“Yeah.”
I shake my head. “No. A feeling. A hum. Not power.”
“Can you do it on your end?”
“What do you mean?”
“We’re still touching,” he says. “Try to tap into it.”
I close my eyes and try to be open, try to be a vacuum or a black hole. Nothing happens. I try to pull at Snow, then. To suck at him with my own magic… Still nothing.
I open my eyes. “No. I can’t take it from you. I’ve never heard of a magician taking someone else’s magic. Can you imagine? If there were a spell for that? We’d tear each other apart.”
“We’re already tearing each other apart.”
“I can’t take it,” I say again.
“Do you think it hurt you, my magic?”
“I don’t think so.”
“So we could do it again.”
“We just did, Snow.”
He looks uncharacteristically thoughtful. I wonder if he’s forgotten that he’s holding my hands. Or if he’s forgotten what itmeansto hold hands. Or if he’s forgotten who I am entirely.
I think again about pulling my hands away—but Snow could light fires in my palms at this point, and I wouldn’t pull away. It feels like he has.
“Baz,” he says, and it’s not unprecedented for him to say my name, but I know he avoids it. “This is stupid. If we’re going to be working together, you can’t keep pretending that I don’t know.”
“Don’t know what,” I say, yanking my hands back.
“Don’t know about you. What you are.”
“Get off my bed, Snow.”
“It won’t change anything—”
“Won’t it?”
“Well, itwouldmake things easier,” he says. “How can we discuss what we know about vampires when you won’t even admit that you are one?”
“Get off my bed.”
Snow stands up, but doesn’t stand down. “Iknow.I’ve known since our fifth year. How’re we supposed to help you if you’re still keeping all these secrets? Like, why did you start school late this term? And what happened to you? And why are you limping?”
“That’s none of your business,” I hiss. “None of it.”
“You’re right, but you said you wanted my help. So you made it my business.”
“I’ll tell you whatever I think is relevant.”
“We’re supposed to find out who sent blood-sucking vampires to kill your mother, and youarea blood-sucking vampire. You don’t think that’s relevant?”
As if I can just admit that. Out loud. On the record. As if every other magician wouldn’t gladly light me up if they knew it to be true.
As if Snow himself hasn’t been trying to expose me every day for seven years.
