Overview
For all the vrakhiri's powers, which humans can only envy from afar, other arcane arts exist besides — and Anca has shown Coen how to reach them. Casting a hex means first carving its symbol into one's own skin, then shedding some of one's own blood — which feels wrong... and also good.
The price is steep. For a start, it is forbidden: where the Inquisition holds sway, working a hex — or getting spotted with symbols on one's arms — means prison or worse. And who can say where this power comes from, or what one admits into one's soul by practicing such a dark art?
Coen sees no alternative. If it helps him bring down Brencis, he will use it, whatever the cost.