Page 49 of The Centaur
"They do!" Zephyr agreed. "I skipped the branch I use for Forest. I would've even if Khush hadn't asked, since your area has the largest population among all areas."
"That makes sense. Okay, what now?"
"Now, we do the spell."
I watched as Zephyr lit a match and stuck it into the bowl. Despite the snow and water, the contents lit up almost instantly, the flame getting stronger with every second.
Zephyr murmured a long, complicated spell, then raised his hands over the bowl. He flexed the index finger of his left hand, and my eyes widened as a sharp claw extended from the tip.
Zephyr cut into the palm of his right hand, then spilled two drops of his blood into the bowl, making the fire blaze from blue to purple and then red.
Then he moved his hand over the map, and two drops of his blood fell onto the center. Instead of staining the paper or soaking into it, they pebbled on top of the surface as Zephyr grabbed a scrap of cloth and wiped his hand.
Frowning, I made a mental note to find his First Aid kit as soon as the spell was done.
"What now?"
"Now, we watch," Zephyr said as the pebbles of his blood started moving over the map.
They looked like they were searching as they moved from one continent to the other, then dipped down to the oceans and seas.
"There," Zephyr murmured when the droplets stopped in the middle of the Indian Ocean. It looked like Jacinta might get a new neighbor.
"That's still a big area, isn't it?"
"It is," Zephyr murmured, shooting me a smile as he headed back to his shelf and pulled out another map. "Which is why we need to narrow in further."
Zephyr replaced the old map with the new one, and the droplet seamlessly moved from one map to the other, hovering in the air until the new map was in place.
Zephyr murmured another word, a command of some sort, and the blood started moving again. It spiraled toward the left of the map, and finally settled in a spot a centimeter away from a tiny speck of an island. Of course, the real distance would be much bigger, but it was good that there was an island nearby.
"That's it, right?"
"Yeah. We'll need to talk to the Ocean residents first, but then we can go look for them. That is, if you'd like to come with me?"
"Of course I wanna come with you! Now, where's your first aid kit?"
"My... are you hurt?" he asked, pointing toward a cabinet, and I rolled my eyes as I fetched it, then walked over to him.
Taking his hand in mine, I flipped his palm up and eyed the cut. It wasn't long, so it wouldn't need stitches, especially with his faster supe healing.
I grabbed the biggest Band-aid I could find and applied it over the cut, lightly pressing my thumb over it to make sure it stuck properly.
"Thanks," Zephyr whispered, and I glanced up, meeting his soft blue eyes.
"You're welcome."
We gazed at each other for a long moment, and then I slid my fingers into his hair and tugged him closer, pressing my lips to his.
Watching him work his magic—literally—was always fascinating, and I loved how confident he was doing it. It reminded me of the Zephyr I'd met years ago for the very first time.
"Come on," I murmured as I took a step back, smiling when he tried to follow. "Let's go talk to the Ocean peeps."
Zephyr gazed at me for a beat with hazy eyes, then swallowed hard and straightened up. "Yeah, let's."
Zephyr
Ocean was one of my favorite areas in the Sanctuary, especially after our date yesterday. The bright sun, the warm sand beneath my feet—Keoni had insisted I take my shoes off outside—the sparkling water. All of it filled me with warmth and joy, and made me feel hopeful about what was to come.
