Page 84 of Blade of the Nightking

“He has lackeys I can peel apart.” He growled at Hamish, who didn’t so much as cower an inch. His strength—his refusal to yield—steadied me enough to continue. I had Rìan’s attention now. Every moment I kept him talking, kept him engaged, increased the chances of Aedric surviving this.

“Do you really think Aedric lets anyone in on his secrets? That any Fae lowling would be trusted with the whereabouts of your nephew?”

Hamish didn’t bristle or argue. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that he knew far more than he let on, that he understood Aedric in ways few others did—but he gave no sign of it. Just a bodyguard. A soldier. He stood there, expressionless, his gaze fixed on Veylan, whose smirk had begun to fade.

“Not even I know the truth.” I said. “And I’m Aedric’s mate.”

Silver rippled through his eyes, and his magic curled toward me, only to halt at the edge of my mind. If he stepped inside, my magic could take from him again—could siphon deeper this time, strip him down to nothing. He knew it. I knew it.

“You said that breaking our bond will return your magic to you. Which means…” I was thinking hard. “Which means once it’s broken Aedric’s mind will be released.”

The power in his eyes sparked.

“Once he’s free,” I continued, pressing forward before I could think twice. “You can extract the truth of Dannis’s whereabouts.”

“And I’m assuming you’re bargaining for his life? To spare him?”

“Yes.”

We held there, the space between us drawn taut—as taut as the bond that chained us together.

His mouth twisted.

“Cunning little monster,” he murmured. “When our bond is broken, I’ll enjoy picking through what’s left of your mind.”

I gave the threat nothing. “So you’d consider such a bargain?”

His smile was razor sharp. “Remind me what I’m agreeing to.”

I slowed my breathing, forcing each word into place before I spoke. This was where it mattered. The phrasing. The precision. One mistake, one gap left open, and he would use it.

I’d seen what he could do with a poorly made bargain. I wouldn’t give him that chance again.

My mouth felt like sandpaper. “The bargain is this: I agree to help you break the bond. Once it’s done, you’ll be allowed to take only the information you need about Dannis’s whereabouts, and nothing more…”

“Anything else?”

“Yes—you let him go. Alive, and with his mind intact. And until then—Hamish will take him somewhere safe until the bond is broken. They’ll leave immediately.”

A cold knot tightened in my stomach, the fear that I'd left something out—that he'd find a way to twist it to our detriment.

He placed a long-fingered hand against his chest. “You don’t trust that I would honor your terms?”

“I don’t doubt for a second one of yours would kill him the moment you get what you need. He needs to leave the Dusklands.”

He ran a hand along his jaw, his fingers brushing his devious mouth. “You’re learning, Eidra.”

“Do you accept the bargain?”

He considered it. I held my breath, waiting—waiting. Everything hinged on this moment. Aedric’s life. Hamish’s. The fate of the world.

“Yes.”

Something inside me pulled taut, then snapped sharply into place. I hadn’t felt the bargain take hold the first time. I’d been inside his mind then, cut off from my body. This time, there was no mistaking it.

He sucked in a breath, and I knew he’d felt it too.

He unfastened the top buttons of his shirt, exposing the hard, smooth lines of his chest beneath—and there, just below his collarbone, ink spread in a dark, curling whorl, still settling into place. He glanced at it, assessing, then fastened the buttons again with measured movements.