The world around me shattered.
I lay on the ground, dying. A faint, ice-blue light shimmered around me.
Seren hovered over me, cutting a rune into her wrist.
Dark blood oozed as she pulled a cloth away from my neck and pressed her bleeding wrist to the open wound there—a wound slick with the vuk’s black blood.
“I take the Blood Oath of Bryndis,” she said. “May my soul be bound to his. I offer him my blade and my protection. I bind myself to his fate. I will not raise my hand to strike him, and my blood is his. Let the blood of this oath join our souls forever and let us never be separated, as Bryndis is bound to Varik.”
The vision faded as Lucia pulled away, the hollow strangely, eerily quiet.
“How the fuck did you do that?” I gaped at her, astonished by her power.
“This amulet allowed it. You saw my memory. And you allowed me in. You don’t know how to block me yet.”
Her memory? That explained why I’d seen it from the outside, watching my own body, covered in black blood?—
Oh fuck.
I gave Lucia a hard look, understanding dawning. The healing. The insatiable hunger. The restless energy.
“The vuk,” I said at last.
“Seren was careless.” Lucia’s mouth drew to a thin line.
“Let the blood of this oath join our souls forever.”
The blood of the oath. Mine. Seren’s.
… and the vuk’s. All over me.
A staggered step back was all I managed, my mind reeling. I yanked the chain from my head. The vuk’s blood had bound itself to my soul?
“What about her?” I scanned Lucia’s face.
“No. The blood of the slain vuk was inside you, not her. She’s not bound to it.” She left the amulet on and returned to the altar.
I tried to breathe, but my chest had drawn tight. All this time, I’d though my hair had darkened because of Seren … but had it been the vuk? “What does it mean? What did the vuk’s blood do?”
She studied me. “You have been gifted with its extraordinary powers, on top of the ones you already possessed. I do not know the full extent, but there is no doubt you will discover new abilities for some time.”
She lit a candle with another gesture spell. “Why were you in the forest?”
I hesitated. Something in her powers unsettled me—a chilling, formidable presence. Seren had inherited her power—enough to perform that oath—but in Ederyn, Lucia had been infamous.
But before I could answer, she set her palm on my forehead.
A dark shadow crept into my mind, intruding without mercy. A sea of memories filtered through … my father Sealing me … sparring with Dalric in the Rookery … taking comfort in a woman’s arms in the Regulation barracks … laughing with Thorne during training … the prick of a whistler quill as Dalric was dragged into the forest …
No. I wrenched myself free and shoved her away. She stumbled, hitting the altar, but a satisfied gleam shone in her eyes. “Good. You sensed me that time, didn’t you?”
The thought of every memory and emotion laid bare for her perusal made my stomach churn, a sick feeling ripping through me.
“Outraged?” She jutted her chin. “You should be. The ability to read minds is dangerous. The Bloodbinding was meant to control such things—limit them to a select few. It’s also why the Oath of Bryndis should never be made without complete trust. If you don’t learn to control the bond, you’ll have unlimited access to each other’s minds. Even for those deeply in love, that’s a terrifying prospect. Imagine never being able to hide jealousy, criticism, frustrations—or momentary, misplaced lust.”
My voice came out raw. “You saw?—”
“I saw what I wanted to see.” Lucia drew a sharp breath. “It appears you’ve been on quite a journey?—”
