Liri smugly handed Lisa the vial of pure mana water.

  Blind or not, you can feel its power, I’m sure. Go ahead, praise me for my generosity.

  “What’s this?” Lisa asked, concern in her voice.

  Liri frowned. How could she not know what an amazing gift I just gave her? Ah, right—blind…

  “A gift you’re unworthy of, but assuming I did drag you here, it’s the least I can give for your inconvenience and to help shoo you away if you don’t work out as my pet.”

  “How thoughtful…”

  “It’s my royal curse to be better than those beneath me. I hate it too.”

  Liri watched Lisa smell the vial and frown, unmoving to drink…

  Did she doubt my gift? Maybe she can sense power in smells?

  “It’s not much, but it should help you break into the next level. Regardless of your mana level, if it’s really low like I assume it is, you might go up a couple levels.”

  Why is she hesitating over my gift? Does she think I won’t give her more?

  Silly thing.

  I will give her more treats if she’s good. I need her to get stronger if she’s going to be my pet…

  Liri watched a smile form on Lisa’s normally blank face—a nice change from the angry expression she usually wore.

  Yet Liri could not help but swell with pride. She finally got the stupid human to catch on to the value of the gift!

  Watching her drink was an odd sight for Liri. She knew the effect of mana—it was mundane to her. No, what was odd was that it was as if Lisa NEVER had mana. Even the weakest should have traces of it through their veins.

  Liri just assumed she was hiding it while practicing her mana sight—which explained her blindness. Even if dumb, she had to have some skill, right?

  Yet now that the novelty of a random blind pet wandering to her was wearing off, she was properly thinking.

  She did push her mana far beyond their world and sought one low in magic.

  What if…

  She found one with none?

  Hmm. What would happen to a pet with no magic? And somehow was still… blind?

  In the short span it took Liri to process those thoughts, she watched the mana flowing through Lisa’s veins and assumed all was well.

  Until the mana overwhelmed Lisa’s veins from within, a power flux overtaking her body—and she collapsed.

  Fluttering around Lisa and watching her writhe in pain, she was unsure what to do. Panic set in. She did not want to hurt the dumb human. She wanted…

  A pet.

  The old texts always said humans were evil, yet she hurt someone lost, confused, and just wanting to go home…. And she couldn’t.

  Because of me.

  “I’m sorry,” Liri wept, trying to reach within Lisa’s soul to do anything to help her. But there was so much damage. The mana had destroyed everything.

  What could she do?

  “Please hold on. I will figure out something.”

  She wasn’t sure what she could do. Even stabilizing her soul was taxing and did nothing for the pain she knew her pet was suffering from the mana bursting.

  She needed to bond with her pet. It would let her share a link and help calm her soul.

  “Do you trust me?”

  She tried willing her pet to hear her, to understand she could save her—but not if she did not accept the link…

  “Be my pet. I can keep you safe. Help you live.”

  Through the flow, she felt confusion but a reluctant acceptance.

  Okay, Liri. I agree.

  The bond could be formed, but it was fragile, incomplete. It was based on a concession, not a desire…

  Yet Liri embraced it, pouring her soul into her pet and feeling the flaring pain lessen and fade to a numbness.

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  Liri felt relief for a moment that shifted into a deep dread. She did not save her pet. She denied her a painful death only to give her a slow, prolonged one of numbness—a life of nothingness if she did not fix it.

  And she did not know how. She had hoped the bond would heal her, and it did, kinda…. But not enough. And she could not leave her like this…. Now bonded, she could feel her soul, her life—at least in fragments…

  She was indeed a stupid pet, but one she wanted to save, to know better, to… understand.

  Dad would know…. He had the power to save her. She was sure of it. But would he listen?

  Does it matter?… If I want to save her, I’ve got to face Daddy…

  Closing her eyes, she willed the last of the mana in the well to echo out to her father in a signal for help.

  In the emptiness of her cave, where Lisa lay fallen and broken, a shimmer was forming nearby, and within an instant—

  A vortex shifted into life, defying the nothingness.

  Less than a second later, a powerful, regal fairy stepped through, a small ball of power forming in his hand as he looked past Liri to find the threat that had summoned him.

  Liri tensed. The pressure of his aura hung heavy, even though it wasn’t directed at her. She still could not breathe.

  Watching him look around, confusion setting in, he spoke.

  “Daughter. You summoned me, yet no threat? Did you bind them outside? I can handle it if you show me where.”

  Liri shook her head, finally feeling an ease in the pressure, and pointed to the broken human on the floor. The king showed mild surprise but little interest beyond that.

  Lisa wasn’t even worthy to be an afterthought to Dad…

  “And? You already defeated her. What’s the matter?” the king asked, puzzled.

  “I want you to save her, Daddy.”

  A bitter scoff dismissed Liri mere moments after her plea.

  “Why would I do that? Finish disposing of her and be done.”

