Page 21 of Enchanted Heir
“You did what?”
I shrugged. “I cut my palm and wanted to see if my blood would help the lake.”
Keir shook his head at me. “It didn’t change the lake, but it changed the ground.How?”
Owen rubbed the hair on the back of his head. “There must be something in her blood. Something that revives it?”
“What’s in her blood?” Keir asked. “A higher concentration of iron?”
“Easy now,” Krew stated. “You’re beginning to sound like father.”
“Well, I’d just like to know before he does,” Keir muttered.
“Of course,” I provided, “it could be coincidence.” I turned toward Owen. “May I have the dagger that you keep in your boot?”
Owen smirked. “Why am I not surprised you know that?”
He did as I asked and went to hand it over to me, but Krew grabbed it out of his hand.
He spun toward me. “Fine. We can test this theory.” He looked at the flower. “But not there. And you do not get to come out here cutting your palm every day, Jorah. Something in your blood might be the key to unlocking the forest, yes, but until we know more, you can’t just do this out here every day. If someone notices this, they’ll start asking questions. And everyone with half a brain knows how you feel about this forest. It wouldn’t be hard to put the two together.”
I nodded. “Okay. I get it.”
He held the dagger out but kept it just out of reach. “You do not spill a single drop of your blood without Owen and I both present, got it?”
“Yes, Your Highness. Now can I have the dagger, please?”
Owen gave his head a shake. “I’ve never seen someone so eager to spill blood.”
I squinted at him. “Only my own. I want to fix the forest, Owen. You know that. You’ve walked with me every day to this lake to see if there was a change.” I looked back at Krew, “Okay, mastermind, where would you like me to do this?”
Keir pointed to a tree in the corner. “Over by that tree. Away from the other spot. The spots you try this on need to have no rhyme or reason should someone happen to stumble upon it.”
I couldn’t disagree with that. “Smart thinking.”
I remembered Keir being affected by me cutting my palm the last time we stood here. Had that really just been weeks ago? It felt like forever ago. But knowing how the Enchanted felt about palms and magic, I headed over to the tree Keir had pointed out.
I did a quick cut to the opposite hand I had last time, trying my best not to grimace or wince as I did. It stung, making my shoulders tense from the pain of it, but only for a moment.
I crouched down, digging my fingernails into a fist and waited for there to be enough blood to drip off.
“No more palm cutting,” Krew said from behind me. “You aren’t transferring any magic to the forest because you don’t have any. If we attempt this a third time, just use a finger prick and carry a few drops out here. It’s easier to hide that way.”
“So now you tell me,” I chided.
He let out a laugh. “You didn’t give me enough time to.”
“Good point.” Then I added, “Don’t tell me you have a thing for palms too.”
“Of course I do,” Krew said as if it were obvious. “But the only time you should ever have to cut your palm is in a bonding ceremony.”
I turned to look him in the eyes. “Well, I don’t care to have magic, so maybe I’ll just bond with the forest instead.”
From behind him I could see Owen and Keir looking around and pointing, and if trying to decide where the next test plot should be.
“You don’t wantanymagic?” Krew asked quietly.
“No.”
