I put down the food in my hand, suddenly no longer hungry.
'It was real,' I say quietly.
'Don't tell anyone you can do this,' Jak says, and the others nod.
'I won't,’ I say adamantly.
'Did he say anything else? Your father?'
I look down at the table. 'Well, he also said I could steal mages’ magicks. Suck them dry.'
Locke’s eyes widen. 'Gods, Bryn. That's quite a gift if it's true. I’ve never heard of such a thing.'
'Try it on Locke,' Morgan urges from beside me, sounding a little bit too gleeful at the prospect for my liking.
'No,' I say immediately, not wanting to hurt any of them. 'Besides, I think I already did it when we were in the cave.'
Locke frowns.
'Yes,' he says slowly. 'I remember. I felt as if my magick was being snuffed out. It was quite painful.'
‘It was an accident,’ I say ruefully. ‘I wouldn't want to do it to you again.'
'Still, you should try. Perhaps not here, not now, but it could mean the difference between life and death if Voss ever has another chance at you,’ Jak says. ‘Being able to stop him from using his magick would be quite the weapon against him.’
He stands abruptly. ‘Come. Let’s go back to our rooms. The hour grows late.’
Our meal all but finished, we all rise and walk the short journey back to the Great Library together. I take in the last remnants of the gaiety of the night, staring at the dancers in the streets and watching the freefolk in their enjoyments in case I never get to see such a thing again.
By the time we get back to our rooms, exhaustion has caught up to me, and I'm half asleep as we trudge up the stairs to our chambers. Jak brings me to my room, removes my clothes, and tucks me up into bed.
He turns to leave, but I grip his hand.
‘Don’t,’ I beg, the many events of the day turning my thoughts dark. ‘I don’t want to be alone.’
He hesitates, but then nods. ‘Will you sleep?’
I shrug. ‘I’m tired but…’
‘Sit up,’ he commands quietly. ‘Face away from me.’
I raise a brow, getting on all fours, and expecting him totouch me, but all he does is take hold of my shoulders and draw me toward him, so I’m kneeling in front of him on the bed with my back to him. I turn my head in question, but then he begins to knead my neck and shoulders with gentle, but firm hands, as if I’m a piece of dough on a baker’s table.
I can’t help the groan that leaves my lips, my body relaxing, my head hanging forward as I succumb to his expert fingers. He manipulates my flesh until I’m a veritable puddle and I can barely keep my eyes open.
When he notices this, he has me lie down, covers us both with the blanket, and cuddles me from behind, one thumb still rubbing my neck as I begin to doze off.
The next thing I know,there's sunlight streaming through the casement. There’s a knock at my door, and a servant comes in with a tray. She leaves it with a small murmur of 'good morning,' and, bleary-eyed, I sit up.
Jak isn’t here. I blink at the divot in the mattress next to me. He did stay last night as I asked, but he must have been up with the lark.
He was meeting with Vie, I recall, wondering if I should have been at this early meeting as well. But, I suppose if he didn’t wake me, I wasn’t needed.
On the table, I find eggs and bacon, fried bread, and fruit, along with a steaming cup of tea. I eat what I can. By all accounts I feel well considering all that happened yesterday. My guts are in knots thinking about what's going to happentoday.
I open the bag that Gwen gave me yesterday, adding one of the sachets of leaves to my cup. I should try to be as strong as possible, and she did say they would help.
I hear the tenth chime of the morning and realize it can't be long before the festival will start properly. I need to be out in the streets soon, as conspicuous as possible. Morgan and Jak told me that the Underhill’s spies in the Dark Realms had been leaking tidbits about a Fate Touched human female who’d be in Kitore for the festivities along with a description, so they should be looking for me.
