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Fae bargains are notoriously one sided. There’s an entire third year course dedicated to teaching mortals how to navigate them, and shadows that major in Fae law and specialize in bargains are a burgeoning field in New York and other Fae hotspots.
True Fae bargains are bound by powerful magic that cannot be undone. Ever.
Which is why more than one mortal has gone to a bar near the Shimmer and woken up hungover and bound to the Fae for a lifetime, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.
“Just a trivial one,” he assures me, his voice slow and rich and seductive, a trick the Fae use to mesmerize us into complacency. “Agree and I will convince the school that another Winter Court Evermore used their powers to save you. You won’t be expelled. You’ll still be property of the Winter Prince, and he won’t go to war over you. All in all, you will gain more than I in this deal.”
Liar. Everything inside me screams to deny him immediately. But if his bargain means I can stay at the school and Valerian doesn’t suffer . . .
“What would you require in return?” A heavy feeling settles over me as soon as I ask the question.
“A small thing, really.” His lips curl at the edges, but my focus is riveted to his eyes and the darkness that simmers there, a kind of cold cruelty that burrows deep into my core. “Let me touch you.” rt, wild laughter bursting from my throat. “To take me? Yeah, to a bookstore so I can buy you a book on better pickup lines.”
“You’re cheerful, for someone who no longer has a future.”
“Bullshit, you can’t touch me without permission.”
“You’re right. I can’t physically touch you.” His voice is softer now, teasing, like he’s my lover and not a wacko forcing me into a weird roleplay game.
Ignoring his insane voice, I focus on Valerian. The teachers are working now to try and undo the spell, but Valerian has stopped, his eyes holding mine, willing me to be brave as he mouths, I’ll come for you.
Oh, God, that means . . .
I don’t even see the portal open up, but suddenly, Valerian and the others just disappear. I’m in a . . . garden. The same one Hellebore took me to last time.
The cloying scent of magic fills the air and then vines of jasmine, honeysuckle, and ivy shoot from the cobblestone path, sprouting and twisting into an elaborate cage that walls us off from the rest of the world.
And then, just to show off, I assume, the flowery cage lifts into the air, drawn by a swarm of thousands upon thousands of monarch butterflies.
Meaning no one can see us. Meaning I’m now alone and defenseless against this raging sociopath, who’s obviously decided he no longer cares if I’m protected.
Weapon! Before I can so much as turn around or go for my sword, tendrils of ivy wrap around my wrists and waist, and I’m jerked around to face Hellebore. The vines wind tighter and tighter around my flesh until I’m immobilized against the cage, unable to move. Pinned like a butterfly to a board.
I open my mouth to fling an insult his way, but he shakes his head, a stupid little smile on his face. “Say one more thing I don’t like and I’ll gag you, understood?”
His eyes flick down as Ruby bursts from my vest, a war cry on her lips. Something flashes to my right, and Hellebore’s sprite appears from seemingly mid-air.
I watch the two tumble through the spaces between our cage of jasmine and ivy and disappear.
“Now, where were we?” he asks smugly, knowing he has all the time in the world to torture me. This is his land. It might be infected with the scourge, but it still gives him incredibly strong powers. “Oh, yes. Touching you. I may not be able to physically touch you without your permission, but, as you can see, that doesn’t really matter. Besides, I find everyone gives me permission eventually . . . when asked the right way.”
I thought I hated Inara. I thought between the loathing I felt for her and Cal, I would never despise someone more than I do them.
But the murderous, blinding rage I feel for Hellebore in this moment burns so hot that I fear I’ll burst into flames.
He takes one look at the wild fury in my eyes and draws closer, a moth to my fiery hatred.
My heart jackknifes into my sternum as, slowly, intentionally, he plants his hands on either side of my head. He’s so close I can smell his scent over the sweet perfume of jasmine and honeysuckle, a mix of verbena, lilies, and fresh rain.
When he’s so close that I’m sure he’s going to brush against me, his body halts mere millimeters from mine. “There’s that fire I see burning inside you, that raw, untamed pride that flashes in your eyes whenever they tease you, begging to be stamped out.”
I strain against the vines circling up my arms like the elaborate cuffs some Evermore wear. If only I could reach my sword, I would eviscerate this jackass.
My knee, on the other hand, is free—
As soon as the thought comes, I go to drive it up into his man goods and then—crap.
I almost touched him. I jerk my leg back, embarrassed at my rash stupidity.
