Page 31 of Research with Rivals
“Our question is now the same as our project for Lord Arctos. How do we break a blood magic connection?” I returned to the facts. Hoping for Ambrose to jump in only reminded me that it was useless to want things. It always left me feeling empty.
He glanced up at my words. “Remember when we worked on the inn?”
The question was out of nowhere. Of course I remembered. “What does that have to do with?—”
“We found a loophole in the intent.”
Something in me warmed as he leaned forward to explain. A glimpse of that inquisitive mind making itself known, even though the idea of being magically bound to me seemed to be sending all his usual processes into chaos. He tapped his finger on the table in thought. “What if we did the same here?”
I was a little embarrassed that I hadn’t considered it. The way we solved the problem at the inn had been my idea, but I hadn’t considered it in relation to this yet. Ambrose’s brain loved history. I imagined it was like a file cabinet, with labels for each subject, ensuring ease of access when he needed it.
If we could pinpoint the intent we used, maybe we could fulfill it, and the connection would release.
“Do we know the intent of the magic we used?” he asked.
These were the words I’d been unable to get out correctly at the library. I’d made it this far; it wasn’t worth shying away from the fact that this was all my fault. Ambrose would scold me, he’d point out that this was the danger of blood magic in practice—that I never should have been so careless.
I swallowed and prepared to face his reaction to my mistake. “I know the intent.”
Confusion crossed his face as his brow furrowed and his nostrils flared. He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, a head of brown hair with two silver streaks at the front lunged for me, and Luna’s arms wrapped around my shoulders.
“Evelyn! I’m so glad to see you.”
I shouldn’t have been surprised that Luna’s boyfriend, Vincent, walked up next to Ambrose and patted him on the shoulder. He had a sly smile on his face.
“I knew you would finally work up the nerve,” Vincent said conspiratorially.
Ambrose’s ears turned red, and he mumbled something under his breath.
Vincent’s words seemed to mean something to Luna, and she glanced back and forth between me and Ambrose.
“What are you two doing here?” Luna’s tone was much more cautious than Vincent’s.
I sighed. We needed to finish this, or I would lose my nerve. “We’re discussing something for work. I don’t mean to be rude, but we need a few more minutes, then maybe Ambrose can come join you.”
Luna shot me a look that said I was crazy if I thought I was getting out of the tavern without speaking to her.
“Fine,” I said on another sigh. “Please. We only need a moment.”
Ambrose didn’t help with the explanation. Luna at least understood that something was happening and ushered Vincent toward the bar.
The ring of gold in Ambrose’s hazel eyes expanded again as they fixed on me. The veil cat in my mind purred at the attention. I shook myself free of the connection as I remembered the last thing I’d said to him before Luna and Vincent’s interruption—the conversation we needed to finish.
“As I was saying, the intent is the same as the plants by my desk. The goal is for the rose and the morning glory to grow together. They usually don’t. The morning glory strangles the rose’s resources.” I cleared my throat, remembering that Ambrose had warned me off the experiment. He’d told me it was dangerous and could cost everyone in the library. At least the scale had been incorrect, but the overall spirit of his lecture felt accurate at this point.
I slouched in my chair, defeated as I finished. “I was thinking about them, about the experiment. And I thought it was … I don’t know … an interesting allegory for our work together. I guess I wondered what it would be like if we grew together instead of getting in each other’s way. And then I bled on you.”
My hand reached for my glass, only to find it empty. Figured.
When I finally brought my attention back to Ambrose, it wasn’t clear if he was breathing. Something finally shook free, and he scratched the back of his neck. “You were thinking about that when you bled?”
His voice was almost soft. He didn’t look like he was about to explode, and his tone didn’t hold the telltale sign of an impending lecture. His resignation might have been worse. I nodded and let my head hang.
“I need another drink,” Ambrose said, glancing down at his empty glass. This conversation had apparently been stressful for both of us.
The awkwardness was unbearable. Ambrose had given me a good idea. I could fix this. I’d done what I needed to and alerted him to the issue. Working to dissolve our bond would significantly set me back in my research for Lord Arctos and Gabriel, but this was my mistake. It would be my priority to correct.
“I’ll get out of your hair, then.” I stood.
