"Young woman, you weren't listening." Her soft voice held more than a hint of rebuke. "I said I couldn't stop it for any length of time. Meaning, it might just be possible to stop it for brief minutes."
"A few minutes is better than nothing." I hesitated. "But whether we could use it would depend on just what it takes to achieve that."
Her gaze slid down my length. Horror swamped me. Not that, I thought. Anything but that. Or blood.
But when her gaze met mine again, there was little in the way of desire. Just cool calculation. And if I hadn't been aware of it before, then that look alone was enough to tell me she was very dangerous.
"Lucian has already informed me of your aversion to blood magic—"
"I thought you said she didn't do blood magic," I cut in, glancing at Lucian.
He shrugged. "If I had said anything else, would you have come here?"
"Probably not."
"Then that explains the lie. You need to explore all options, Risa. It is foolish to do otherwise."
"Blood magic is not an option."
"Which is a shame, as it's the most powerful form of magic available here on earth," Lauren commented.
I met her gaze again. "It also taints the user in the extreme."
"That is a debate I will not get into. It does, however, lessen our options."
"At least there are options." Hopefully, there were some that were a little less unhealthy than blood magic. Although Ilianna was going to hit the roof either way.
"Perhaps." She glanced at Lucian, then rose and finished her drink. "I will be in contact if I uncover any possibilities."