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“About our purpose. About Fafnir. About our magic and our position in the witching world.”
“They thought they should be on top of the witching world because they have lots of power, and you guys wanted to stay away from the politics?” I guessed.
She eyed me curiously, like she was surprised at my insight. “Yes, essentially.”
“Mary is probably on the evil dragon’s side. Good to know. We’ll let the council know and make sure she goes down with the ship,” I said with a forced confidence.
Believe in me. Believe in my friends. Teach me. Stop trying to kill me.
I was staring at her like the snake in Jungle Book, trying to hypnotize her with my eyes. But she looked away, closed the photo album, and walked back to the bookcase to put it on the shelf. “Fafnir will not be so easily defeated.”
While she wasn’t looking, I started sawing away at the ropes again and speaking loudly, “The council are putting together a task force, and while we are stuck, we are going to help. That’s why I need to know about him, our family, and how to use my magic so I can support my familiar and her soul pair. And then we can get out of this realm and look for Zaide’s family and save the titans. It’s a big to-do list, so I’d really appreciate your cooperation.”
She shook her head fiercely, dyed dirty blond hair slapping against her cheeks. “I can’t trust that. I don’t know you. I don’t know that any of that is the truth. You could have easily been a convert to the other side of the family and just want—” She stopped herself from continuing with a hand to her mouth. “I shouldn’t be speaking to you at all. You shouldn’t be here. You shouldn’t be alive. If the others knew …”
I could see it. She was seconds away from killing me out of fear, but I wasn’t going to sit still and let her. I pulled sharply on the ropes, and they broke, sagging to my lap as Elizabeth turned. Her eyes widened as she spotted what I had done, and she gasped.
I stood and pulled the chair out of the ropes around my feet, then turned just in time to use the chair as a block for her magical attack.
The chair disintegrated.
We both stared in horror at the black powder pile on the carpet between us.
That could have been me. I could have been dusted like a vampire fromBuffy.
“What the fuck? Did you just try to disintegrate me?” I shouted, throwing my hands.
She made an incoherent noise and flinched as I stepped threateningly toward her. “I panicked.”
“You don’t panic and try to disintegrate someone. Is this whole family a bunch of murderers?” I yelled. “Jesus Christ.” I took a deep, calming breath and ran a hand through my hair. “You don’t trust me, and I get that. Fine, then make a magical guarantee with me instead. Whatever will make you comfortable. And in exchange, you’ll help me learn my magic and figure out how to destroy the dragon. It’s a win-win situation.”
“You want to make a vow with me?” Her brow furrowed, and she sat down on the sofa slowly.
“Whatever will make you believe me. Is there a way you can read my mind or see my memories?” I massaged my aching wrists.
“No.”
I shrugged. “Then a vow it is.”
She warned, “If you break a vow, there are consequences.”
“Those are made clear in the vow, right?” I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms, smugly.
“How did you know that?” She glared at me like she was annoyed I knew anything about the vow I’d just asked to do.
“Magic for dummies book.”
She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, mimicking my stance, clearly getting comfortable for the negotiations. “If I’m going to teach you magic, there will be a lot of conditions.”
“I need to know magic to defend myself and my family from my evil ancestor. No matter the conditions, I need this. It’s life or death.”
She frowned and nodded, then started counting on her fingers. “Firstly, I need you to attend training every night.”
“You’ll need to teach me how to do it without the help of the titan demigod.”
“You certainly have friends in high places.” She pursed her lips in a slight pause before continuing, “I can teach you that. Secondly”—another finger popped up—“you’ll also need to vow never to use magic against this side of the family.”
I nodded my agreement and added, “You’ll need to specify names for the vow and also show me who each person is so I don’t do it by accident.”
