Page 68 of Soulbound Shadows: Part 2

“There is something that may help,” he said mildly. “Although it is somewhat…”

“What is it?” I asked.

“Well, you’ve been feeling much more powerful since you began consuming Evangeline’s blood, haven’t you?” Marcus asked. He was gratingly cheerful now, which I guessed meant he was pleased about knowing something we didn’t know.

“How—Never mind. Yes, I have been,” I admitted. “I thought perhaps if I drank from you before the battle it might help,” I told Evangeline.

Her scowl softened slightly.

“There’s a more direct solution,” Marcus said. “The blood drinking would no longer be required, and you would be able to, well, find balance. As the wand drained you, Evangeline’s magic would fill you right back up. The drain would be balanced between the two of you.”

Next to me, Evangeline had put her hands on her face, which wasn’t doing anything to hide the fact that she was slowly but inexorably flushing pink.

“What would it require?” I asked.

“Oh, just a quick ceremony,” Marcus said breezily.

Evangeline let out a strangled squeak. Isabella grinned, her eyes sparkling.

“And you’re sure this would work?” I pressed him.

“Absolutely,” he promised. “The two of you would form a continuous loop of magic. Or life force, power, whichever you prefer. Evangeline’s little issue would be dealt with, and you would be strong enough to use the wand without coming to any harm.”

Why wasn’t Evangeline already on board with this? I looked down at her to find her bright pink and glassy-eyed. Ah. Marcus wasn’t telling me something, and it was something big.

“Evangeline,” I said softly. “Would this ritual work?”

“I—yeah.” She cleared her throat and began again. “Yeah, no, it definitely would.”

“You’re sure?”

She flashed me a bright, nervous smile. “A hundred percent.”

From there, the meeting turned to logistics and preparations, the mundane realities of battle. I drew Evangeline aside with a questioning glance. She took my hand and led me outside. Behind the old mill building was a small, somewhat sad garden, which looked as though it had been planted on the orders of a real estate agent, then left to fend for itself. Leggy plants and leafless brambles surrounded iron patio furniture.

“Tell me what Marcus wasn’t telling me,” I said.

“He doesn’t tell you a lot of stuff,” she mumbled. “Could take a while.”

“Evangeline,” I said sternly.

She sighed. “Yeah, no, I know. It’s just kind of a doozy.”

“Is the ritual dangerous?”

She huffed out a laugh and leaned against one of the chairs, picking dead leaves out of the iron pattern of its back. “No, it’s nothing like that. It’s… Okay, so it’s sort of like the ritual for familiars, but…”

“But?” I prompted.

“But it’s meant to bind two humans—or, well, two humanoids—together.”

I watched her. I could be patient when I had to be.

“Body and soul,” she continued, twisting a brown leaf until it crumbled. “In sickness or in health. Till…”

Perhaps I should have caught her meaning more quickly, but it blindsided me. “Oh,” I said when light dawned.

“Yeah,” Evangeline said, looking embarrassed, apologetic, and her cheeks were even pinker now. “I mean, it’s not exactly the same, but it’s… it’s pretty close.”

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