“We will keep you safe,“ Gabriel added.
Their words would have been much more comforting if I couldn’t already sense their emotions underneath.
When it was time,we returned to Sebastian’s hidden apartment. It was almost dark out. Our allies were ready. Crispin had studied the star maps, and the vortex was… well, that part we’d just have to wing. There were no volunteers for magical testing, and if I couldn’t access the vortex’s power, the conduit star would have to be enough. Itshouldbe enough. My great grandfather wouldn’t fear it otherwise.
Crispin had assured me that magic was about intent. And my intention was to destroy my great grandfather and protect everyone I cared about. In theory, the vortex would play along.
We would confront my grandfather’s allies at the Circus to draw him out, and when he came close enough for Marcie to sense him, we would chase him across the near realms just like he had been chasing my mother. I really didn’t like Penelope being part of that final stage, but we had a contract with her now. She would have to help us, even if she’d previously been perfectly content to sacrifice us.
As Sebastian, Crispin, and Gabriel went over the plan, I went into the bedroom to find Mistral. I was pretty sure I had seen him go in there.
When I found him standing in near darkness observing the bed, only the moonlight from the window illuminating his lithe form, I gently shut the door behind me.
“It’s a pretty comfortable bed if you were thinking about catching a quick nap.”
With his back to me, he traced one long finger down the silk sheets. “I just wanted to see where you sleep.” His voice was oddly distant.
“Does it matter where I sleep?”
“I would rather it be with me, obviously.”
“I thought you didn’t want that level of commitment.” I meant it as a joke, but it didn’t quite land. We had essentially married each other, yes, and we both knew that we loved each other, but he had avoided the first and was reluctant to admit the second. That didn’t just go away because we’d gone through with the ritual. And would we be bound together without the pressing issue of the Bogs? I didn’t think so.
He finally looked over his shoulder at me, seeming surprised. “I did not bind myself to you only to save my people.”
I wanted to argue, but we still had a bargain of truth.
He turned to fully face me. “You know I cannot lie to you,” he said, echoing my thoughts.
I relaxed a little. MaybeIwas the one with the commitment issues. Or maybe after my mom leaving, and my father dying, I had trouble believing that someone would want to stay. “Just how long will our bargain of truth last?”
“Until we both agree to break it.”
This was silly. He had proven himself to me, so why was I still questioning it?
I looked down at my boots, wondering if I was making the right decision. It had been useful, knowing he couldn’t lie to me. But maybe the whole point of committing yourself to someonewas actually trusting them.Withouta bargain of truth. I couldn’t just keep spinning my thoughts around, feeling uncertain.
“Should we?” I asked weakly.
His brows lifted. “Are you hoping to be able to lie about something?”
I laughed. “No, but we’re married, kind of. And I’ve been spiraling wondering if it’s actually what you wanted, or if it was just a necessity. And I’ve been wondering if once we go to your home realm, if you’ll want to stay there.” I held up a hand before he could speak. “But I want to trust you willingly, even if it’s not in my nature. I want to believe that you want me, even without all the magical nonsense binding us together. And if you need to stay in your home realm, more than anything I want what’s best for you.”
He looked truly stunned. “Eva—”
I shook my head. “You don’t need to reassure me. The only way I’ll find out what happens is to let things happen.”
His expression softened, and he stepped forward to grip my arms. “You willingly break our bargain?”
“Well, getting taken prisoner in the goblin realm doesn’t seem like such a threat anymore.” When he had first told me the consequence of lying after our bargain was sealed, I had been horrified. Now, did it really matter? Maybe I still hadn’t lied to him not because of the bargain, but because I didn’t want to.
He laughed, and the sound seemed to echo in the quiet, dark room. I could hear the other guys speaking softly in the kitchen beyond the closed door, but no one interrupted us.
“Then I release you from our bargain of truth.”
His lips brushed mine. Cool magic shot through my body, echoed by the unsettling sensation of breaking glass. It ended quickly though.
I looked up into his gray eyes, appearing several shades deeper in the darkness. “Is it gone?”
