Faylinn paused her stroking and lifted my chin with her other hand so our eyes met again.
“You started Awakening,” she breathed, full of fear.
Instantly, my muscles tightened and a cold sweat broke across my brow and back.
No. No, I can’t Awaken. I can’t leave her here. I can’t be another body.
“No.” I shook my head in denial.
“Yes.” Faylinn’s voice was hard, but her eyes were soft. Empathy, pity, and sorrow; all warring emotions. “If they overload your system with pain again tomorrow . . . you’ll Awaken. And your body won’t be able to support it.”
The way she spoke was so factual. I believed every word she said.
Partly because I trusted Faylinn. Partly because I’d seen it happen countless times over the past months. But mostly because Ifeltit. Like my own blood would kill me.
My hands shook as I framed Faylinn’s face, never peeling my eyes from hers.
“Then stay with me tomorrow? Don’t let me die alone,” I whispered, and a single tear fell from her eye, which I brushed gently away.
“Let me help you,” she whispered against my lips.
“How? It doesn’t work. We’ve seen it, Fay. Lord d’Refan is . . . wrong. You can’t hold two affinities.”
She shook her head against my own.
“He’s not wrong, Lex. He just doesn’t have all the puzzle pieces.” Her voice was barely audible, like she was telling me a dark secret.
“What do you mean, Faylinn?” I asked, daring to hope.
“In order to carry two affinities, there needs to be a conduit. An additive agent. Something that supports the body in its transition.”
She paused, and I waited for her to continue.
“A rune, Lex. There’s a specific rune that allows a person to carry two affinities. But to draw the rune, it requires a blood sacrifice from another,” she whispered against my lips.
“Blood is magic . . .” I mused back and felt her smile.
“Yes, blood is magic.”
“How do you know this, Faylinn?”
“I told you that in my village, we practice—practiced—runic magic. The ancient Blood Magic. There are texts there that date back to the fall of the gods—the Sundering. Some even predate it. Well, our elders quickly discovered that in order for the rune to work, the blood sacrifice had to come from someone who was not yet Awakened. There weren’t many unAwakened adults in our community, even fewer children.” Her voice wavered, and I had to strain to hear her words.
Faylinn paused, breathing hard, and her words finally hit me.
Not many children. The scars on her arms before she was even placed here. Her parents selling her off but Faylinn understanding . . .
“No.” My voice broke as I came to the realization. “No, Fay. I’m not going to do that to you. Especially after what you’ve beenthrough at their hands. At the hands of the men here. No, I won’t be another man who hurts you.”
Faylinn smiled again, but it was weak.
“But that’s the thing, Lex. You’re not taking it from me. I’m freely giving it. Let me do this one thing for you, Lex. Please. Let me give my blood for you. Let me help you live. Because if you die tomorrow, I’ll follow you straight through.”
I stroked her hair, her chin, her cheek, brushing the tears away that were freely falling.
“Okay,” I muttered, and I felt her sag in my hands. Faylinn turned her face into my palm and laid a single kiss on it before taking it from her cheek.
Hesitantly, I pulled my arms back and awkwardly held them in my lap, waiting for her next move.
