Chapter Three

Fin.

“Beat me in a fight. You won’t turn me in. If you win, I’ll help you.” He says the words smugly for two obvious reasons. Because he’s right, I couldn’t turn him in. Endanger yet another life in my pathetic attempt to reconstruct this shattered mirror, there are too many pieces to fit back into place.

Well, I guess even that’s not entirely true. I am going to put his life in danger. I’m just not going to turn him in. One might even say my choice is worse. I don’t have a choice. He’s the only one who can get me into the estate.

Two, because he is under the current assumption that I have the same power levels as I did three days ago. He’s under the assumption that my killing of the Sovereign was done by magic stones. I did it on purpose. Well, I’m not going to fight him with my powers. I can’t.

He again turns his back on me, like I’ve already agreed to fight. I huff because I don’t have time for this; ideally, we would already be at the Mancer Estate. I need to get there before midnight. Before the voice comes back. I roll my shoulders, rise onto the tips of my toes, and as silently as I can, I rush at Kano. I slide, dropping low onto my left leg, leaning my upper body backward. Kano realizes my approach, but it’s too late. I push my left heel into the dirt and swoop my right leg across his feet, knocking him to the ground.

In an instant, I have my foot pressed to his back, my body bowed over him, and I’m panting. The braid in my hair is mostly loose now and hanging in my face. He curses, rocking his body, attempting to turn us over. My foot slides off his back, throwing me off balance. We roll, his body coming to rest on top of mine.

I pull my knees to my chest and press my heels to his chest, maneuvering my body upwards. I quickly knock his hands from under him, where they’re positioned on either side of my waist. Simultaneously, I shove my feet with all my force. He’s stronger than me, but with him knocked off balance and trying to catch himself, he’s not focused.

The push causes pain to race up my left ankle, and the spark blinds me momentarily. The push sends him backward. I wince and squeeze my eyes shut. Again, I move forward on him, angling my elbow into his stomach. He grunts, his hands going to his abdomen.

I firmly press my knee into his stomach, my hands on either side of his head. We’re both breathing heavily. Sweat rolls down my forehead. I won, as I usually do when it’s a physical fight.

"God, you’re such a bitch.” He all but snarls, the green hue of his eyes bright with anger. “You cheated.”

“No. I won. I don’t recall you saying anything about what kind of fight this was going to be.” I shove my knee harder into his stomach, rewarded by his pained grunt. I smile, my chest light with adrenaline.

“You rushed at me. That's fucking cheating,” he sneers.

“It’s smart thinking; I used your lack of rules to my advantage. If you didn’t want me to win, you should’ve thought ahead,” I say triumphantly. Kano’s eyes darkened for only a moment.

Kano and I never hung out much when we were younger. He was simply Amelia’s older brother and my dance partner for a few years. He’d walk us home from school, and when he got his license, he drove us around. Two years ago, when he turned 21 and finally got into the Pence Enforcer Battalion, we almost lost all communication. The only real time we spent together was during our competitive dancing years.

Then he showed up again and saved my ass. I sigh, pulling my dagger from the strap around my thigh. It was a gift from my father when I turned 12. He made the entire thing himself. The dagger is heavy and familiar in my palm as I press it to Kano’s neck. His eyes widen.

“I really don’t have all day for this, Kano. You’re going to help me get inside the estate. After that, I don’t care what you do, but I’m fairly sure you can’t do it with a slit throat.” I speak with more confidence than I feel. I’m running on two days of no sleep and pure adrenaline.

“You wouldn’t; you can’t.” He says the words confidently, sure of himself, so sure I’m a coward. I press the dagger firmer against his throat, the skin slightly breaking under the blade. I feel almost manic. Why can’t he see that I’m trying? Why won’t anyone see me? A single drop of blood rolls down his bobbing Adam's apple.

“Stay still, or I’ll stab you, Kano.” I bite through a clenched jaw, and my hands are shaking as I again reach into the strap around my thigh.

I place the thin square of paper on his chest, and I hold the second one in my hands. I sucked in a ragged breath of air. My stomach rolls with nerves, and my breath goes short. Squeezing my eyes shut, I swallow down my sour-tasting fear and apprehension.

“Bound by light and bound by fire.” My voice wobbles on the first line of the spell as I smear that single drop of his blood across the insignia on the paper resting on his chest.

“My soul, yours, your heart, mine.” I press my finger to the blade I still hold against his neck. I rub my blood across the paper I crush against my chest. My fingers tingle as I drag in rough breaths of air. My body feels light with energy, hot, and charged.

“Twist the thread and sew the line.” The blood on insignia papers turns a rich gold, glowing. My vision blurs as the wind whips my hair into my face.

“What the fuck are you doing, Fin?” Kano’s voice reaches me distantly, as if through a tunnel.

“To my life, you’re tied; to yours, mine is intertwined.” The papers catch fire, crumpling in on themselves. I can barely see anything anymore, no matter how violently the wind is blowing. The insignia of Ouroboros now burns directly onto Kano’s skin. I feel it doing the same to me—the pinch of pain that seems to ripple across my skin.

“Let death bind us; our lives are now forever tethered.” I finish the spell, and the rush of magic I felt burning through my veins seems to leak out of me in an instant.

I gasp, collapsing on top of Kano as I pant, my body shaking with the force of the spell. A spell that should’ve been impossible. My skin feels tight, pulled taut over my bones. I don’t feel human; I don't feel me.

Kano shoves me off of him, his hands going to the insignia now scarred permanently to his skin just below his clavicle. “What the hell, Fintan! What the fuck?” He’s barely talking to me; he’s shouting as he paces back and forth.

I don’t care to listen. I roll over on the grass and dry-heave for what feels like forever. I cough and choke until, finally, I just puke. I wipe my mouth; I feel drunk now; my tongue feels thick; and there’s cotton in my ears as I stand up.

“I tied our lives together. If I die, you die. You should be a bit more inclined to help me now. Hmm?” I feel like laughing as a fat raindrop smacks against my forehead. It’d only be right if it rained.

Kano’s eyes are bright with fear and real anger. “Where the hell did you even find that kind of spell?”

I hesitate, biting down on my bottom lip as I ponder whether or not I should even tell him. I clear my throat. “He taught it to me. I thought he was lying. It seemed like witch magic.” Even my voice sounds slurred to my own ears. I slap myself across each cheek. “Pass me your sword.”

“Who is he, Fintan?” He doesn’t move to pass me his sword, and I sigh in frustration as I move past him, picking it up off the ground with ease. I haven’t held a sword in almost a year now.

I fist my hair and pull it away from my head. With one quick hack, I cut my hair. The strands are quickly swept away in the strong wind as the real downpour begins. I watch as they separate and flutter away, my shoulders feeling lighter already.

I drag my fingers through my hair now; the cut was wild and messy. It leaves my hair shortest in the back; it curls almost immediately, further shortening into messy swoops. I love it.

I’ve never felt more free.