Page 43 of Research with Rivals
We do notwantto spend more time with Ambrose Yarrow.
Her tail swished in my mind as if to wipe away my thoughts, which she considered irrelevant. I hmphed to myself. Ambrose and I were colleagues. We knew each other professionally. The cat’s tail flicked back and forth again as if waiting for me to continue.Now I guess I also know about his father’s experiencewith blood magic, his mother’s search for an answer, and the way his younger siblings stare at him like he hung the moon.
I sighed. Loudly.
“I see you’re making great progress.” The familiar black bird landed on my shoulder.
I wanted to sigh again. I was not in the mood to deal with the Vesten God.
“They say it helps with research when you … have a book open.”
“You know I have multiple problems to worry about at the moment.” Even as I said so, I grabbed the book from the corner of my desk and flipped it open. It was the one I’d pulled from the restricted section. We had yet to dive into it, even after the hassle of collecting it.
“Sometimes the best way out is through.”The bird’s wings flapped against my face.
I scrunched my nose. “You can’t hear my thoughts, right?”
“No, thank … me. Who wants to hear you pine over Mr. Yarrow’s forearms flexing? Not even I am that bored.”
“I—” I was about to tell Lord Arctos off when I flushed, remembering exactly what I’d been thinking about before I passed out last night. I’d cataloged every inch of Ambrose as a veil cat. Or when I’d been fighting between it and my half-fae form. I bit my lip, knowing that I was past pretending I didn’t find him attractive—particularly his forearms when he rolled up his sleeves.
“Not even going to deny it? That’s a plot twist.”
“You are very sassy today. Can I help you with something?”
“I thought I made that clear. You can help me by finding a way to break the blood magic connecting the gods and the Compass Points. Were you not listening in the briefing?”
I sighed. “Are you always so … exhausting?” I asked.
“Rose says so.” The bird tilted his head. “Sometimes Aurora agrees with her.”
A snort escaped. I was pretty sure he referred to the Norden Point and the Norden Goddess. “Maybe you should consider that feedback.”
“Maybe you should consider the book in front of you,”he mocked.
My fingers slid over the pages as I flipped them. Kenna’s journal was a mess of hurried scrawlings. Some were her thoughts, others were conversations as she remembered them. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was looking for, but Lord Arctos sat on my shoulder and read with me, flitting his wing at the side of my face when he decided that I missed something.
He had me pause at the description of the Lake Refilling Ceremony. It happened once a year at Compass Lake. It was meant to commemorate the creation of the fae.
“The powers we bestow you with must intertwine—a bond that strengthens and does not break. They must be as united as the water in the lake, unable to tell which drop has touched which shoreline.” Zrak looked at each fae leader. “Lest you think you can ignore us, we will never be far from you. Your power is connected to the lake. The land here will be your seat of power—this is where you will be strongest.” He paused. “And we’ll know if you weaken.”
I snorted. “So, this is how you knew the Lost God did something … shady?”
“How do you know that?”Lord Arctos asked.
“‘We’ll know if you weaken,’ is a pretty good indicator. I know you’re gods, but stating as much so boldly, it seems the understanding of another’s power was something of which he had alternate assurances.”
Lord Arctos huffed. “We created the fae, we could be connected that way.”
“Another fae created me,” I said, “but he doesn’t know what I’m capable of.”
The black bird’s head swiveled toward me. “Is that so?”
Well, I hadn’t quite meant to get into family story time with the Vesten God, but I didn’t see a way out of it now, since I’d been the one to bring it up. “My fae parent, my father, isn’t in my life.”
Lord Arctos made another huffing sound. “And you’re so sure he doesn’t know anything about your magic?”
The question gave me pause. Was I sure? I guessed not. My father had known I had fire magic before he left. I didn’t think that whether I had magic or the amount had mattered to him. It was more likely the human stain in my blood that he’d run from.
