Page 120 of Enchanted Kingdom
“Maybe you need some magic-immune blood then?” I asked while already searching around for a stick.
He sighed. “Come here, you reckless woman.”
I looked over to see him with a knife.
“Ah ha,” I said triumphantly. “He comes prepared.”
“For my consort to give blood to a dead lake? Always,” he deadpanned as he handed over the knife.
I held up the knife to my thumb, trying to prick just the end of it so I could squeeze some blood into the lake.
“No,” Keir insisted. “Not the thumb.”
I stopped to look at him.
He sighed and put his hands on his hips. “I can’t believe I am entertaining this, but when the bonding ceremonies are done, it is a small slash to the palm, the center of our magic output. If you truly want this to work, try that?”
Before I could even think of what I was doing, I handed him the knife.
“I—” Keir refused to take it from me, shoving my hand holding the knife back toward me. “I cannot, Jorah.”
“Well you know how it’s done, and I do not,” I argued while shoving my open palm at him.
Keir was still shaking his head. He refused to take the knife but grabbed my hand. “Palms are everything to Enchanted, Jorah. As are our entire hands, but because of the bonding, for me to slice your palm is about as intimate as it can get.” He ran a finger over the cracks in my palm as he took a shaky breath that sent my heart racing. “But thank you for trusting me to cut you, I just don’t trust myself enough to do it. Nor am I sure I truly deserve that honor yet.”
I was still distracted by how he was gently touching my palm. How intently he was gazing at it. “Oh.” Then I snatched my hand out of his grip. “Wait. You know I’m not asking you to give me any of your magic right now, right?”
He smirked. “Yes. I know that, but it is still a beautiful palm, Jorah.”
Were all Enchanted this into palms and hands? I walked over to the edge of the water before he distracted me any further.
“Please don’t go into the water,” Keir suggested. “It won’t hurt you or anything but trust me when I say it smells rotten.”
I gave him a nod. I took the knife in one hand, the cold of the dagger felt in one palm, while I did a smooth motion, barely cutting a small line into my other palm. It stung, and I wasn’t sure it was even going to work, but I squeezed the cut until I was bleeding, then held my fist over the water.
A drop of my blood hit the Dead Lake.
And nothing happened.
Three drops later, still nothing had happened.
“Dammit,” I muttered. “That would’ve been too easy.”
“Thank you for trying,” Keir said from behind me. “And thank you for caring. The rest of us have long since given up on this forest and the lake.”
He came over to me while I kept looking at the lake. I didn’t know what I expected, a ripple of magic. Or my blood to work like magic and web and weave across the lake, but nothing happened.
“You’re still bleeding,” Keir said gently as he took off his jacket. He tore off the cuff of his muslin shirt and reached for my hand. “Here.”
He gently wrapped my hand, taking care to tuck the ends in, then gave my fingers a kiss when he was done.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“You’re welcome,” Keir said before brushing a kiss to my temple.
Since Keir was already sure to be late for dinner, we headed back to the castle, back to the roles we each had to play. Back to the game that threatened to tear us apart.
CHAPTER34
