“There is, but I just need to sit for a minute.”I still hurt, but my muscle aches are easing dramatically now.Bastien doesn’t look great either.Though the pair of them are rested, showered and changed, both of them have mottled bruising in various places and the odd cut starting to scab.Bastien is limping and appears to be in a world of pain despite the brave face.
Lex has a split lip that seems to be the worst of her injuries.“You changed your beads,” I say.
She twiddles the beads at the end of her hair.“Yeah, I needed to do something.”
“They look cute.”
She smiles but it doesn’t meet her eyes.She encourages me to the sofa and throws the blanket over me, then huddles me into her arms.
“The tower is more or less fixed,” Bastien says as he places a tray of tea and some nibbles on the table before perching on the arm of the chair.
I reach for a biscuit, dying for the sugar.Anything to pep me up.
“Ignatius went into your room, and you’re still here… we weren’t sure if he’d…” Lex says.
“Not that we’re unhappy about that,” Bastien laughs.
Lex wallops him in the arm.“Obviously not.Dumbass,” she says, giving him a sweet smile.
I narrow my eyes at the pair of them trying to work out what’s going on.
“It’s not like that,” Lex says.
“No, I’m actually seeing someone,” Bastien says.
“Yeah, and I am seeing my studies right now.Did I tell you I discovered a book calledSacrificial Contracts?Unfortunately, I can’t find it in the library.But if I can find it, I might be able to finally work out what happened with my sister,” Lex answers.
I shrug, too tired to work out what they’re hiding.Maybe they’re just trauma bonded from the fight and the tower collapse and the shitstorm on campus the last few days.
“So, what’s happening?”Bastien asks, cupping my hand and squeezing.
“Lucy… She… erm…” But a surge of emotions rise up, not sadness anymore, but heat.Thick and frothing, it coats my bones and burns my tongue with a sour taste.I take a slurp of tea and start talking.
I explain everything, starting with the fact that Lucy and I cracked the third rune and the night walk we took right before she made me reap her.
They both wince at that point, which serves to make me feel vindicated.
“Let me get this straight.Lucy told you she loved you, thereby handing her magic over, then made you kill her?”Bastien asks, his eyebrow set firmly to raised.
“I can understand why you’re so cross with her,” Lex says.
Bastien nods.“I can’t believe she made you reap her.Who does that?”
“Well, it’s not like she had anyone else she could ask, though,” Lex says, flipflopping between understanding my fury and sympathising with Lucy.I glare at her as if to say ‘whose fucking side are you on’, and she gives me an ‘I’m sorry’ shrug.
“Hold on, so you’re now a demon?”Bastien says, his face crumpling as he tries to do demonic math.
“No?Well, maybe?I don’t really know.How does one evenbecomea demon?”
Lex raises a finger and opens her mouth and then closes it again.“I’m adding it to the research list.”
“Vetch told me I just need to figure out what I want and then decide there’s no other plausible possibility, and poof!whatever I want will happen.But I’m sure there are other layers of complexity.”
Lex tilts her head.“Maybe, but that is probably the basis of it.Sure, you’ll have to draw on the magic, and that might be different than taking it from campus.And then there’s the entropy moths and contracts too.”
I place a hand over her mouth.“Much as you overwhelming me is delightful, I don’t have time to learn any of this stuff.”
Bastien lifts my hand off Lex’s face.“What have you done now?”
