It was so cold I had a hard time keeping my pen steady. Magnus went in another room and brought out a heavy blanket and an oil lamp and, after a moment, I could continue. Soon droplets of blood started escaping from our bodies, away from the forming amulet. First in drops, then in splatters, skittering across the ground and under the door of his room. Inside, the blood roared like a stormy sea, and there was a gurgling sound, like the unplugging of a drain.

The blood retreated from us like a panicked mob as I drew close to finishing, taking its wetness and stains with it, leaving us whole as if we’d never been touched by the Manifestation.

I opened the bedroom door, holding the blanket on my shoulders like a cape, feeling no strong presence except for Magnus standing behind me. The room was spotless. I found a place where the amulet wouldn’t easily get damaged and nailed it to the wall.

“It should be safe to sleep in here now,” I said, gripping the blanket close to swallow me in warmth.

His tired eyes shifted above mine. “You still have blood on you.” His eyes widened slightly as he was speaking. “You’re bleeding.”

I stepped back faster than he stepped toward me, touching my forehead. There was a bite of pain as I touched it, and a little throbbing after, but not much else. The cold of this place numbed everything.

I snatched his hand away from my face and gave it a small push back in his direction. “I’m fine.”

“You’re bleeding,” he repeated, as if justifying his reasoning for invading my space. “Saba can take a look at it.”

“I’ve had worse,” I said, and turned away before I could see the pity that graced most people’s faces when I said that. “Good night, Magnus.”

“How did you know I was in trouble?”

I paused at the door, drumming my fingers on it before turning around again. “My amulet pulses.” I felt something warm beginning to run down my forehead and stopped it up with the heel of my hand. Maybe the wound was worse than I thought. “When it encounters the Evil Eye.”

“Like a heartbeat?”

“I suppose.”

“You saved me, Andromeda.” Magnus sat on his bed. He looked a little dazed, still. Disoriented. “I owe you. I’ve been drowned alive once before already, and it was unpleasant enough that I never wish to repeat the experience.”

“Drowned alive?”