Chapter 71 #2
The woman glanced at Bellamy curiously before continuing as if she hadn’t spoken.
“There’s too much Energy in your body. The Dampener magic can sense that.
It’s blocking the Energy from absorbing into you on this side—protecting you in a sense.
It is quite interesting.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, the tip of which curled upward into a spiral.
Mazz must have seen the look on Vesper’s face and finally bothered with making introductions. “Ah, yes. V, this is Deliya. She’s a reader, from the Bukura planetary system.”
Vesper nodded slowly. She’d heard of their species before. They were sort of like empaths for magic—could read it in a sense, like it was a living creature.
“I’ve always wanted to go there,” she said, quietly watching the strange woman’s eyes shift between color phases in rapid succession while she observed Vesper’s magic. “I heard they have amazing gardens.”
“Yes, yes. Quite lovely. Atmosphere is too dense for humans though,” Deliya agreed absently, her thoughts clearly elsewhere.
Vesper tried not to squirm under the scrutinizing gaze that saw right through her.
Deliya angled toward Mazz, not taking her eyes off Vesper’s arm, and lowered her voice.
“How long did you say it has been like this?”
“A week.”
“Hmmm,” the reader nodded. “Interesting.” Deliya straightened up, fully dragging her attention back to Mazz now. “Has the Dampener attempted to remove it?”
Mazz cleared her throat. “Well, no. We didn’t think she should be here. Not while she’s still trying to heal from everything.”
Deliya smiled genuinely. She cocked her head. “That’s silly. Let her try.”
“I already know she can take it back,” Vesper added. “I’ve seen her do it.”
“It’s not worth the risk,” Bellamy snapped, eyes narrowed as she watched Deliya. “Not when she’s still healing.”
“She’s overloaded. This is the safest it will be to attempt a removal.
If the Dampener finds herself unable to control the magic, then she will only take the excess before we are able to intervene,” Deliya offered.
Her melodic voice was serene in the wake of Bellamy’s anger—understanding and gentle.
“I want to try it,” Vesper said, looking at Bellamy with a beseeching expression. Besides, even if Cypress did lose a bit of control, well, Vesper was already crawling out of her skin with Energy.
Bellamy bit the inside of her cheek, taking a slow, deep breath. She pursed her lips, and her gaze darted all over Vesper, finally landing on the bubble and the sparks it refused to extinguish.
“Fine,” Bellamy sighed, sagging back into her chair, finally loosening her grip on Vesper’s wrist.
Mazz shot up before Bellamy could change her mind and dragged her chair back across the room to where she’d found it, motioning for Deliya to leave with her.
“We’ll be back with Cypress,” Mazz said quickly. But once Deliya was out of the room, she paused at the open door, a slight smirk playing at the edge of her lips. “Behave,” she said sternly, looking between Vesper and Bellamy.
Vesper tried not to laugh as Mazz left without another word. There was no need to worry about a repeat incident—not if the way Bellamy was glaring at her was any indication.
“Bel?”
“What if she’s wrong?” Bellamy bit out. Anger and fear laced her words. “The reader.”
“I trust that Cypress can do it. She didn’t kill us when she woke us up the first time. Come on, Bel. You know killing me was an accident. The assassin was coming for her. Her magic reacted. She didn’t mean to get me.”
“That’s the problem!” Bellamy shrieked, her fists tightening in her lap and she took a slow, steadying breath before she continued. “She can’t control it. You know she can’t, and you’re already weak.”
“I’m already overloaded too,” Vesper pointed out.
Using Delia’s argument probably wasn’t her best strategy, but honestly, the reader had a good point.
“If Cypress loses control, Mazz will be near. She’ll handle it.
We’d get out with minimal damage.” It also wouldn’t be the worst if she took out some of this excess. It fucking hurt.
“You trust Mazz more than me to deal with her?” Bellamy yelled. The anger she’d sort of controlled came back full force as she flew out of her chair and towered over Vesper. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
Vesper flinched back, eyeing Bel’s closed fists. “You shouldn’t be in the room while she’s doing this, Bel.”
“Because you like Mazz more? Is that it? You don’t think I can help?”
“Bellamy!” Vesper cried exasperated. “It is safer for you!” Bellamy frowned and opened her mouth to argue, but Vesper cut her off.
“No, Bel. It is. Because if Cypress loses control, she could kill you. She wouldn’t get that far with me because she’ll only be able to take out the excess before Mazz incapacitates her. Please.”
Bellamy scrutinized Vesper for a long time. Vesper gently took her hand, prying it away from her arm until Bellamy relented and sat back in her chair.
“Bel,” Vesper swallowed. “You know I love you, right? I can’t lose you. Please, just… stay outside for this. I’ll be okay. I promise.”
Bellamy sniffed, her eyes shining when she looked back at Vesper and whispered, “Fine.”
Vesper raised an eyebrow, and Bellamy rolled her eyes, leaning up to give her a soft kiss.