"Did you lock the door?"
"Yes."
"Draw the curtains too," Gavin said. "It's too bright."
Cordelia drew the curtains, darkening the room, then returned to sit beside the bed.
The room was so quiet they could hear each other breathing.
"Have you made up your mind?"
"Mm."
"It might hurt a little."
"That's okay."
"It might take a while."
"I'm not afraid!"
"We can't stop halfway, either. If we do, all this will be for nothing."
"I know."
"And you can't move."
"...You talk too much."
Gavin said nothing more. He sat down beside her and took a deep breath.
"Here I go."
"Mm."
The silver needle pierced the inside of Cordelia's left arm.
A thread of dragon blood flowed beneath her skin along the needle's tip. Drawn by magic, it formed a fine, dark-red line. Gavin worked slowly, stopping after each section to check its path.
Cordelia never moved. Only when the needle neared her wrist did her fingers curl slightly.
She had insisted on her left arm, in exactly the same place as Gavin's tattoo.
The silver hourglass Dumbledore had left behind had not lit up once in seven days, proving the structure was stable and worked universally.
He finished the final stroke.
The dark-red main line extended up from the inside of her wrist, curved around several tiny nodes, then closed beneath her elbow. Its path, spacing, and magical structure matched Gavin's perfectly.
He sealed the remaining dragon blood, then suddenly remembered something.
"How did Mr. Rowle suddenly agree?"
Cordelia blinked.
"He didn't object."
"Huh?"
Cordelia tugged her sleeve down a little, then lifted her chin with perfect confidence. "He never said which day I had to ask him."
Gavin's mouth twitched.
He hadn't realized that was what Cordelia meant when she told him her father had