The two of you sit in silence and watch as the storm approaches. You don’t have the ability to read Quinn’s thoughts as she can yours, but you can feel the one emotion that’s coursing through her like a river. She’s been so fearless since the very beginning. She’s saved you too many times to count. But now the girl who kept your chances alive is nervous.

“I mean it, Quinn. I plan on winning.”

Her voice is quiet. “I know.”

“And I intend to honor my pact with you either way.”

“Of course.”

You can’t help scowling. “Then why are you so unsettled? What is it?”

“I want to ask you a favor.”

The girl sits up. You can see the sharp outline of her spine through the back of her shirt. You’ve spent so much time thinking of her as a ghost that you haven’t really seen her as an actual person. Someone who exists in another world. And that world has worn her to the bone.

“Anything within my power is yours.”

She shakes her head in frustration. “This is not a small request.”

“Enlighten me, then,” you reply. “Quinn. I owe you a debt. You—”

You’ve opened my eyes. I am no longer just an Ashlord. I am more than what my parents would have me become. I am more than what this world craves. I am something new.

“Just tell me what it is.”

Quinn turns, eyes wide and ghostly. “I want some of your blood.” The words knock you square in the chest. It’s the last thing you expected her to ask for. She sees your reaction, too, and it has her pushing to her feet. “See what I mean? It is not a promise to make lightly.”

It takes you a second to regain your composure. The girl wants your blood. A memory of that dark, secret room in your parents’ house flickers to life. You can see the sharp blade and your own spilled blood. You can hear the howling of the Madness. A chill runs down your spine, but you can see Quinn is not joking. It’s taken a great deal of strength for her to request this.

“What will you do with it?”

Even as the words leave your lips, you know there’s something cold and transactional about them. Quinn has taught you to be more than that, but beneath the newness there are still layers of Ashlord. You know some of those characteristics are good. There are worthy ideals that your people value above all else. One of them is understanding the cost. Since the beginning of time, your people have understood the trade they make with the gods: Give blood, get power.

It’s a fair question.