Inkmistress (Of Fire and Stars 0.5)(9)

“I’ll get the tea,” I said, turning so my face couldn’t give away that the gift had suddenly soured for me. Even if Ina loved me, she clearly meant more to Garen than a marriage of convenience for their villages. He wouldn’t have given her a gift like this otherwise, and if he’d arrived last fall carrying bracelets, he’d known he planned to court someone. I couldn’t figure out if I should be flattered that she gave a courting gift to me or upset that it was a hand-me-down from another suitor. Her seeming indifference about it gave me heart, but why did she tolerate his courtship at all if it wasn’t what she wanted? It must have been her parents’ expectations and her desire to help the village. Ina wasn’t someone to suffer anything that annoyed her. I wanted to ask her what it all meant, but what if I didn’t like the answer?

I dropped herb sachets into two thick mugs and poured the hot water over them, then made one last trip to the cabinets for some honey to satisfy Ina’s insatiable love of sweets.

“Have you thought about whether you might be able to help with my manifest?” she asked, spooning honey into her tea until the liquid rose dangerously close to the top of the mug.

I nodded reluctantly. The thought of giving her the knowledge she needed to manifest in the old way frightened me. The ritual did not include a vow to one of the Six Gods or the customary oath to serve the monarch. Sharing the information with her could be interpreted as treason. But the king had chosen not to help us, so now we had to take care of ourselves. Besides, knowing that Garen was courting Ina made everything feel more pressing.

“Tell me? Please? I’ll do anything.” She reached across the table and took my hand.

“You have to make me a promise,” I said.

“Anything.” She squeezed my hand.

“Swear to me you won’t try this ritual except as a last resort. And if it turns out to be the only answer, promise me that you’ll always act in the interest of Zumorda and its people.” It wasn’t too much to ask.

“Of course.” She nodded, her expression serious. “Nothing is more important to me than Amalska and my family. It’s why I hope to become an elder.”

I sat back on my stool and took a deep breath. “Miriel told me about an old way to take a manifest, used ages ago before manifests or the monarchy were bound to the Six. The ritual is one of blood, not to be taken lightly. If something goes wrong, you could die. You can’t try this unless there is no other way.”

Ina set down her tea and leaned forward. She had always liked dark stories and tall tales. Her favorite was the legend of the griffin queen, a Zumordan monarch who had somehow taken two manifests—an eagle and a lion. Sometimes she appeared as one of the manifests, other times both at once to strike terror into her enemies. She’d made short work of the badger king and his champions. I hoped Ina would understand that what I was about to tell her was no parable. If she attempted to manifest in the old way, she would be taking her life in her hands. I didn’t even know if it would work.

Instead of asking one of the gods to send her manifest animal to her, she’d have to call it herself. She’d have to bind the creature with her own blood instead of asking the gods to seal the union and bless her as she merged with it. I explained the details as she listened with a serious expression on her face.

“You mean this ritual doesn’t include an oath to the Six?” Ina asked. “What would I be bound to, then, besides the animal?”

“I’m not entirely sure, but my guess would be the land itself. Life itself. The magic that ebbs and flows all around us,” I said. It was the best assumption I could make based on what Miriel had told me and my Sight revealed to me about manifests.

“The magic you can see as a demigod?” Ina’s eyes widened.

I nodded slowly. The spark of excitement in her eyes worried me. Blood magic should never be taken lightly. I knew that better than anyone.

“If I succeed, would there be any consequences to having this different kind of manifest?” She frowned, concerned.

I thought for a moment. “I doubt anyone would be able to tell, not unless they could see magic. So another demigod. Or the king, if he can borrow that ability from the gods.” I wasn’t sure what the boar king’s geas with the spirit god allowed him to do.

“I think it’s safe to say the king will never visit Amalska. He can’t even be bothered to send any help to villages this far south. If he had, we wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place.” She muttered a curse under her breath.

“I know,” I said. “But please, Ina . . . understand that the blood rite could kill you if it goes wrong. If that happened, I could never forgive myself.” Fear consumed me at the thought of losing her.

She met my eyes. “I know that manifestation should happen in its own time, but I’m not sure how much longer I can wait. There are so many others expecting me to take a position of leadership soon. I need to be able to live up to those expectations.”

“There’s a lot of pressure on you,” I acknowledged. “But what do you truly want?”

“I don’t know,” she said, tracing her finger around the edge of her mug. “I want to do what’s right for my community, and my parents think that means marrying Garen, but I’m not sure. I feel like I’d be more certain about everything if I had my manifest.”