  Her father looked around in disappointment at her lack of progress building her cave, or even the lake…

  And that was before he saw all the wasted reserve of mana from the well.

  “She’s my pet, Dad. It’s all I want. Please save her.”

  He looked at her passively. A face that said he knew well those words, and was debating pointing it out…

  “You said the same about building your own mana lake for expanding our power,” he said, extending his arm and waving it slightly. “Yet this is not a blessed lake of power, and that”—he pointed to the prone girl before him—“is unworthy of saving.”

  “Much less a pet.”

  “She trusted me…” Liri said softly, unsure how to convince her father. She knew when he put his foot down, there was no changing his mind, so she wanted to use care, lest she push him too far.

  Liri saw him really looking now. He saw the tenuous bond they had formed and sneered.

  “She’s not even properly bonded, and you want me to risk giving her more power?”

  Liri folded in on herself. Why was he being so mean…

  “Daughter… my child. Listen well.” The king moved close, holding his daughter gently, consoling her briefly before expanding on her folly.

  “That human is a threat. They all are. Anything we do to bless them makes them stronger.”

  “Your bond alone already made her a major threat…”

  “True. A potential asset if properly bonded, maybe even a secret weapon.” She saw the look in her dad’s eyes, calculating worth and risk. She did not utter a breath, lest it shift his choice. It seemed he had made his choice…

  “But as it stands now? Just a freak with potential to be an enemy. Nothing more.”

  Liri wasn’t sure she agreed, so she tried bargaining while he was still willing to listen…

  “What if she agrees to stay bonded and makes an oath, not just agrees? Will you save her then?”

  A deep sigh from the king. “Maybe…. Fine, yes…. But you will owe me, daughter. I mean it this time.”

  “No playing…. You need to make this investment worthy.”

  Liri nodded her head vigorously, lest he change his mind.

  Liri watched her dad deflate a bit, exasperated at his daughter’s antics, knowing he was once more giving in—and that nothing good would come from it.

  Yet Liri kept watching as he summoned the rarest and most powerful potion she knew they had—mana water distilled over eons.

  Where the regular mana water burned Lisa’s veins as it tried to bless her and made her numb, this would transcend her flesh and heal her, purifying her form so that mana could always flow freely, as natural as blood in her veins.

  Yet he did not move an inch from his spot, confusing Liri—he held the vial close, as if she would steal it without consent.

  “You did not bind it yet.”

  Liri knew Lisa was a little slow, so she had to choose her words carefully if she was going to get Lisa to listen…

  Liri reached into Lisa’s soul to try and talk to her.

  “Dad says this can save you, but you won’t be free. He won’t trust you if you don’t stay my pet.”

  Okay?

  Lisa responded in a passive way within the soul bond. Her voice was there, the link seeming to fade into a sea. She wasn’t taking this seriously…

  She wanted to save her pet… no.

  She wanted to save Lisa.

  “If you drink this, you really will be indebted to the fairies. I know you can’t speak normally, but I can feel your intent in our current bond.”

  “Okay, Lisa?”

  Okay, save me, please. I agree to stay bonded with you.

  And with that, she felt Lisa much clearer, as if she was much closer to her soul and could even see her drifting in a void. Where before it was a vague feeling, now she heard and understood her.

  Liri took the vial from her dad, who kept a vigilant watch with a disapproving, stern face. Despite helping Liri, it seemed he would do little more than what he must to appease her whim, as Liri poured the vial slowly into Lisa’s parted lips.

  And with it, Lisa did not just heal from the wounds. She transcended what mortals were normally bound by, and Liri felt the power of the rare mana reverberate through the bond. It intoxicated even her as she tried to focus, getting Lisa to finish drinking.

  Liri had drunk it before, but only rarely and in sips when Dad was being generous on rare occasions.

  Liri focused on their bond and was entranced by the world Lisa could now see. She knew it wasn’t a true unity—she’d felt that difference before—but it was very close.

  And it was enchanting.

  So many colors of magic! Lisa was free! And with that, so was Liri.

  Liri knew what this was. It was Lisa’s mana capacity—an endless sea of power, free-flowing, and Lisa wielded it with defiance, transcending into music!

  Liri could not help but be overwhelmed and want to mimic the gift, and they became a duet of intertwining magical potential.

  Yet she felt a rejection in this place—a denial of its existence—and she did not know why.

  Vaguely, she felt something like “no parents.” Something about unseeing. And then everything faded to black, even for Liri.

  She was pulled back, drained, and fell onto Lisa, drowsy. She reflected on what she felt, and it was a jumbled mess. It seemed Lisa really did not know a thing about magic, even if she had a natural affinity to wield the power. She threw it away…

  A rejection.

  It confused Liri while she tried to make sense of it. She thought about her dad and him giving her pet the rare drink—a vial worth no less than everything. What would be the price he would ask in return? Liri felt it would be more than she and Lisa could ever pay.

  But for now.

  Lisa would live, and she had a pet.