Page 23 of Beastkin

My chest tightened at the mention of the Dean. “Can we trust him with this?”

Professor Blackwood’s lips curved into a knowing smile. “More than you might think, Mr. Laurent. The Dean has his own... complicated relationship with the Purity Front.”

She set a ceramic bowl on her desk, then removed a small wooden box from a drawer. When she opened it, I caught the gleam of surgical instruments inside.

“I’ll need your blood first, Mr. Emberwood,” she said, selecting a curved needle. “And then a fragment of bone from you, Mr. Laurent.”

My stomach lurched. “Wait, what?!” I scoffed. “It has to bemybone?!”

“Yes,” she said, tilting her head to the side. “Didn’t I say that?”

“No, you didnot.”

“The magic requires a fragment of cursed bone. And Beastkin, as much as I’m loathe to admit, are under such a curse.”

“Can’t we use something else?” I begged.

She just shook her head. “Hair and nails regenerate. Bone is forever. And your curse will be the only thing that can bind the spell together.”

Phoenix stepped forward, rolling up his sleeve. “Take what you need from me. I can’t live like this anymore.”

The determination in his voice made something fierce and protective surge through me. If he could be brave enough to face this, I could damn well give up a piece of bone.

“Fine,” I growled. “Take some of my tusk. They grow back anyway.”

Professor Blackwood nodded. “I’ll extract blood from Mr. Emberwood first, then we’ll proceed with you, Mr. Laurent. After that, I’ll need to gather the remaining components while you two wait here.” She fixed us with a stern look. “Under no circumstances are you to leave this office. The pendant will continue to cause pain if you’re too close, so maintain your distance until I return.”

She gestured for Phoenix to sit in the chair beside her desk. As she prepared the needle, Phoenix’s eyes found mine across the room.

“Thank you,” he said softly. “For helping me remember. For this.”

The sincerity in his voice made my chest ache. “You would’ve done the same for me,” I replied, knowing it was true even if he couldn’t remember our friendship yet.

Professor Blackwood drew several vials of Phoenix’s blood with practiced efficiency. When she finished, she handed him a small vial of blue liquid. “Drink this. It will replenish what I’ve taken.”

Then she turned to me. “Your turn, Mr. Laurent. This will be... uncomfortable.”

I sat down heavily in the chair Phoenix had just vacated, trying not to think about what was coming. Professor Blackwood approached me with what looked like a pair of surgical pliers, her expression focused and clinical.

“Open your mouth,” she instructed.

I hesitated, my hand instinctively moving toward my lower jaw where my tusks protruded. They weren’t huge, nothing like what you’d see on a wild boar, but they were solid bone and definitely part of me.

“It’s okay,” Phoenix said softly from across the room. “I’m right here.”

Something about his voice, gentle and encouraging despite everything he was going through, made me relax slightly. I opened my mouth and tilted my head back.

Professor Blackwood gripped my left tusk with the pliers, and I felt cold metal against the bone. “This will hurt,” she warned, then applied pressure.

The pain was immediate and intense, shooting through my jaw and up into my skull like lightning. I gripped the arms of the chair so hard my claws left gouges in the wood, a low growl escaping my throat as she worked to chip off a small fragment.

“Almost there,” she murmured, adjusting her grip.

There was a sharp crack, and suddenly the pressure released. I tasted blood in my mouth as she stepped back, holding a small piece of yellowed bone between the pliers.

“Perfect,” she said, dropping the fragment into a glass vial. “The bleeding will stop shortly. Beastkin heal quickly.”

I ran my tongue over my tusk, feeling the rough edge where she’d chipped it. It throbbed like hell, but she was right, I could already feel it beginning to heal.