zizi smacked his hand away.
“It’s a stimulant, more so for magic practitioners than normies. With all that energy circulating inside you now, you might go off the rails. The crash will be terrible and dangerous.”
“You’re kidding me,” Yiran said. “My brother drinks coffee all the time.”
“That’s because he’s Ash Song,” said Rui. Yiran seemed to accept that reasoning, which made her wonder what Ash was like as a sibling. “So, about the other thing, we’re in agreement with my story, yes?”
Yiran shrugged. He was rubbing his fingertips together. Rui stared at the small white scars on them, suddenly remembering how they’d turned luminescent the night before after the spell hit, like magic was leaking out of his fingers themselves. Rui wasn’t sure what that meant, and she wondered how he’d gotten those scars.
Zizi’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “There’s one other thing we should discuss. With all that spiritual energy, Mochi’s spirit core should’ve burned out, but it didn’t. Look at him, he’s perfectly fine.” Zizi seemed a little disappointed.
“Maybe I’m special,” Yiran said, sarcastic. “It was your spell. Shouldn’t you know what went wrong?”
“Magic is complex.”
“Is that wizard speak forOops, I made a mistake but I’m too pigheaded to admit it?”
Zizi ignored him and walked over to hand a cup of hot chocolate to Rui. She accepted it gratefully, taking a few comforting sips.
“You should lay low until we find a way to fix this,” she said to Yiran.
“Or I could kill some Revenants.”
“You’re joking.”
“No. I’m not.” There was steel in Yiran’s eyes.
“Why do you want to kill Revenants?”
“Why doyouwant to kill Revenants?”
“Because—” Rui stopped. She didn’t owe him any explanation. Didn’t owe him anything. The magicbelongedto her. And she needed it back. She whipped to Zizi in frustration. “Reverse the spell right now.”
Zizi didn’t say a word. Didn’t even turn to look at her. Instead, he tossed some coffee beans into the grinder and switched it on. The obnoxiousclacking and whirring of the machine filled the kitchen.
Yiran paced, clenching and unclenching his fists.
“Is something going on?” Rui asked, sliding to the edge of her seat.
Neither of the boys answered.
Cursing loudly, Zizi switched the machine off with a slap and came to her again, getting down on his knees as if he were proposing or begging for forgiveness. Rui had an inkling it was the latter.
“I shouldn’t have given you that talisman.”
“We made a fair agreement. I said I would test it for a price.”
“It didn’t have to beyou. It’s just that you’re the best, the one I trust. But the spell was dangerous, and I knew it. I shouldn’t have asked.” Zizi looked disgusted with himself. “I’m sorry.”
They were two simple words. But he’d never apologized to her before, and she didn’t know how to react.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated, looking distraught.
“I’m not mad at you,” she said softly. “Reverse the spell and everything will be fine—”
