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“And your stepmother.”
He looked a little startled, but then pursed his lips, nodding. “Why only them?”
Odette shrugged.
Rothbart gazed at each of them, as if he might pinpoint someone withholding information.
She folded her arms, lifting her chin. “That’s everything we have to tell,” she said. “Mother was the only person who had contact with the client. We don’t know where or when she met with them.”
The other women tracked Rothbart’s movements, bodies tense with alertness, waiting for an opportunity they could never take. Oh, how they wanted to slit the throat of the man in front of them. For some reason, the night she almost killed Rothbart in his bed came to mind. The way he laid there, unknowing that she was about to end his life. The way his chest rose and fell with easy, unhindered breaths while he slept.
Like Odette’s first kill.
Something inside her twisted, and she took a small step closer to Rothbart.
He spun, his cloak spiraling dramatically behind him as his gaze met Odette’s. “Tell me about your skull pact.”
“Don’t you know how a skull pact is cast, sorcerer?” Elna asked, the spite in her voice evident. That wasn’t new; Elna had been nasty to everyone, especially Odette, since the night of the failed assassination. Which Odette couldn’t really blame her. Odettehadhesitated that night and now they were being held captive by a sorcerer.
Annoyance flashed across Rothbart’s face as his attention shifted. “If you knew anything about magic, swan, you’d realize that there are variations in how spells can be cast. The slightest difference in casting method might reveal who provided your mother with the skull sigil.”
“He is right,” Yessly said.
The obvious annoyance in Rothbart’s eyes grew and Odette saw him biting back a retort, probably questioning Yessly’s training.
“So?” he asked. “How did you get your mark?”
“There was a chant,” Lina supplied from her position near the rear of the group. “And… and a hot iron.” She shuddered.
Rothbart stopped in his tracks, looking horrified. “She branded you?”
They were silent. Odette touched the blue skull on her inner wrist, recalling the scream she’d held inside while mother was applying it. Of the searing redness of the mark quickly fading to blue. How part of her had welcomed the terrible burning as a punishment that she deserved. Of Lina’s tears streaming down her cheek as she’d gripped her arm and sobbed. “Isn’t that how all skull pacts are applied?”
His slate eyes returned to her. “I suppose there is no easy way to apply the sigil, though using a branding-iron is particularly painful.” He motioned to her. “Come with me, Odette.” And with that, he stalked from the gathering.
Odette bristled, hating him summoning her, but she followed, curious to discover what he’d say next.
She hastened to walk next to him and matched his hurried gait. The damp grass squished beneath her bare feet and a breeze rustled the green foliage on either side of them.
“So? What is it?” she asked.
“I think I might have an idea of who gave your mother the skull pact sigil.”
Odette’s breath caught. “You do?”
“Yes, Alecta. A powerful sorceress who… likes pain.” His expression tightened. “I need you to come with me to be certain. Although you could use something more appropriate to wear for the occasion.”
“Like shoes,” she snapped, the bitterness seeping out of her.
He glanced at her feet and huffed a laugh. “At the very least. Wait here. I’ll return within an hour.”
He threw a bean and stepped through the portal. It closed behind him. Odette stared at where he had disappeared in satisfaction, contemplating her next move. They’d told Rothbart the truth because she and the others had decided they needed to play as many angles as possible. Maybe in helping Rothbart, Odette could get her hands on his sister, and she’d fulfill the terms of the skull pact and free them all. Or maybe they’d actually find the one who hired her mother. Killing that person would also free them from the pact, but Odette wasn’t holding her breath.
There was also the silly swan curse to deal with. And even though her plan was desperate, at least she had an idea for that as well.
It was complicated, and in the end she needed things to work out in a certain order. Gaining Rothbart’s trust was only the start.
But one way or another, Odette would fly free of her cage.
