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‘… if not for Korok and his idiocy,’ Zera stubbornly continued while she staggered on, talking over her unwilling moment of fragility. ‘He managed to teach Achlys and Melinoë this magic even though he never had any colour magic himself. So perhaps it doesn’t matter if I have any magic at all. As long as I’m still capable of waking those powers in you …’
That sentence remained unfinished. Out of breath, she dragged the bag around the last bend of our narrow path, then lowered it into the grass with a heartfelt sigh.
‘Well.’ A tinge of relief to her voice. ‘There we go.’
I followed her, treading with utmost care so as not to bruise my toes against my boots, which felt rigid and rough to my oversensitive skin. Around the bend …
I thought it was a small arbour at first, then realised the intricate roof over the little clearing was nothing but willow branches braided together. They created a small, leafy dome, a shield to protect what grew below – a single blooming plant, rising from the centre of the open space.
Its bulb-shaped flowers were a crystalline azure, five petals curled protectively around a vulnerable heart. It was only when I snuck closer that I saw the veins glittering in the blue. They were finer than cobwebs, but unmistakably gold – an eerie, pulsing gold I recognised in the blink of an eye.
I’d seen it before in a pentagonal basin, sending strange flickers of light over the mosaic walls of Etele’s Underground memorial.
My gaze dropped to the roots of the plant. The earth around it seemed strangely dry, but small beads of gold stuck to the lowest leaves and stem, like dried, cracking paint.
‘Blood?’ It came out breathless. ‘You’ve been watering it with yourblood?’
‘It’s a helpful way to concentrate what little power I have left,’ Zera said, a touch of amusement to her low voice. ‘And on this specific occasion, a more pleasant method to swear you in. But do tell me if you prefer to drink it straight from my veins. Korok always claimed the magic was more effective that way.’
I blinked, not sure which of the several disconcerting thoughts sparking in my mind deserved most priority on the way to my lips. ‘You … you need to drink divine blood to be godsworn?’
‘Mm-hmm.’ She did not look disturbed in the slightest.
‘Hell.’ I glanced at the plant and grimaced. ‘You’re saying Agenor drank Korok’s blood.’
‘It would hardly be the most ridiculous thing he’s done in his life,’ Zera said dryly, smoothing her linen tunic over her angular hips. ‘Although he’ll doubtlessly tell you it was a most dignified and honourable ceremony. If you could step aside, dear? Thank you.’
I stumbled out of the way, and she knelt beside the plant and gently pulled one of the plump blue flowers from its stem. It unfolded at that, revealing a white- and gold-flecked heart in Zera’s palm.
‘Last time I saw divine blood’, I said and swallowed, ‘it blew up half an army.’
Zera’s chuckle was joyless. ‘I didn’t curse these flowers, if that is your concern. Our blood is not inherently malicious.’
I eyed the petals suspiciously as she plucked them from the heart. They didn’tlookmalicious, admittedly, and nothing exploded … but the merciless destruction caused by just that little vial of Etele’s blood was hard to block from my mind’s eye completely.
Zera turned to me, pretending not to notice my wariness, and pressed two of the petals in my palm. ‘Eat them.’
‘Just …’ My heart leapt around my chest like a goat kid seeing a meadow for the first time. ‘Just like this?’
She nodded. I gave the delicate petals a last glance, told myself it was better than sucking blood straight from her veins, and stuffed them into my mouth without further ado. They tasted oddly sweet – not metallic like blood at all – a honey-like flavour that bloomed in my mouth as I chewed and brought an unexpected warmth along, like the heat of heavily spiced food. The petals tingled down my throat when I swallowed, drawing a slow line to my stomach.
The warmth trickled into my limbs, spreading through me in a rosy blush. My knees stopped trembling. My heartbeat slowed. The sunlight and the rustling leaves mellowed, slipped back into their roles as background noise rather than a constant assault on my vulnerable senses.
‘Good,’ Zera said softly. ‘At least my blood still does what it needs to do.’
I looked up and stiffened.
Gone were the kind green eyes and the tanned face, the fragile frame and the bony limbs. The creature before me was five solid feet of whirling power – still human-shaped, but there was nothing human about the dizzying play of light that made up her physique now, a storm of magic only barely contained by mortal skin and bones. If this was what she waswithouther power of old …
My throat turned dry, and still I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her. The true meaning of divinity – of magic that could tear worlds apart and minds that understood the secrets of the universe itself – had not fully dawned on me until that moment.
‘Ah, yes.’ Even her voice sounded different, low and deep like howling wind. The amusement was still there, however, a touch of humanity. ‘I’d forgotten about that part. It’ll wear off. Best sit down, dear – this may lead to some dizziness.’
I needed no further urging, plopping to the ground in breathless obedience. Zera sank down beside me and held out the blazing fleck of light that was her hand to me; her flickering fingers gestured for me to take it.
‘Um,’ I said, studying the unearthly matter of her body with some suspicion. ‘Is that safe?’
Her laughter vibrated the very air around me. ‘I’m not the one who nearly killed you last time.’
