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Wetting my lips, I keep my hand where it is and meet his stare. “What is it you’re expecting for giving me this information?”

He shakes his head. “This isn’t the information I’m making a deal on. I’m just making you aware.”

“Why?” He waves me off with his free hand, glancing away, but my heart is racing too fast for me to let it go. “Why, Sebastian?”

“You’re going to need somewhere to store all of the tendrils of magic you take a snippet from.” He digs around in his pocket, and a moment later, he reveals a long gold chain with a locket on the end of it. “Tug slightly at my magic first, then you can do Lyra’s and Brax’s if you want, just to be sure you have it right.”

“Why, Sebastian?” I repeat, louder this time so I can hear the words over the pounding of my pulse in my ears.

“Because you’re going to save us. All of us. If you want any chance of that happening, the more magical abilities you have access to, the better.”

Gulping, I layer his words on top of the others he’s already unloaded on me.

“Why are you offering me this now? What’s changed?”

He shakes me off again, his gaze latched onto the locket. “I need you to tug lightly and see what happens. Once you have a little piece of it, you can store it in here.” He opens the clasp on the intricate golden locket to reveal two children’s faces on the inside. Two I’m more than familiar with. It’s me and him.

“Where did you get that?”

“Does she always ask so many questions?” Sebastian asks, glancing at Brax, who grunts in response. I can’t look at him right now to decipher his thoughts on the situation. I need to handle this for myself and I don’t want my feelings to get muddled with his if they’re not aligned quite yet. “It was mother’s,” he finally explains, twisting back to me. “It was one of the few things she left behind after she took you away.”

I roll my eyes at him. “You were more than happy about that fact.”

He raises an eyebrow at me. “Was I?”

“I remember your anger,” I state, nodding.

“I was angry that you were leaving, Raven. What did you expect me to feel?”

He stumps me for a moment, which only irritates me more. “You were an asshole then, too,” I grumble, refusing to accept his words that offer a completely different perspective to the one I’ve clung to all this time.

It feels like he observes me forever, his eyes digging deep into mine, searching for fuck knows what before he sighs, looking down at his hand. “Tug, Raven. Let’s see if this works.”

“And if it doesn’t? If I pull too hard?”

He shrugs. “I’m trusting you not to.”

Well, he’s hopeful. More than me, that’s for sure.

Taking a deep breath, I try to remain as relaxed as possible, which is hard to do when I have Brax, Sebastian, and Lyra watching me at the same time. Keeping my movements light, I avoid the desire to pull as hard as I can like I did to Genie, and after a few soft attempts, a small strand detaches from Sebastian, making me gasp.

“Have you done it?” Brax asks, and I nod without turning to look at him.

Sebastian inches the locket closer and I slowly drop the tendril of magic into it before it snaps shut.

Holy fuck.

I take a step back, completely bewildered with what I’ve just done, as Sebastian looks at me with something that could almost be considered pride, but I quickly dismiss it.

“Did it hurt?” Lyra asks, looking at Sebastian, and he shakes his head.

“I didn’t feel a thing.”

Lyra offers her hand out in response, her magic vining around her fingers as I tentatively inch forward to do the same. It’s easier this time, although the desire to rip the magic from her still remains.

Sebastian helps me store the magic in the locket again before offering it out to me.

“Is this a trap?” Brax asks, and Sebastian offers him a tight smile.