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“I’m not better than them, all right? I know that. The other night … I was wrong, Medra. I acted badly. I shouldn’t have gone along with Rodriguez’s plan. I should have been upfront with you. I hurt you. I betrayed your trust. I’m sorry.”
I studied him, but it was useless. Kage was an enigma. Inscrutable as always. Hell, maybe he’d even meant what he said. Who could say for certain?
“Fine. I’m impressed that you actually apologized. It’s more than Rodriguez bothered to do. But I’m not about to forgive and forget so easily.”
He nodded. “I understand. Unfortunately, I have a favor I need to ask of you.”
“Let me guess. You want me to keep my mouth shut about you turning into a wolf.”
“Good guess.”
“I’m a clever girl. Not clever enough to stay out of House Avari, though. And not stupid enough to just say yes to your request.”
Kage smiled slightly. “I didn’t expect it to be easy. So, what do you want?”
“How about some answers, to start?” I challenged him. “Blood moon rises. That’s your house motto, right? You even gave me a half-moon pendant once.” The necklace was back in my room, tucked in a little wooden box in my drawer. I hadn’t worn it since that night we’d attended the Frostfire ball together. “Clearly the words are significant. So what do they mean?”
There was a trace of a mysterious little half smile on his face. Seeing it pissed me off.
“Can all of you do it? Can all of the Avari highbloods shift?” I demanded, starting to lose patience.
Kage glanced around. “Keep your voice down. But the answer to that is no.”
“Does the moon trigger it? How is it connected?” I pushed.
He frowned. “I’m sorry, Medra. I’m not about to spill my house’s most ancient secrets right here in the hallway.”
“Not even after all you’ve done? You don’t think you owe me a few little secrets to make up for what you’ve done to me?”
“I owe you your life,” Kage replied. “And believe it or not, I mean for you to keep it. I want to protect you. That’s why … that’s part of why Rodriguez found me fairly easy to convince. Blake, too, I think. When it comes to you, we—”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I exploded. “Don’t you dare say you only want what’s best for me.”
He shrugged. “Trite, maybe, but true.”
“You’re not my godsdamned family. You’re not my archon. You’re more like my captor. You’re a highblood.” I said the word with such vigor, such hate, that my teeth nearly rattled.
“We’re a despicable lot in many ways, aren’t we?” Kage agreed. “But I stood up for you just now. It wasn’t the first time. It won’t be the last. You don’t owe me forgiveness. You don’t owe me kindness. But I’m your House Leader, so when I demand your Blood Vow, you will give me that.”
I glared. I wasn’t exactly clear on what a Blood Vow with my house leader meant, but I knew I wouldn’t like it. “Oh, I will, will I?”
“You will,” he said quietly. “Or I’ll be forced to use some other means to get it from you. I don’t want to have to do that.”
“You’re disgusting. Are you seriously threatening me with thrall-weave right now, after you just apologized?” Let him try. I wasn’t the vulnerable little rose I used to be. He wouldn’t find it easy to get past my guards.
“I am sorry for what happened. But I used my powers to try to protect you, to protect all of you that night. Did you ever stop and think of that? I revealed something I was not supposed to reveal. Things could have been much worse, Medra. I put my life on the line to try to stop the damage. Now I’m asking you for your help.” He held up one hand and pointed to his palm. “It’s quick. Almost painless.”
I gave a mirthless laugh. “Isn’t that what you all say?”
“We mix blood. You’re sworn to silence. If you break the vow in an attempt to harm me—”
“Oh, please,” I interrupted. “Let me guess. I die?”
He smirked in a way that was practically Blake-ish. “Basically.”
I rolled my eyes. “Here’s how this is going to go. You’ve apologized. You did throw yourself into the fray that night, all of which is more than Rodriguez did.”
“But Rodriguez—” he started to say.
