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“HEY!” Dossidian bellowed. They both jumped a little, turning to him. “Tell us what you want or get out. Raven and I have a date with the training ring.”
Rycon perked up at that. “You’re training?” I could tell he wanted to ask if he could come but didn’t feel like he would be welcome. I frowned.
“Why are you here, Rycon?” My voice did not carry like the others, but it seemed to hold more weight with him. Everyone went silent as he turned his eerie yellow gaze to me. Even with the bond blocked, I could tell how uncomfortable he was. He wanted something but was too prideful to ask. After a long, uneasy silence, he finally seemed to work up the nerve to share what was on his mind.
“I know you all are up to something, and I want in. I’m bored.” I raised my eyebrows at that. He was bored? “I can’t drink, I can’t fuck, there’s nothing for me to fight or kill. I don’t have anything to do here. I’m going out of my damn mind. If you’re going to keep me here, you need to give me something to do. I feel like a damn house cat.”
Kasha’s face lit up at the house cat comment and she opened her mouth to say something, but Rycon immediately held up a hand to silence her, not taking his gaze away from me.
“Whatever you’re doing, let me help. Please.” He let out a breath as if it had physically pained him to ask us. “There. I said it.”
The room was silent, it felt like everyone was holding their breath, waiting for me to respond.
“How can I trust you after what you did?” I asked.
“I don’t know.” He replied honestly. “But at least give me the opportunity to try to earn your trust back.”
I really wasn’t sure I could. What we were doing was too important, too dangerous. If he messed up again it would put us all at risk.
“I have an idea.” Dossidian said, interrupting my internal battle. “Why don’t we have the panther take a blood oath.”
Amon’s lips curled at Dossidian’s idea. “That is… an excellent idea.” The Dark Prince said, before turning to me. “A blood oath is a deal you sign with the very blood that runs in your veins. It’s similar to a life-debt, but it’s a little bit more structured in the sense that you need to agree to the terms beforehand.”
I narrowed my eyes at Rycon. “Didn’t you sign a blood oath with Ash Nevra when you took the job to assassinate me? Didn’t you use the blood from your dead father instead of your own so you had some wiggle room to sell me if another daemon was willing to pay you more?”
Conrad let out a low whistle. “Yuh a bad dude, Rycon.” He said, shaking his head in disgust.
Kasha looked horrified. “You did that to her and then gave her to Kieran? You really are a dick.”
“Goddess spare you.” Meredith whispered.
“Listen, I’ll sign the damn oath, you can draw my blood yourself and watch me sign it to make sure it’s legit. I cannot just sit here and rot until one of us dies.” We all just looked at him. I could see him thinking, trying to come up with another reason we should hear him out.
“I can smell if someone is lying, that’s got to be useful, no? None of you can do that.”
Amon’s eyes widened slightly. “Shifters can smell when someone is lying?” The corners on his mouth turned down and his eyebrows rose as he mulled over this new piece of information. “That explains a lot.”
The thought of Amon trying to negotiate with a group of shifters that could smell when he wasn’t telling the truth was amusing. I imagined it would make things difficult.
“That actually would be a useful skill to have in our arsenal.” He mused.
Finally, he turned to me. “It’s up to you Raven. Your call. You’re the one that has suffered the most at his hand. He is also your bonded. If you want to give him one more chance, we will follow your lead. If you want me to kill him where he stands,” he looked at Rycon, a murderous smile coiling across his lips. “That also can be arranged.”
Slowly, I pulled myself out of the pit and walked over to Rycon. He watched me warily, waiting for my decision. He was much taller than me so I had to tilt my head up to look him in the eyes, but I wanted him to see my face. I wanted him to see how serious I was.
“I will allow you the chance to earn my trust back. You will sign the blood oath, under strict supervision. You will do what you are told.”
He nodded, keeping his lips clamped shut. I struck him in the middle of his chest with my finger. “If you fuck this up Rycon, no more chances.” I said, making sure he understood me. “If you fuck this up, I will kill you my damn self.”
The blood oath was arranged immediately. Amon cleared the table with a wave of his hand. Dossidian had been dressed for training in what looked like his own suit of restructium with his two sabers fastened across his back. He drew one of the great blades and seemed to take a little more pleasure than necessary dragging it across Rycon’s forearm.
Blood welled in a near identical wound to the one Amon had once carved into my arm. Kasha caught the blood in an obsidian bowl before it could heal and dipped a large quill into it. Using Rycon’s blood as ink she wrote out the terms of the oath.
‘I, Rycon of Olkuyrbe, will not betray Raven, The Origin’s daughter, in her mission to free the Dominion of Sin. Any act done, whether with intention or in ignorance, that jeopardizes the mission of The Origin’s daughter will result in my painful and untimely death.’ She held out the quill to Rycon, her eyes glittering in challenge.
“Sign it, Kitty Cat.”
“‘Painful and untimely death was a nice touch.” Dossidian remarked.
