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He nods and straightens to his feet. “You’re right.”
Taking several moments, I try to calm my body from the lingering effects of adrenaline and anger. “So, how can we keep this from happening? I don’t want to be oath bound to you.”
Cassius’s eyes darken for a heartbeat before clearing. “That I have not been able to figure out quite yet. Elizabeth expects you to be oath bound to me as soon as possible. I told her I wanted your trust first instead of forcing it upon you. It’s bought us a little time, but she is impatient.”
I bite down on my bottom lip. “Can we… fake it?” I ask after a while, even knowing it’s a terrible idea. It didn’t work pretending to be marked by Alaric. I doubt it will work with something so much… bigger.
“No,” he says frankly, “but do not worry, little bird, we will figure something out.”
* * *
I wake from a fitful sleep of tossing and turning. Stretching my legs out to ease cramped muscles, I instantly regret it as my feet slide against cold sheets. Something unknown sends my heart racing, thudding almost painfully within my chest. My eyes snap open. Each exhalation of breath forms a white plume in front of me.
It’s so cold—too cold to be natural.
A sliver of light cuts through the clouds and into the room. I keep as still as possible, scanning for anything out of place, anything that might have woken me. Slowly, I slide my hand under the pillow and wrap my half-frozen fingers around the hilt.
A small round bowl rocks back and forth on the dresser.
Clara…
… Claraaa.They drag the sound of my name out, almost singing it.
I burrow deeper into my blankets as Varin’s voice grows louder, more demanding. What does it say about me that I’m unbothered by a demon trying to worm their way into my mind while I sleep?
Though, Varin visits almost every night, they never attack or harm me… just keep me awake with incessant pleadings to take the ring, to free them, to visit them. It’s always the same conversation. The worst they’ve done, so far, is to slip into my mind and lead me down to their cell when I’ve been too exhausted to fight the compulsion.
“Damn you back to the Otherworld,” I growl, cursing the demon.
Rolling back to my side, I settle in and pull the blanket over my shoulder, tucking it under my chin. Sleep calls to me almost as strongly as the demon does. Varin’s taloned fingers scrape down my mental barrier, trying to break through. I shudder in against each attempt.
The icy chill in the room remains as the long night wears on. Eventually, the demon stops pushing against my mind and retreats. The room warms, and my muscles finally relax. I snuggle into my down pillow.
I try to push away all thoughts of the demon that have invaded my head all night and focus on Alaric. I remember the kiss we shared earlier and how the feel of his lips curled my toes… but the warmth they bring is doused like ice water on fire as the memory of being ripped from his arms plays over and over until irritation sets in.
It’s a relief when my eyelids become heavy with sleep and slide closed.
Clara…
My name is a breath that echoes all around me, wrapping itself around my mind.
With a sharp inhale, I snap my eyes open. This time, the whispers are not in my head but come from every shadowy corner of the room.
Careful to keep still, I close my eyes and feign sleep. Maybe if I ignore the pesky demon, they will go away and leave me to rest.
You are not sleeping. There is no use pretending. I hear your thoughts.The whisper is an icy breath against the side of my face.Get up and come to my cell, Clara.
I sit up, clutching the blanket to my chest. “Varin,” I hiss. Their name forms with a small cloud from my lips.
Clara…Varin calls to me from the patch of impossibly thick darkness at the foot of my bed.
“Go away,” I hiss and swat a hand in their direction. A shiver racks my entire body, starting from the base of my spine to the top.
A dark form takes shape from the shadows and slides across the bed. They can visit me at night, but their corporeal form is trapped in the forgotten cells deep in the bowels of the castle. “You need me, Clara.”
“No,youneedme,” I snap irritably. “I know better than to make deals with demons.”
There’s a clatter outside my room, a small metal object striking the stone floor. Footsteps halt abruptly. I go still, hoping whoever is out there didn’t hear me talking.
