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"We don't really know how your magic works, right?" I nod. "Then let's see if this works. It's been showing you what you need, so why not find out if it can show you what you want?" Tulip's idea makes sense, and the excitement of flexing my magical muscles takes over me. I pull my shadow blade and prick a small wound into the tip of her finger.
Leaning down, I lick the blood off, and I am quickly overwhelmed with the bright memories of Tulip Goldtide.
I see what has to be Twig, a boy who is so obviously her twin with his messy blonde hair and that same gap between his teeth. He has a smattering of freckles across his nose, and through Tulip's eyes, I see him grab my hands and take off at a run towards something. The vision blurs for a moment, and then a punch of sorrow hits me. I'm in Gallant Summit, and I see the seps drawing near Twig. Willing the Blood magic to take me away from this, I find myself living out memories of Tulip's childhood. It's so real, so visceral I can almost smell the bread her mother is pulling out of the oven. An older, short man with clear blue eyes and sandy brown hair takes the loaf of bread from the woman and then speaks to her.
"Willow," I say, wrenching myself from Tulip's memories. "Her name was Willow."
She squeezes me in a tight hug. "I knew you coulddo it." Her voice is wobbly and I want to squeeze her tightly and never let go. "What else did you see?"
"So many memories of Twig, your mother's bread, your father."
Tulip's face cracks wide in a smile, and she closes her eyes. "I'm glad that's what you saw, then." Sitting back down at the table, she snags Zeph's full mug of ale from in front of him and takes a sip. "You could've seen my plans to overthrow you and murder you in your sleep."
Jaz coughs, spraying ale across the table. Plume taps lightly on their back to help them gain their composure. "I'm sorry, did you just threaten to murder a God?"
"We're all thinking it," Tulip says innocently.
Morrow's booming laugh fills the area. "My wife appears to have a death wish." He's been calling her his wife for weeks now, but this time, it does not hold as much mirth as it has in the past. I see the corner of his mouth turn down as he takes another large drink from his mug.
"She would never," Tulip quips, shooting me a wink.
"Try mine next?" Plume says, reaching her hand across Jaz to me. "I don't want you to find anything specific. I'm just curious what my blood tells you."
The night continues like that, me trying the blood of all my traveling companions. I learned that Plume spent her childhood in ripped pants with short hair at the behest of her father who wanted a son, which was why she prefers long hair andskirts now. Morrow has a lot of memories surrounding cooking with his mother and carving wooden figurines with his father. Jaz's blood showed me memories of myself and Max and even Link, the way we would get in trouble and sneak out, and Max would crawl to them, begging for them to bail us out.
I tried Zeph's blood last, and it almost exclusively showed me conversations he'd had with Loris about me and the things I could do.
"You chose what to show me," I say, looking at Zeph curiously. "How?"
"What did you see?" he asks, leaning forward.
"I saw you and Loris talking about me. Making plans."
He smiles and leans back, resting his head in his hands behind his head. "So that's why." Noting my confused expression, he continues with a satisfied grin. "Himureal tried my blood to see if I was loyal to him and nothing came of it. I was trying to direct my blood with what to show him. It appears it worked."
"I don't know if I like that. It means it's not an infallible method of gaining the truth," I say, crossing my arms and tapping my fingers along my skin.
Mace rakes his hands through his hair, and it falls awkwardly. He really needs to get it cut. "Well, combined with Light, it should be enough to pull it out. But most won't think to hide anything in their blood anyway. Plus, it's more thoughts and desires and memories, right?"
"I've seen all of it. But mostly, it's memories and thoughts,yeah."
"There's no way to lie in those. Maybe conceal, but not lie. With Light blended in, I don't think you'd have any issue," Mace continues.
Zeph holds his hand out turning the palm up. "Let's practice, shall we?"
Chapter 28
Mace
Ithink Viola is stalling.
Since I met her, she has been completely focused on achieving her goals, but this time, she seems distracted.
Well, maybe distracted is the wrong word.
It's like the fire is no longer there. I would think that Himureal locking her up would be the final push she needs to cement this plan of destruction, but I think she is still wavering on it.
"Hey, numen," I say, sliding down into the soft grass beside her and propping my back against the wall. We're sitting in one of the courtyards that is surrounded by a cluster of houses. She's barefoot, with her white hair loose around her shoulders. Her newly pointed ears poke out of her hair slightly, and her fingers, blackened with the magic of Decay, are ripping the petals off of a small white flower. The moon is high, its soft orange light diffusing the harsh angles of Viola's face. Everyone has long since gone to rest, making cots and beds from whatever material we were able to cultivate with magic or bring from the ship. "What's on your mind?"
