Chapter 51.2

“Of course, I know,” Mia replied offhand.  And in complete disregard to Lynnria’s apparent fragility.  “As the arbiter of your Power, your body is an open canvas to me.”

Lynnria looked up at me searchingly.  “And you didn’t tell him?”

I quirked an eyebrow.

“Should I have—choked on cum?!”  She growled in frustration.  “Beginning to hate these arguments… so… much.”

A calming breath came and went.

“Now, look.  I am also well aware of the meaning behind this, for all its idiocy.  Your former Clan could not be less interested in your fate.  My obligation begins and ends there.”

Her Clan?  Why wouldn’t her grandfather be interested?

“But he’s your ‘sovereign,’” Lynnria persisted.

Mia exhaled sharply.  “Yes?  What of it?  I did not lie, nor would I have done.  Had he asked, I would have happily divulged your secrets.  But he did not.  No matter how much I hinted at them.  He dislikes prying.”

The corners of my mouth bunched together.  She was certainly right about that.  With the pair of them openly talking about ‘secrets’ right in front of me, I badly wanted to, but it was not like Lynnria could just pretend I had not heard any of that.  If she wanted to share, she would.

Until then, I would mind my own business.

“We need to know how to fix this, Mia,” was all I said.

“There.  You see?” she said pointedly, then added, “And thank you.  At least someone is still minding their phrasing.”

Lynnria stared at me searchingly for a few moments, apparently deep in thought, before finally giving a faint nod.

“Mia…” I prompted.

“Oh, that?  How do you think?  I have already told you how the Runes should work.  Follow your instincts.”

I frowned slightly.  All I knew about them was that they had been meant as a storage tank for Life Energy.  The underlying mechanics were a mystery.  By design, I was sure.

Let’s see… she said something about this being a manifestation.  And that the Runes would not persist long once the Life was removed.

But how were we supposed to get Life out of a nipple?

My face fell.

And from the reactions spreading around the group, I was not the only one to have arrived at the solution.

“I’ll just… cast this new spell of mine a few times,” Lynnria said stiffly.

I coughed into my hand.  “Yes.  The Poison Bolt.  Right.  I’m sure that would work… too.”

“Aww.”

Damn it, Arx.  Don’t look at her.  Just… don’t even acknowledge…

“I guess you could shoot me with it,” I volunteered instead.  “It’s raw Life, and its attuned to us.  So, it should be fine.  If I’ve understood things correctly.”

“It won’t poison you, if that’s what you mean.”

Lynnria nodded then, her cheeks blushing crimson, reached up with her other hand’s index finger toward the spongy obtrusion.  I was not entirely sure what she was trying to accomplish, but I had to assume it was something to do with casting the spell.  Maybe she had to load her finger?

Mia sighed abruptly—in an overly loud and obvious sort of way.

“Such a shame, though… not to take advantage of the precedent?”

Lynnria hesitated, then looked up at me.  Not that I had any idea what she was on about.

“I mean, who really knows how the spell will manifest the second time around,” Mia continued after a moment’s pause.  “Unless… of course, there was an example to reference from…?”

Jax crossed her arms.  “We just had a row all about this, Faen.  Why’d we go and do the same thing over again?”

She gestured to Lynnria, who had begun to tremble slightly.

“See?  Just look at her.  She’s…”  She frowned.  “She don’t believe you?  Thinks yer havering… but there be a lot of hope, too?  And she be fit to rage ye made her feel that way.”

Lynnria’s eyes flashed, and her lips began to curl over her fangs.

But I quickly held up a hand.  “Jax.  That isn’t the sort of thing you say out loud.”

She snorted softly.  “I ain’t a fool.  Be only what she wanted ye to know.  But what she ain’t got the courage to say, her ownself.”

“And I do not haver.”

“Ridiculous!” Lynnria snarled finally.  “I’m not a fool, either.  I was severed!  You can’t just heal that with a little cantrip.”

Severed?  From what?

Jax sucked in a breath, understanding in an instant.  Her eyes took on a hard edge, and a low, menacing growl began to rumble out of her chest.  But then she cast a quick glance at the door to the back room.

“This ain’t the sort of talk to be having… here.”

I nodded slowly, trusting my First’s instincts.  If she thought this was too serious a topic for a random tailor’s shop, I would take her word for it.

“Let’s go outside,” I suggested.  “Arx, wait here… just to make sure the door doesn’t lock on us?”

She frowned, unhappy to be left out.

“Master,” she agreed anyway.

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Author's note:

Today's sub-chapter is on the shorter side.  Apologies, but I wanted the next bit to be uninterrupted.  Long sub-chapter next time!