Red Hands (editing)

Chapter 2: The Secret Garden

My secret garden was my own private alcove of Abluvion Institute. It was my safe space away from soldiers, students, and instructors - the place I went to heal, study, practice magik, ground myself, or just get away from the stares and rumors that followed me everywhere in the castle. The garden was a small hexagonal stone room built from the cliff face and starting to crumble back into it. Pentagonal windows lined the stone walls, broken and cracked, overgrown with vines and plants. Columns arched upward into the perfect dome shape, but the ceiling was open, having fallen inward long ago. Where the stone was missing, tree branches sheltered the space from sunshine and rain, leaving small gaps where I'd stare at the stars when the night terrors or insomnia kept me awake.

It was there that I settled atop the tall grass, gorging on the food Pam'd packed in my bag. I tore at the bread with my fangs, swallowing before I could even chew. I was ravenous, but the bread did little to soothe the cramping in my empty stomach. It made me feel sick. If Lovelace hadn't practically commanded me to raise my energy, I'd have just let myself starve. When I was finished, I set about mending my injuries from the match, drawing inky black sigils on my skin with my panmagik.

"I'll never understand how easily that comes to you."

Emb's deep voice startled me from my focus, and when I paused, the sigil I was drawing blurred and disappeared, the ink separating to join the other tattoos wrapping around my body. Embrose Grimlock was a sight for sore eyes. His hooked nose and warm scarred face smiled back at me with a familiarity I craved.

"Come on," I said, beckoning them over. "You gotta practice."

Emb sat down beside me in the grass, leaning back against the stone wall covered with green. They spread their legs so I could sit in front of them while they raised their panmagik in the palms of their hands, the glowing golden light casting my shadow on the ground. I pulled out a drumstick from my bag and started gnawing at it, pulling off chunks of meat as his glittering magik spread over my skin. Whenever they struggled with the next step of the mending spell, I instructed them until finally I felt a wave of relief wash over me and sank back into their bound chest. Embrose's green arms wrapped around me, hugging me back into him.

"Jaw botherin' you?" I asked, turning my head to look sideways at him, eyes lingering on the curved tusks that kept his mouth partway open.

They smiled, lips curling around their ivory teeth. "As expected," they said in my ear, "but you're not permitted to waste your panmagik on me right now. You need your strength."

I rolled my eyes and collapsed back into his chest with a loud sigh. "Not you, too, Emb."

"There are others?"

"Pam and Lovelace this time," I said. "Lovelace gave me that same speech o' hers 'bout upholdin' the pure reputation o' the Lovelace House, but I'll be damned if she didn't actually sound concerned for once."

"Even if they're friendly, you should be cautious of them -"

"Oh, no one'll ever replace you, Emb." I reached my hands over my head to feel his face, fingers resting gently on his cheeks and neck. They brought their head down to kiss me softly atop my curls, and I released them. "You don't gotta worry. Those two're in love anyhow, 'nd I'm almost sure they're monogamous. But then again, Lovelace's got like 5 parents."

"Mortala, I'm gravely serious. You need to be careful, especially with those you spend the most time with. Rumors are spreading about what you've been saying about pandorans, and -"

"What's it matter what people're sayin', Emb? I'm already here. Mars's got me right where he wants me, 'nd I've got a list in red to mark off before he crosses that border 'nd I lose 'im."