AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Nelle closes her eyes, drawing in a deep breath. Letting the words roll around in her mind. “Liv, of course, I trust you with my life,” she breathes, nodding in assent. My breath comes out in a whoosh, her hesitancy feeling like the moment before a judge brings down the gavel, delivering their verdict.
“Now, you might not like this part.” I wince, realizing she may back out once Adrian explains what needs to happen. The ritual sounds absurd even to me, and I’ve been living in this strange world with powers, gods, and demons for over a month now.
“Oh no, is it going to be worse than when we got our belly buttons pierced?” she asks, cringing at the memory. Adrian catches my eye, quirking his brow in question, giving me his mischievous grin. Of course, he would know I no longer have that piercing, I took it out when that fad ended. I roll my eyes at him before directing my attention back to Nelle.
I nod sympathetically at her, wincing a little at the shared memory. That was one big-ass needle they used. Her shoulders deflate, yet she doesn’t take back her words. Even though she squealed like a baby when she got her piercing done, squeezing my hand so hard I swear I lost circulation in it for the next week.
“It’s called a blood ritual,” Adrian explains, producing a large silver dagger. He reaches behind him as if to pull it from his waistband, but I see it forming in his palm out of the corner of my eyes. The dagger is intricately designed, swirls and wings etched into the blade.
Nelle’s face pales at the sight of the blade. Sunlight glints off the smooth metal, casting beams of light on the far wall.
“It’s hard to explain right now, but I can perform this ritual, binding you by blood. You would be blood sisters. That’s the only way Liv will be able to share the truth with you,” Adrian explains, letting his arm with the dagger fall to his side.
She casts a questioning gaze at me, searching for confirmation. Her face relaxes at my nod.
“Okay, slice me up, doc,” she chirps, holding out her palm to him. Her face whips in the other direction, betraying her nerves, despite her confident tone.
Adrian looks towards me, silently making sure I’m ready. I nod, holding out my palm to him. My other clasps Nelle’s, and I’m thoroughly preparing to not have full use of it for at least two weeks.
Adrian produces a piece of aging paper, liberally using his powers. Nelle’s eyes are glued shut, her breaths coming out in small pants. I cast a wary gaze at her, hoping she won’t pass out.
“Maybe you should sit down?” I offer. She pulls her eyelids open reluctantly, taking a deep breath to compose herself.
“I’ll be fine.” She gives me a weak smile that doesn’t reach her eyes, her hand squeezing mine tightly.
Adrian takes this as his sign to start reciting the words on the page. The language is incomprehensible to me, and Nelle shoots me a silent look of confusion, to which I shrug. Panic sets in her eyes. I squeeze her hand, bringing her attention back on me, giving her a withering stare. How on earth did she expect me to learn a whole new language in a month? She relaxes at my silent chiding, sticking her tongue out at me in response. Yes, we are very mature, I’m very aware.
Adrian’s hand cradles my own, the dagger poised over my open palm. I inhale sharply as pain slices across my skin, and Nelle’s hand grips mine in comfort. Blood wells in the open wound, beading on my skin, although the cut’s not deep enough to allow the blood to spill from my palm.
Adrian continues his chanting, the lilting words sliding off his tongue in a smooth caress. He moves to Nelle, placing the dagger above her palm, just as he had done with mine. She whips her head to the side, hand clamping down on mine, at the slice of the blade.
Adrian’s eyes meet mine, signaling the next step. He’d explained earlier that our blood needs to mix for the ritual to be complete. I reach out with my other hand, grasping hers. His words continue for a long moment until I feel a surge of power building around us. It swells into a crescendo before it crashes over us. I think Nelle’s body stiffens at the wave of power washing over us, sinking in our bones.
“What was that?” she asks once the power settles around us. Her eyes are slightly dazed.
Adrian nods in confirmation. The ritual worked, binding us as blood sisters. I pull her into my arms, tears springing to my eyes. Feeling the connection thrumming between us. She rubs a soothing hand down my back, pulling away slightly to wipe a stray tear rolling down my cheek.
“We’re going to show you,” I assure her, my hand smoothing over her silky black curls. At my words, Adrian steps up to my side, wrapping his arms around the two of us.
“Hold on,” he teases—giving me the warning I asked for before plunging us into darkness.
