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“I will bring you to speak with my sister and help you attempt to convince her to ally with you against the Queen. I will throw in the chameleon as a signing bonus, in exchange for my freedom.”
I smirked. Much better.
“No.” To all of our shock, it was Cerenah who stepped forward, her head held high. She pinned Zayne with a look that could have melted the flesh off bone. Her crimson eyes flashed in the morning light, her white hair tumbling around her shoulders. The contrast against the black restructium of her suit made her look indestructible.
“You know Vespara will never agree to those terms. Even in exchange for her freedom. Vespara doesn’t want to be free.” She turned to me, her expression angry. “The way he phrased that is unacceptable. All he would have needed to do is draw up the terms, and make an attempt to help you convince Vespara. Whether or not Vespara agrees would not have mattered, you would have been bound by the agreement to free him.”
Pure rage and disgust blazed across Zayne’s face, telling me that she was right. He had been trying to trap me in a loophole.
“You will pay for that, little Lightning Bug.” He said, his voice quiet. “How quickly you forget all the ways in which I have learned to make you scream.”
“I am free, Zayne. You hold no power over me. I am not afraid of you.”
His eyes burned, and he flashed her an angry look that made the hairs on my arms raise.
“We both know you will always be afraid of me, Cerenah.”
“Enough.” I snarled. “Give me something I can use, Zayne, or the deal is off.”
He simmered before me, glaring at both myself and Cerenah. Rycon smirked at him and raised an eyebrow. Jeremy continued to sight down the barrel of his Carbine. We had him.
“Fine. I will ensure Vespara’s alliance to your cause in the upcoming war in exchange for my freedom. After you free me; I will then give you the location of where you can find the chameleon.”
“No. Kasha first.” Rycon snapped, but Zayne shook his head.
“I need some sort of leverage, I can’t give you everything. We very well might not even live through the negotiations with Vespara, so it won’t matter either way.”
Rycon’s hand fell to his gun and he took a menacing step forward, but I held out a hand. This was the best deal we were going to get.
“Fine.” I said. I looked at Cerenah, and she nodded.
“This is acceptable.”
“Okay,” I drew my shadowstone blade across the palm of my hand, and blood welled at the wound immediately. I looked up at Zayne expectantly. He produced a small, thin throwing knife from the inside of his leather waistcoat, and mimicked me, drawing it across his own hand.
We shook on it, our blood mixing in our palms, and I felt the shock of the magick run up my arm, sealing the deal.
“Well, Raven Fisher. You’ve successfully entered a deal with The Bone Prince. I hope you’re ready.”
Rycon rolled his eyes and brushed past us, answering for me.
“Yeah, well, you just signed a deal with The Origin’s fucking Daughter. We’ll see how ready you are after spending a day with her crazy ass. Now, let’s go meet your fucked up sister. This place smells like shit.”
Conrad
After Trenton’s terrifying ‘demonstration,’ Sofia had closed the meeting and ordered the beginning of deliberations.
Following a challenged requisition, Board members were typically sequestered away to discuss and vote on a verdict. There was no time limit. It was up to members to come to a decision and announce when they had a unanimous rule.
This could take days, weeks, or even months. The longest deliberation in recorded history had lasted nearly two years. I had not been alive for that, but it was one of the most infamous cases that was taught to young magick folk who were training for a position on The Board.
I had always accepted the slow moving bureaucratic process of the system as a necessary part of ensuring that everything was done fairly. I had found comfort in that process, and the thoroughness of our judicial institution. Never before had I felt as jaded as I did now.
I was angry. Too angry to think logically, or have a reasonable discussion with the rest of the team. Mr. Abbey had asked Dossidian, Meredith and I to meet him for tea for a debrief, but I had shaken my head.
“Mi need time to sort mi head out.” I told him. “Meet in di morning?”
“Yes, I don’t see the harm. Deliberations don’t start until sunrise anyways, we should all get some rest.” He agreed.
