Page 51

I closed the drawers and looked at the larger storage space that had two hinges.

When I yanked on the handle, cold air wafted into me.

A fridge. Inside was one bottle with only a fourth filled with blood.

One left? I turned back to him, his brows pulled up.

You said you had enough to last you a long time. Why’d you lie to me?

He shrugged.

Why?

He didn’t react, and it made me think my magic was being intercepted by my split. Perhaps it was. I mouthed, “Why?” I shouldn’t be using my magic, and every time I did, I felt it winning the battle against the split.

I didn’t want you to feel pressure to give me any more.

I closed the door, the image of the bottle glued to the front of my mind.

Soon, he wouldn’t have magic. Soon, we wouldn’t be able to communicate like this.

I saw how much power he wielded, as if it was an extension of him.

The amount that he loved his magic—missed his magic did not go unnoticed. I don’t like when you lie.

I’m sorry.

I scrunched my lips to the side and bit the inside of my cheek. Do you want more?

His eyes darkened as he shook his head once.

What I want is for you to feel better. His facial expression softened as a smile tugged on one corner of his mouth and his brows knitted.

He gently placed his hands on either side of my face, the smell of him a comforting relief.

His thumbs stroked my cheeks as he thought, Are you? Better? Calmer?

I nodded slowly.

His arms came around me, and I buried my face in his solid chest. A deep breath brought in exhaustion.

Do you feel me now? I broke the marriage.

Yes, Ripley . I’m bonded with you again.

Happiness clawed up my throat and pushed tears out of my eyes. Good .

He kissed the top of my head as he teleported us back to Aldris’s place.

A tingle in my throat restored my voice. “Fletcher, I’m so sorry you’ve lived like that. ”

He sighed. “Listen. We will take down the Cidris. I promise. We just need to figure out a better way than using your split magic, okay? I can’t lose you.”

I huffed. “Well, I’m getting impatient.”

“I know you are.” He sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, eyes a bit distant as he pondered something.

I made my way onto the bed, legs crossed and facing him. “Mirin had said that it could be my magic—royal magic holding the cages together. Maybe Mother was selling my blood. Maybe they already know about me and my blood. Maybe they are using it to make the cages impenetrable to magic.”

Fletcher shook his head, brows pulling together and eyes darting to me. “Wait, what? Who the hell is Mirin?”

I swallowed hard. “The…” I took a deep breath, trying my best to not let flashes of us in the cage bubble up. “The man from my mother’s cages.”

Fletcher’s eyes grew hard and distant. “I don’t like remembering that.”

I sucked my lips between my teeth, biting them hard and averting eye contact.

“I know.” I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around his neck.

But it was a lead I had forgotten about throughout the madness of the last few days that Fletcher needed to know about.

“He said he was an engineer in Elizy and the cages were lined with something he hadn’t seen before.

He guessed that maybe it could be royal magic.

And if he’s right, maybe my magic can get everyone out. ”

His hands came up and rested on my forearms. “Your magic is unpredictable… and infected. How do you plan on undoing over a hundred cages and teleporting them out?”

I gave him a quick peck on his cheek. “I give you more of my blood and you do it. The split seems suppressed in your body.”

“I really don’t like the sound of you getting your blood drawn ever again.”

I cringed, bracing. “Hold tight because you’re not going to like what else I’m formulating.” I sighed and released him, knowing he might need space with what I was about to say. “I think we should get more people to help us.”

With the words, he scrubbed his face with his hands.

“People we trust. The more we have, the faster we can get them out.”

He squeezed his eyes shut and ran his hand over his face once again .

“I know, it’ll be hard for both of us, but we can do this, Fletcher. You know I’m right. If this works. This is it.” A sullen smile touched my lips. “Then we can live freely here. We can go travel the world together. The enchantments won’t be dangerous if the Cidris are gone.”

He finally looked at me. And with one long sigh, most of the tension fled from his posture. He tucked an errant lock of hair behind my ear. “I want to meet with Mirin then, and I want to see that it’s possible to deactivate those cages before we involve anyone else.”

I squealed and rushed forward, throwing my arms back around his neck and kissing his lips. “Sounds like a plan.”

“Sounds like a plan,” he echoed softly.

I dismounted the bed and got on my knees in front of him, folded arms over his lap. “If all goes well, who else do you trust to take them down with us?”

“You and Aldris.”

I scrunched my lips to one side. “That’s it?”

“Yup.”

I rested my head on my arms, gaze riveted on the rectangular window at the top of the wall above the bed. “What about Graff?”

“You’re telling me you trust him? ”

I lifted my head to gaze into his cinnamon eyes. “He’s bonded with me, no?”

He shrugged. “I guess. But that doesn’t make me trust him.”

Eyeing the basket of ocaberries on the nightstand, I reached over, grabbed two, and popped them in my mouth. “Okay, what about Rosaanne?” The sweet juices of the berries coated my tongue and seeped through my bloodstream as I swallowed.

“She would only distract you. I will not risk you getting distracted while in the facility.”

I shook my head and ate another one. “She wouldn’t—”

In a swift movement, he joined me on the floor, grabbing the back of my head, and crashing his lips to mine.

When his tongue entered my mouth, it played with the remnant of ocaberry, taking it for himself.

My mind alerted in excitement, desperate for his mouth to return to mine after he retreated and chewed on the berry.

As I leaned forward for more, he said with a smile, “Let me meet Mirin first and see what happens.”