“But ithurts.” When I open my eyes, he’s studying me, but he doesn’t really seeme. He slicks his tongue against his teeth, reaches forward, and settles a hand on my knee. “I want to help you.”
I stare at his hand. Only a casual touch, but my skin turns warm and tingly. My mind ventures to places I’ve been purposely avoiding. All the ways his hands clutched and caressed and stroked my body. Blood blooms across my cheeks, and then I finally translate the meaning of those words. I bolt off the couch and away from him.
“No, Sitri!” I pace backward toward the bedroom, my face paling. “I could kill you!”
He has the audacity to roll his eyes. “You’re not going to kill me, pet.”
“How can you say that? When I very nearly did.”
“You didn’t, and you won’t. If you were, you would’ve already done it. I’m going to be careful. I know what to expect this time. I’ll block whatever your magic throws at me.”
“No, Sitri, absolutely not.” My throat tightens. “I’m not putting you in danger like that.”
He twists on the coffee table, propping himself up with his elbows resting on his knees. “Pandora, do you want to remain like this forever?”
The daemon pangs inside of me. “Of course not. I never wanted to be like this. But I don’t want to hurt you,” I say, trailing off into a whisper.
“You should,” he mutters.
“Why would I want to hurt you?”
“I will block you,” he says firmly. “We’re never going to sort this out if we don’t try anything. You’re not going to hurt me. JusttryPandora. That’s all I’m asking is for you to fuckingtry.”
I nervously settle back on the couch in front of him.
“I want to try to help you hold onto it.”
“It’ll probably come out.”
“That’s what we want. Can you try to hold it here?” he asks, gesturing to his own chest.
I nod, and he settles his hand back on my thigh. “Ready?” I nod, and the sensation of his magic travels up my leg. It doesn’t feel anything like the sharp pangs of the daemon. It’s soft and gentle, like a warm glow.
“Your magic feels different than mine.” I lean back into the couch, my eyelids drifting closed as I track the daemon through my body. It flies through my limbs. As soon as I feel it sear across my chest, I stamp it down. “Okay,” I breathe, voice strained.
His magic travels up my abdomen to the space around my chest, circling slowly. He encloses it around the daemon, and the sensation of our magic almost touching in my chest feels oddly intense. Vulnerable. I grit my teeth as the daemon gnaws at me, growing more painful the longer it’s forced into stillness. Sitri’s magic cradles it and prevents it from escaping. I groan as the daemon burns a hole through my sternum and surges out of me. My body jerks forward with the momentum, and my eyes flash open in alarm.
My heart skips. Sitri lifts a hand as if he’s plucking it from the air. He creates a barrier between him and the daemon. The couch and the coffee table are pushed apart, wood noisily scraping against wood, and my hair is whipped back from my face with the force.
I breathe heavily, rubbing a hand over my aching chest as the daemon lashes.
“Good!” Sitri barks eyes wide. “Fuck, you are so strong. I still…don’t understand. Where did you come from?” he mutters before shaking the bleary-eyed expression from his face and eagerly clapping his hands against his thighs. “Let’s do that again.”
I groan internally. Each time, the force displaces the couch and coffee table further apart, and Sitri drags the couch forward so we can do it all over again. And again. And again. Each results in exactly the same outcome. An hour later, my head is pounding. It feels like someone has ripped my chest open and lit it on fire.
“Again,” Sitri demands.
I collapse on the couch, rubbing a hand over my aching chest. “I can’t do anymore,” I say, blinking back tears.
I can tell he’s slightly disappointed, but he retreats. He comes back shortly holding two vials.
“How much?” I ask.
He cocks his head. “Start with a little. If you need more, take more.”
The first one is that honeyed liquid that tastes vaguely of peppermint but the next one is so bitter my jaw quivers.
“We’ll try again tomorrow,” he declares.
