“I’m Kouta’s brother,” he explained quickly. “I was there when he was attacked. The person who tried to kill him dropped their knife, and this was left over. I need to find out where he is.”

As he finished speaking, June waved her hand dismissively, but there was a knowing look in her eyes as she turned back to Aina. “It’s not my business, I suppose. I will perform this spell for you. It will show us a vision of where Kouta Hirai is. Since you brought the element we will use to track him, you will be the one the Mothers grant the vision to. You, and me.”

In the dim light, June brought the silver edge of the knife closer to her forearm where healing cuts trailed across her skin, then made another small prick with the tip of the blade. Small scars circled the new wound like a macabre constellation. She caught the blood on the diamond, then nodded at Aina.

Aina took the knife from her boot and brought it to her upper arm, a memory flashing through her mind of her mother doing the same thing to heal a neighbor of a blood disease. Aina had sat in the corner quietly, watching her mother’s every move.

When the man had left, healed, Aina had watched him go through the window. She’d scanned both ends of the street for signs of Diamond Guards who might have been spying on them. Over the past few years, she’d seen people disappear. She’d seen people get shot. While she didn’t fully understand what was happening, she knew that what her parents did was a risk.

When the man had disappeared around the corner, she let out a frustrated breath and turned to face her mother, who was busy cleaning the knife.

“Why do you keep doing that if it’s dangerous?” she asked in a rush. She’d asked different versions of this question multiple times, but the answers she got never really eased her fears.

Her mother’s forehead crinkled as she turned to Aina and spoke in the same calm voice she always used. “He needed help, mijita. He can’t afford to go to a hospital, and I have the ability to heal him. It’s what I must do with this gift the Mothers have granted to me.”

She wanted to ask who would help them if they got caught, but she didn’t know how to voice the question without making her mother angry. So, she’d kept quiet whenever they went to underground services, recited prayers, or used magic, and she stopped searching for Diamond Guards at every corner.

Now, Aina acted almost mechanically. She pressed the tip of the blade to her skin. Vibrant red blood spilled onto the blade. June held the diamond up to her own blade, and then Aina’s. Blood dripped off the metal surface and onto the diamond in minuscule red bursts to join June’s own offering.

While holding the diamond in one palm, June took the vial with the scrapes of Kouta’s blood and held it in her other hand. The room fell silent as they all watched her in anticipation.