“I assume you want help to unweave the blood bond?” his eyes flick between us, full of smug satisfaction and amusement. “I wonder if you’ll be so keen to marry her if the weave wasn’t pulling you together?”
“Zara is not negotiable, Malric. She’s going to be my wife, blood weave or not. We simply wish to sever it if we can, and move on with the rest of our lives without its complications. We do not need to be bound by magic that neither of us chose.”
“So you need my help,” Malric cackles, stepping forward with a serpentine grace. His voice is a venomous whisper that slithers into my ears, wrapping around my resolve. “That comes at a price. The question she needs to answer is what she’s prepared to give me to loosen this bond?”
“The question is, can you undo it?” I snarl.
“Feisty,” he murmurs, his tone laced with mock admiration. “But that’s not an answer, little witch. I didn’t ask what you want. I asked what you’re prepared to sacrifice.”
Malric’s crimson eyes flicker with amusement, his lips curling into a slow, serpentine smile as he waves his long, bony fingers. The runes on the walls pulse brighter for a moment, their rhythmic glow speeding up as the low hum deepens into a resonant vibration that makes the air shiver. Frost now spreads like veins along the stone table, reaching toward the edges of the chamber as though alive.
My lips curl into a smile as vicious as the one Malric’s wearing. “You can’t undo it, can you?”
Malric’s laughter is quieter this time, more insidious, like a hiss of steam escaping from a pressure valve. He steps closer, his movements deliberate and voracious. He lifts his hand and his finger strokes the side of my face, its long, discolored nail scraping against my skin as frost creeps down my core and I resist the urge to shudder. Every instinct screams at me to flinch, to step back from the suffocating proximity, but I hold my ground and the anger in his eyes burns hotter as I refuse to yield.
“She’s strong, Kade,” he murmurs, his voice low and threatening. “You’ve chosen well, although the blood weave was a mistake.” His nail trails down to my jawline, sharp enough to raise a shallow line of heat on my skin, though the frost in the air keeps the pain at bay. “I may be able to weaken the ebon chain that binds you, but it will take time and considerable effort. So I ask again, is she worth the bother? What will she give me in return?”
Malric’s eyes glimmer as he offers us the thing we both want.
My heart races, both delighted and pained at the thought of being free. I want to be free of this bond; I want to have a choice. I don’t even care if it’s still there, but less severe; all Iwant is something that doesn’t feel this tight. That doesn’t pull this hard. That doesn’t make my every waking second about Kade and me.
“Nothing.”
Kade’s voice is steady, but I can hear the undercurrent of tension in it, the tightly controlled edge that hints at his frustration.
“You will do this because it keeps order. It preserves our way of life. If the blood weave remains, it will turn us into something new. Something dangerous. Something that might decide it’s had enough of the way things are.”
Malric’s eyes narrow, his smile fading into a dangerous scowl. The shadows around the chamber seem to lean in closer, eager spectators to the exchange unfolding before us. The hum of the runes on the walls increases in intensity, vibrating through the floor beneath us, a sinister heartbeat echoing through the cavern.
“Your brothers don’t know, do they?” he asks.
Kade clenches his fists at his sides, the tension in his shoulders radiating through his every muscle.
“It will be difficult to hide it much longer, Kade.” Malric paces a slow circle around us, his serpentine gaze never leaving Kade’s face. “I can even try to break the blood weave, but I need time with your witch. I need to test her. To understand her strengths and her flaws. I know you already, but I need to know her too before I can determine how to break the ebon chain.”
He steps away, the shadows around the chamber retreating slightly, but the oppressive chill remains.
“Fine,” Kade hisses. “But no more than is strictly necessary, Malric. To her limits, but no further.”
Before I can react, Kade lunges, and the force sends a shockwave through the air. He grabs my arm, dragging meaway from Malric with a ferocity that leaves no doubt about the lengths he’ll go to protect me. The shadows recoil as Kade pulls me into the dimly lit tunnel beyond and the cold air wraps around us like a shroud as my muffled protests fade into the oppressive darkness.
I have no choice but to follow, even as the deal he struck with Malric lingers in the air behind us. A cold weight settles on my chest, and a chill slithers down my spine as we head into the night, and with every step, I feel the deal Kade made settle like a curse, binding us in a web I can’t escape.
