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CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

ORION

B lood magic overwhelmed me, swallowing me in a sickening storm of iron and crimson.

“Orion!” Miko barked.

I lost my grip on his hand, falling, falling, falling. Sinking into so much red, my brain pressing against my skull.

“Only one place for it to go, cherry fae,” Dawn said, somewhere in the redness.

“What are?—”

“As I learn, as I grow, I come across interesting facts. I may have faltered in your wretched homelands, yet it does not hinder my learning.”

Ding! It had weakened itself by eating my people.

“You… You assbug…”

“Nasty Faery insects. See? I learn things. Like devouring blood magi to unlock their secrets. They have always tasted foul to me, but now I understand their uses.”

“You can…use their…”

“Magic? Yes. Yes. Yes. Dawn is grand.” It laughed. “Another fact I came across is High Altitude Cerebral Edema. Have you heard of it?”

A million drills screamed in my skull, preventing me from answering.

“A terrible thing. Apparently, your brain leaks out of your spinal cord.” More laughter.

I tried fighting, the magic far too intense. Worse than my previous dalliances with the blood-loving assbugs.

“You do not win,” Dawn said. “I win.”

“Mi—”

“I win. I win. I win. Shall we see what happens as your brain swells? Shall we see, cherry fae? Shall we see?”

I screamed, blood gushing from my nose as pain bloomed there.

“No!” Dawn wailed. “Put it back! Put it back! Put it back!”