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I trust you.
Pressing the sharp blade against his pale, colorless neck, I exert pressure until the skin gives in, and a bead of deep, nearly black blood rises to the surface.
“Keep going, cut down until you have a shape that matches the size of your lips.”
Following his instructions, I drag the knife down estimating a cut that will match my mouth. Blood coats the blade, dripping down his neck onto his chest. Tei looks completely unbothered, head leaned back against the edge of the tub as if taking a nap. Once the cut is done, I pull the knife back. His hand reaches for the back of my neck, fingers lacing with my hair, and he pulls me forward until my lips are lined with the incision I just made.
“Now drink, little witch. This power is my gift to you, don’t let it go to waste.”
I let my tongue dart out to lick the bead that has dripped down his chest. It shouldn’t surprise me that his blood tastes like Tei smells — mulled spices, hot and sweet. The droplets are thick like molasses in my mouth. Scorching fire travels down my trachea into my stomach, until it settles in that space from which all my witchy instincts bloom.
When it does, it’s an explosion of technicolor unlike anything I’ve ever felt, including swallowing a spirit’s life essence. It’s pure, unadulterated power cursing through my veins. Not just static, but thunder.
I can’t hold back a moan.
“Feels good, uh?” Tei asks.
I try to pull back to speak, to explain how incredible his power is in me, but Tei holds me against his cut. “It’ll heal soon; drink your fill before it’s gone.”
He doesn’t have to tell me twice. Latching my lips on the lacerated skin, I suckle on it, coating my mouth in spiced-wine-flavored blood. All the while, as I drink like a mindless creature, Tei strokes my hair back, humming sweet nothings in my ear.
By the time I pull away, the world is just… different.
Everything is clearer, lines are sharper, colors more vivid. Smells are more intense. The horizon ripples, as if the line between this world and the next has made itself more visible. I take everything in with mouth agape.
“Is this… is this how you see the world?” I ask.
“I don’t know. Since I don’t know your normal experience, I can’t speak to your heightened one, either. But I would assume ours are closer, now.”
“So what happens now? What’s our next move?”
“Now that you’re all juiced up, we try again. Let’s see how you do with some Royal power in you.”
chapter 48
a piece of the puzzle
esmeralda
Making the last trinket is our first priority, of course, but I can’t forget the promise I made to Mei. And with all this Beyond power coursing through me, it feels like the perfect time to try and find the answer to my ghost friend’s problem.
Except nothing in the grimoire speaks of doors to the Beyond bolted shut, and I can’t exactly ask Tei, seen as I promised Mei I wouldn’t tell him. That leaves exactly one person who might know the answer. I tell Tei I’m out of milk for my coffee — an excuse mundanely human enough for him to believe without questions — and once I’m alone in the streets of Barcelona, I fish my phone from my tote bag and find my cousin’s number.
Marta answers after a few rings. “Hola?”
“Marta? It’s Esme.”
“Cosina,” she answers, and the term of endearment warms something deep in my stomach, whether she means it or not. “Did you find the grimoire?”
I pause, debating with myself for a second, but decide honesty is the best policy. “I did, yes.”
She sucks in a breath. “What is it like?”
“Uhm… very old?” Then, choosing to throw her a bone, I say, “I’ll be in Barcelona for a while.” At least as long as I don’t die, though I don’t voice that part. “Maybe you can come by some time, and take a look at it?”
She doesn’t hesitate. “I’d really like that.”
We make some non-committal plans to see each other over the next few weeks as I walk to the small grocery store down by the corner and pick up a carton of skim milk.
