Page 26 of Oath of Betrayal
‘Riiiiiight, “I have the king’s geas, and I’m not afraid to use it” is using “persuasion”?’ I argued, and he averted his eyes as he shrugged.
‘It worked.’
‘Yes, it certainly did. Now you have a mage you can’t trust, and I have a collar on my neck that you yank every time I try to express myself. Why didn’t you just ask? Why not give me a chance to agree? I’m not stupid. I know what’s at stake if the Barrier fails,’ I said quietly, but Orm shook his head.
‘Stupid, no. But stubborn? Most definitely, yes. Need I remind you that Alaric tried and you wouldn’t even give him your name? I’ve even sent men with invitations and you sent them back barely able to remember their time in Zalesie. We spent three months searching for the conduit mage with a fiery temper, learning how crafty you were at disappearing. You did a good job of covering your tracks. Admit it, Ani. You wouldn’t have given me the time of day.’
I couldn’t help it; I tensed because I knew he was right. And I felt sorry for those men I had drugged with Katja’s draughts, but seeing strangers asking questions and issuing invitations triggered my deepest fears. I was so afraid to be found outand brought back into service that I treated any stranger asking about my magic as a threat.
‘I thought they were from the council …’ I attempted to argue, but he looked down at me, shaking his head.
‘Yes, and I thought you were a belligerent mage. We’ve both made mistakes. I’m a dragon rider, schooled and bred for war. I don’t take chances. All my adult life, I’ve been a leader, having to calculate the odds for success and account for our losses. Accosting you during Maiden’s Day gave me the best odds for success. I do what I must because we are already losing the war against the Lich King, and he hasn’t even breached the Rift. The gods save us if he ever does.’
‘I know, but …’
‘No buts, Ani. For hundreds of years, the Barrier has been the only thing protecting the Lowland Kingdoms. We trusted it would last, and we were lazy. Look at what’s happening in the south and fae courts. They don’t even think they need to man it anymore. I’m fighting a losing battle, and it took only the tiniest of rifts to show us how weak we were against an undying enemy.’ Orm’s arm tensed, pressing me harder to his body before he exhaled, shaking his head.
‘Right now, we are just dealing with Vel demons, but if I’m right, soon even a tainted human or a Moroi could pass. Do you know what would happen to Zalesie if a corrupted Moroi appeared?’ I felt the shudder he tried to suppress.
My frown almost became an angry retort, but once again, I knew he was right. Those of the Moroi corrupted by the Lich King’s magic, if they broke through the Barrier, would spell the death of everyone they encountered.
‘So instead of coming directly to me with a reasonable explanation yourself, you arrived blowing your trumpets, scaring me badly enough that I almost cooked the mayor with aether. Then there’s that bloody geas.Gods!It makes me feellike a disobedient dog, with you as my owner who keeps yanking my chain.’
‘I should have let you cook that prick. I would have, if you hadn’t looked so distressed,’ he said with amusement in his voice. I thought he would leave things that way, but after a moment, Orm uncovered my face and looked at me.
‘I know you find it hard to believe, but I’m an honourable man. I’m not proud of the way I did things, but my first duty is to the people I was entrusted with to protect. I will hold my post to the bitter end, but finding you gave me hope. As long as you work with Alaric, I will provide you with everything you desire and never bring up the geas again.’
There was a ring of truth to his words that I couldn’t deny. What caught me off guard was the way he looked at me and the slight smile full of longing that appeared on his lips.
‘I can be a good friend Annika, if you only give me a chance. I enjoy talking to you, even if you have this annoying manner of not fulfilling orders and disagreeing with most of what I say.’
‘I’m not questioning you, I just don’t know if I can be the friend you desire,’ I finally said with a sigh. I understood his reasoning. We were both indoctrinated into the roles we’d been born into.
I remembered my sixteenth birthday when my conduit abilities had manifested. One moment, I was just a silly girl celebrating the beginning of her adulthood … The next, I was dragged from my parents’ house, tied to a post in the temple of rituals, and bled until the torment of slow death made me recite the oath. No money my father offered could buy my freedom, and eventually, my parents stopped trying.
We continued the flight in silence, but I felt the hitch in Orm’s breath several times as if he were trying to talk to me once more.
‘Just say it, I don’t bite,’ I snapped, finally.
‘Why did you stay in Zalesie all this time? Mages like you are much sought after. You could’ve gone anywhere, could havelived in a majestic fae city or even the steppes of the orcish kingdom and have had Anchors from amongst the best of your peers instead of haunting the mountains like some ghost.’
‘Yes, I’m sure mages there would gladly have adopted a conduit who could enhance their own power to limitless levels. Maybe I would have even had a month or two before someone tried to force the Anchor bond. What do you know about Anchoring, Ormond?’ I asked, and he had the grace to blush under my scrutiny as I continued.
‘Anchoring requires taking a piece of your spirit and embedding it into another person’s soul, taking theirs in return. It binds you in a way that can perhaps only compare to the bond you have with Vahin; but, contrary to the way you tethered your dragon, it requires skin-to-skin contact. The easiest and least painful way is through intimacy. You can ask healers for more of an explanation, but if you are in the throes of passion, the pain of splitting your spirit and having another joined to yours is … well, more acceptable once you have accepted them into your body.’
He looked at me sharply, and I laughed at his baffled expression.
‘That sounds … inconvenient. What if you don’t want to do it that way?’
‘Don’t be such a prude. It is still possible, but from what I’ve heard, all conduit mages prefer to have their Anchorpiercethem in more than one way,’ I teased with a chuckle.
When he frowned, I added, ‘If one side, or both, don’t fully accept the exchange, it can kill them, and if you can’t accept your chosen one’s touch, how can you accept their soul? To take an Anchor is to connect with another person on such an intimate level that there is no room for doubt. You bare yourself, giving them all you are for a piece of their soul in exchange.’
‘So the Anchor must first be a lover?’ he asked, and I shrugged. ‘Or be enthralled, or under a spell, possibly even just a personyou trust and accept completely. In the past, some mages would tie themselves to anyone who offered the power they craved, but it never ended well. In dire circumstances, I could do that. To make a deal, shackle myself to a stranger, and hope we survived the exchange.’
My sigh was deep and filled with an emotion I didn’t want to share.
‘I don’t crave power, and I refuse to bond to … That’s why I ran from the capital. My Anchor gets not only my magic but also my heart,’ I said, turning to blink away tears; my heart was gone, buried beneath the mountain.
