Her words did the trick; his face became shuttered, wounded.
‘I’ll leave you alone, then,’ he said.
Xander left her, shoulders drooping as he walked away.
Good, she told herself, even though the sight pierced through her.
But this was not the time to be soft-hearted, to be weak. She reminded herself of what had happened the last time she let a boy this close, remembered being young and foolish, and the way she had ultimately paid the price.
The shame that had remained. It lived inside her still, something she could not cut out, no matter how hard she tried.
She was right to be vicious to Xander. She was right to push him away.
Even so, she couldn’t help the pain in her chest, how empty the greenhouse now felt without him here beside her.
But she had bigger things to worry about. She looked at her sister, the wet splay of her short black hair. Bisma held tight to Mei’s hand, tears falling down her cheeks.
‘Please be alright,’ she begged.
7
Bisma didn’t know when she dozed off, only that one moment she was looking at the soft rise and fall of Mei’s chest, and the next, there was a gentle hand shaking her awake.
‘Bis, wake up,’ Xander said.
She startled, and a shawl fell from her shoulders. She shivered.When did that get there?
It took her a second to remember where she was and why. She looked up at Xander, who stood next to her.
‘You’ll want to see this,’ he said. All the previous hurt on his face was gone, replaced with something akin to excitement. He had bounced back to normalcy with alarming speed, which was why she had to be even more on her guard around him. But for now she was more concerned about her sister. Bisma followed his gaze and looked at Mei. Gasping, she abruptly stood.
‘Good grief,’ Bisma gasped. Mei’s skin was back to its original fawn tone, but the veins were such a dark purple they looked black. Even worse, they were bulging, as though there were slugs just beneath her skin.
It was a horrific sight, but Bisma did not look away. The image seared into her mind. This had happened onherwatch. It washer fault.
‘This is good,’ Xander said, and she gave him an incredulous look. ‘No, really! It means all the poison has been raised and is just waiting to be extracted now.’
He pulled out a large leaf from a platter, showing her. She touched her finger to the light green surface; it had a texture to it like tiny teeth and was nearly translucent. She didn’t know what it was.
‘Took some trial and error, but I made it,’ Xander informed her. ‘Now watch this.’ He wrapped the leaf around Mei’s arm, until the skin was covered. ‘Wait for it …’
He was thrilled, practically vibrating with energy. She wanted to throttle him, but at the same time, his manner made hope bloom within her. She held her breath and watched.
Slowly, the leaf changed color from pale green to deep, dark green. When it seemed the leaf could grow no darker, Xander unwrapped it from Mei’s arm, revealing the skin underneath. Unblemished and clear.
Bisma looked up at Xander with wide eyes.
His cheeks were pink, though now the excitement in his eyes had doubled. ‘It sucked the poison out,’ he explained, hair flopping as he nodded at her.
‘That’s … wow.’
She didn’t know what to say, and she would usually rather die than let Xander know she was impressed by his magic, but this was too remarkable for her to scorn.
‘That expensive schooling does pay off every now and again,’ Xander joked.
He had gone away to a private school in Whitebridge for six years. Whitebridge was one of the biggest cities in Crownley and had one of the best schools in the entire kingdom of Fairendelle.
He was clearly much more learned than she was. Bisma had been taught basic things such as reading and math by her older sisters. Since none of her sisters were witches, she had taught herself garden-magic, with the Enchanted Forest supplementing her education, but Xander had had a proper education. Bisma wondered what that might be like. Being in a big city, with noresponsibilities except to learn, read, practice. Growing better and better.
