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“You’d do that?” He blinked, waited for her to take the bait.
“Of course!” She moved closer, until her leg was pressed against his, and then rested her hand on his thigh. “You’ve given me a home, safety in a dangerous city. It’s the very least I could do.”
“I would be indebted to you,” he said, and it even sounded as though he meant it.
“No! Never.” She shook her head, but he knew it was a lie. It was what she wanted, to harness herself to his growing power. She wasn’t even good at hiding it.
Too bad she’d never get what she desired most.
He waited a beat and then another before covering her hand with his and giving her a look that was pure sadness. “It wouldn’t work anyway. The injury was made with Viola’s knife—a bespelled blade. Natural magic alone wouldn’t be enough.…” He glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. “But perhaps…”
“Yes?” Her voice was breathy as she inched closer yet.
“It’s possible that you could focus your affinity through an object of ritual magic,” he told her. “It would have to be powerful.…”
She took her other hand and ran a single finger over the surface of the ring he was wearing. “What about this?” Her eyes glinted, and he knew in an instant he’d been right.
It was a shame, really. She was so clearly drawn to power, so willing to do whatever it took. They might have been good together. At the very least, she might have been amusing for a while.
“The Delphi’s Tear?” He lifted his brows.
She brushed her finger over it again, and this time she shuddered from the power radiating from it. “Maybe it would help?”
“It could be dangerous,” he warned. “Channeling that much power. I’m not sure if you should…”
“I’d be willing to try. After all you’ve done for me.” Her teeth scraped at her full lower lip, innocence and temptation all at once, but he didn’t fall for it. And he certainly didn’t have time to be interested. At least not until he was whole again.
He hesitated, only for a heartbeat. Only enough to make her think he was actually concerned for her safety. Then he took the ring, twisted it so it faced down, and grasped her hand so her palm was pressed to the ring between them. “Only if you’re sure,” he said.
She scooted closer until her whole body was pressed against him and squeezed his hand. Then she closed her eyes.
Almost immediately, energy crackled in the air, and James could feel Anna’s affinity brush against the power in the ring. She was stronger than he’d realized. Her affinity swelled, and he felt an echoing call in his hip. He could feel himself knitting back together as the stone in the ring surged with heat. The gold suddenly felt like a brand against his skin.
Anna’s eyes flew open. There was pain in her expression. And fear. She started to pull away, but James locked his hand around hers.
“Keep going,” he commanded as he tightened his fingers, keeping her trapped with her skin pressed to the ring.
She was shaking her head, and there were tears streaming down her cheeks, but he only reached for the cane. A reminder of the promise she’d made a week ago when she’d allowed the intertwined serpents to be inked onto the skin just above her heart. Even now he could see the very edge of a tail curving up from the neckline of her dress.
“Finish it,” he commanded, sensing the power in the silver gorgon’s head surge against him.
He could feel everything—the knitting of bone and sinew and muscle healing, the pulsing power of the Delphi’s Tear, and the fear coursing through the girl as she obeyed his command. Until the ache burned away to nothing. Until, spent, she slumped unconscious across his lap.
James could hardly breathe. The air was filled with the wild energy of their magic, with the power of the stone. It was only a knock at the door that sent him moving again. He pushed the girl to the side and stood, without pain. And without the aid of the cane.
But the Aether was still thrumming its indecipherable message. Healing his leg had been an answer, but it wasn’t the one he was looking for.
Werner was waiting on the other side of the door. His eyes shifted to the room behind James, where the girl was lying on the couch. “Sorry,” he said, blinking. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.…”
“You didn’t,” he said honestly. “What is it?”
“Torrio just arrived,” Werner told him. “Something about Eastman’s guys roughing up some of the Five Pointers. He’s waiting downstairs.”
Perhaps that was the cause for the Aether’s message.
James looked back over his shoulder and nodded toward the girl. He couldn’t tell if she was breathing. He felt a pang of something like regret. She might have been amusing. But the ring was still warm on his finger, and his leg felt sure and steady beneath him, so he couldn’t quite bring himself to care. “Take care of that, would you? I’ll deal with Torrio myself.”
FAMILIAR MAGIC
