Page 33 of Witch Unbound
I studied the almost sly smile on her lips. “I’m assuming yours are magnified?”
The smile widened to a grin that she paired with a shrug. “Assume away.”
That wasn’t an answer, but whatever.
Bramble sat forward eagerly. “Do it. Cut him.”
“Easy.” Lauris shot her a wary glance.
She shrugged. “It’s not often I get to see you bleed.”
He arched a brow. “And that would make you happy?”
She smirked up at him. “Undoubtedly.”
He snorted and shook his head. “Let’s do this, Ida.”
Ida ran the blade across his palm and dark blood welled in its wake. He squeezed his hand into a fist, forcing the crimson into the bowl.
“That should do it,” Ida said.
He sat back, nursing his wounded hand, and Ida handed him a handkerchief to staunch the blood. No doubt he would heal soon enough.
Ida sat forward, staring into the bowl unblinking, muttering softly under her breath.
I wanted to ask how she was able to read blood, but I kept my mouth shut. Questions could wait. The hairs on my nape prickled and a shiver raced up my arms. My witchy senses told me something was happening, and then the air above the bowl began to crackle and shimmer as a purple cloud formed and tiny bolts of lightning sliced through it. Ida didn’t flinch. Her gaze remained focused on the bowl, as if looking through the cloud, as if she didn’t see the cloud at all but was searching something beyond it.
Long minutes passed and no one spoke. The cloud changed to blue, then green, then to a deep crimson before dropping down into the bowl and evaporating.
“Shit.” Ida sat back with a frown. “Well…that’s a first.”
“What happened?” Lauris asked. “What did you see?”
“Nothing.” She dragged her gaze from the bowl to him. “Your blood is…unreadable. And that, in itself, is a mystery.”
Lauris stared at the bowl, then at Ida. “I don’t understand.”
“Neither do I. Blood tells a story. Italwaystells a story, but your blood has no tale. No origin. No clues. Nothing.” She studied him speculatively. “It makes no sense. Unless…Unless you’re spelled.” She sat forward abruptly and grabbed hold of Lauris’s face.
Lauris let out a shocked peep but didn’t pull away, allowing her to study him for long seconds.
“Urgh.” She released him and sat back. “I can’t sense anything.”
“Maybe you’re just shit at blood reading?” Bramble suggested.
I bit back a snort of laughter.
Ida glared at Bramble. “I’m the best at it, actually. If I can’t read him, then something is blocking me.”
“Then unblock it,” Lauris demanded.
“I can’t.” She looked pained to admit that. “Not if I’m unable to sense it.”
Lauris’s shoulders slumped. “So that’s it, then. No answers.”
Ida covered his hand with hers. “No, Lauris, that’s not true. We’ve learned that someone went to a lot of trouble to hide the truth in your blood. And that’s certainly something.”
Lauris’s jaw tensed. “Bador will know. He has to tell me.” He nodded curtly at Ida. “Thank you for trying.”
