Page 113 of Merciless Is My Crown

There was something very wrong here, with the grinning, smug Oracle, with all this blood—Raziel’s blood—and yet…I took a subtle sniff. No hint of the scent of blood in the air.

And Raziel didn’t even give off…Raziel vibes. There was no pain telegraphed from him to me. I couldn’t sense what he was feeling. How fast his heart beat. He was a void.

Nothing about this felt right, and every time I glanced to Raziel, the sense of wrongness grew stronger. Like…this was another vision, like I was seeing…what she wanted me to see.

The truth hit me then. This wasn’t real.

Because this was an illusion.

But…if the Oracle was here when Tristan and the others arrived with the pendant—even if they hadn’t succeeded—gods knew what would happen then. She might not kill me, but I had a feeling she wouldn’t hesitate to wipe Torin and her males from this world out of simple spite.

“You’ve made your point,” I told her stiffly, clenching my hands. “We were planning to leave for Solarys at dawn, although our departure will now be delayed until Raziel is recovered enough to travel. Again, bad planning. On your part.”

“I want what is my due.”

“Believe me, you’ll get it one day,” I muttered and a dark wind whipped through the fortress, whining around the stones and sending the torches flickering.

“You’ll leave tomorrow as planned. One week. You have one week to kill Serpens, drop that ward, and give me what I want. Deny me and you all die. Starting with the wolf.” She cocked her head as if she was hearing something the rest of us couldn’t.

She hissed then was gone.

Raziel groaned, lurching onto his side, vomiting all over the glossy floor. “The blade vanished.” Bella peered at his back in confusion. “Wounds are healed, not so much as a mark.”

There was no blood trail into the fortress, and I doubted there was a pool of blood outside, either.

“It’s a miracle.” I rolled my eyes as Raziel flopped back onto the floor, pale and sweaty. “She created an illusion to show us what she could do to us if she wanted.” I knelt down and cradled Raz’s clammy face in my hands. “Are you alright?” I asked softly.

“Great.” He swallowed hard, and I shifted to the side so he didn’t vomit all over me.

“How did the Oracle snare you?”

“I was almost to Darkhold when something shadowy just…caught me out of midair. That’s the last thing I remember. Now I’m here.” He pressed his lips together. “Fuck. I’m going to be sick again.”

“Outside. Come on.” Tavion heaved him up off the floor. “You can puke to your heart’s content.”

“Great. Exactly how I wanted to spend my godsdamned day.”

Bella watched them leave. “We thought the wards kept her out, but she got through like they didn’t exist. Not so much as a warning. If she comes back…we can’t fight her.” Her gaze darkened to the color of honey. “Not with these marks binding us.”

“They’ll find the pendant, Bella. Once they get Cosimo out and he deciphers that language, we’ll know more. If Cosimo can’t break this hold she has over you, then we’ll find someone who can.”

I paused. “You’re sure this isn’t…blood magic or…what did you call it? A blood pact?”

“Can’t be. Both those oaths would have been rendered void when Vireena died.” Bella chewed on her lip. “This is something else.”

“If blood magic worked as a weapon against your ancient enemies, then it should work on the Oracle since they are one and the same. That could be the real reason Vireena boarded up the library. Search the books, use the answers you find to protect yourselves.” I gripped her hand.

“After tomorrow, she won’t be looking at Stormfall.” My eyes flipped to Tavion, half dragging a pale Raziel back inside.

“After tomorrow, she’ll be watching us, and I’ll make sure she doesn’t have a reason to come back.”

“I will speak with Vesper and the council. Perhaps a blood circle would keep her out if we could craft a big enough one,” she mused, her eyes back to their normal color. “But before that, I’ll make a tonic for Raziel. Whatever the Oracle did to create that illusion, her magic had a bad effect on your friend.”

“Thank you. Tavion and I will get Raz into bed and wait for that tonic. Then, I think, I want to spend one more night in your library. I have an idea. And some questions.”

45

TRISTAN

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