Invisible String - Sebastian Sallow

Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Victim

"Is it possible to repair a wand that's been snapped clean in half?"

Sebastian was sat next to me, his arm draped casually over my shoulder as we were huddled in his bed, our knees pulled up, the black notebook resting against them. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"I'm not sure. I don't think so," he answered sadly. "I'm still grateful that you stopped me from snapping mine after Solomon."

I glanced sideways at him here, "I've been meaning to ask about that actually."

"Have you?"

"Well, yes. You don't regret it, do you?"

He paused, thinking hard before he answered me, his bottom lip pulled into his teeth three separate times before he spoke. "I don't, no. If the cards were on the table, and he was attacking you again, I wouldn't hesitate."

I nodded, gingerly placing my hand on his, "So why did you try to snap your wand?"

I was surprised when he laughed. It wasn't humorless or hollow, but a genuine laugh, as though I had said something he'd genuinely found amusing rather than ask a serious question of him. Snapping a witches or wizards wand was like taking away a limb. I felt weak and defenseless without mine, the pink crystal hilt I favored sat upon the bedside table, making my heart hurt anytime I looked at it.

And here he was, laughing when I asked why he considered snapping it if he hadn't regretted his decision.

"You think I wanted to snap it because of Solomon?"

"Well, yes?"

He shifted our sitting position so he was looking me in the eyes rather than at our knees. His dark brown eyes swam with a mix of emotions, though the emotion I could pinpoint the most was regret.

"I wanted to snap it because it had been my inability to control the Inferi that resulted in this."

His fingers brushed gently over the scar on my neck, the skin still red and jagged where the Inferi had pulled the chunk of flesh out. I shivered under his touch and heard my breath catch as his finger trailed the scar.

"I couldn't even mend it properly. You always talked about how much you hated your other scars, and I added another. I hated myself for adding to your collection. I wasn't powerful enough to stop it from happening, and I wanted nothing to do with magic for a while after that."

His gaze moved from my eyes to my lips and back up again before he sighed.

"I don't blame you, you know," I whispered, touching his cheek gingerly. "For the scar."

"If I hadn't been stupid enough to think I could control them, you wouldn't have gotten hurt."

I shook my head at this, eyes narrowed. "I meant what I said then. You had it under control. If Solomon hadn't destroyed the relic when he had, it wouldn't have happened."

Sebastian shrugged, he expression dark and brooding. I leaned forward and rested my forehead to his, breathing in his scent, relishing the way his shoulders relaxed as I closed the space between us.

"Do you want to know something?" I whispered after a minute, his hands still held tightly around me, the small spell book sat upon his knee.

"Hm?"

"That day, when we were down there before everything happened," I paused, voice shaking slightly. "I was impressed. I- I wanted you to kiss me."

Sebastian looked at me, his brown eyes darker than they were a moment before.