Page 100 of Insolence
Eh?I cock an eyebrow.
All the sutures now cut, I return the scissors to the kit and pluck out my tweezers.
“I heard her voice, and then a glowing sense ofrightnessfilled me. She told me she loved me… Said that Ibelongto her. Sadrie and Cordelia described a similar phenomenon shortly before the lottery.”
“Ah.” So they both received omens.Wonder what that’s like.I pinch one end of the cut thread.
She holds her breath, her eyes briefly meeting mine before she jerks her chin, giving me the go-ahead. I yank the thread from her arm in a swift motion. Her eyes press closed, and she hisses through her teeth.
Recovers soon enough.
I haven’t the slightest idea what to make of this so-called vision Tiss just described, though.I’ll have to consult Maida.
“Sigils,” I say.
“What?” She braces herself while another bit of thread tugs free with a satisfyingpop. “Shit,” she hisses. “That one had roots.”
A small spot of blood wells up where I yanked it out. “Sorry. Your skin actually adhered to them when it healed. Probably because it was so quick.”
“I figured as much.” She winces as the tweezers grab the next one.
“The glowing designs on the backs of your hands were sigils. Not tattoos.” I yank it out.
“Ouch,” she whispers. “Sigils?”
“Think of it like a magical signature. Sigils were the physical manifestation of your magic calling out to Sadrie’s life-force. That’s what you took from her, by the way. It’s why she felt drained.”
“Gods, Elodie,” she says, her eyes stretching wide.
“What? It sounded like you’d already sort of figured it out.”
“Well, I was hoping I was mistaken! I mean, herlife-force?Really?”
“It’s what healed you. It also regenerates on its own, so don’t worry too much. Physically, she bounced back after that first day. Her life-force will regenerate too. Eventually.” I pause to let her absorb it all. Continue plucking out the sutures.
Luckily most of them aren’t sticking as bad as the first few. “I also want you to keep in mind, nothing unusual happened when you submitted toher,” I say. “And for future reference, there is a way to learn to control how much life-force you take and when.”
“Wait.” Her expression rearranges itself, her aura sparking vaguely with excitement. “There is? Do say more.”
The speed with which she slingshots from disbelief to dismay to extreme interest is more endearing than it probably ought to be.
I chuckle. Muster everything in me to keep from reaching out to stroke her cheek.
Goddess. This woman will drag me to exquisite ruin. At this point, I fucking welcome it. “I’ll make a deal with you,” I say. “Work on regulating your emotions. Then, perhaps, we can discuss the rest of it.”
She looks me up and down, her teeth tearing at her bottom lip. “Intriguing offer.”
“There. Finished,” I say, and return the tweezers to the kit. I lean back, feeling a touch overheated all of a sudden. Rest my head against the wall. “And since I’m feeling generous, what if I were to entice you with something else in the meantime?” I lookat her. “Something you’ve been asking of me for a little while now.”
“Like what?” she says, one elegant eyebrow arched.
“Something you want bad enough to jam a paper knife through my shoulder.”
“Oh, gods.” She blushes a pretty shade of pink. “Wait. Really?”
I shrug.
“You’ll give me information?” she says, dropping her tone as well as her chin.
