Page 61 of Wicked Bonds
“Yes. Oh.” Lucien’s looking at me with an expression I can’t read. “I know what you’re doing, Rose.”
My back straightens. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re looking for the chamber.” He says it quietly.
The denial is on my lips, ready to go, but the look in his eyes stops me. He knows. Somehow, he knows everything.
“How?” is all I manage.
“I’ve been watching you, remember? It’s literally my job.” There’s something almost sad in his voice. “And you’re not exactly subtle, searching the garden with your phone out showing a map you definitely shouldn’t have.”
“So what now? You report me to Wickersly? Tell her all about my pathetic attempt to save my own life?”
“Now,” he says, grabbing my wrist, “we don’t have this conversation in the open where anyone could be listening.”
He starts walking, pulling me along, and I dig my heels in. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Yes, you are.” His grip doesn’t hurt, but it’s firm enough that breaking free would require magic I don’t want to use right now. “My quarters. Now.”
“That sounds like a terrible idea.”
“Would you prefer to discuss your treasonous activities in the middle of campus?” He keeps walking, and I have to follow or be dragged. “Because I’m sure that will end well for you.”
“This is still kidnapping,” I point out, but I stop resisting. He has a point, much as I hate to admit it.
The walk to the staff quarters feels longer than usual, probably because I’m being forcibly escorted by a vampire who knows I’mactively working against his employers. Every student we pass gives us a look, and I can already imagine the rumors. They’ll probably think it’s some kinky vampire thing.
“Relax,” Lucien says quietly. “You look like I’m leading you to your execution.”
“Aren’t you?”
He glances down at me, and there’s something in his expression that makes my stomach flip. “No, Rose. I’m not.”
We reach the staff residence, and he unlocks his door with one hand while keeping hold of my wrist with the other, like he thinks I’ll run the second he lets go. Which, fair. I absolutely would.
Once we’re inside, he finally releases me. I rub my wrist even though it doesn’t hurt, just to make a point, and look around his room. It looks exactly the same as before. Bed, bookshelf, single chair, desk with another old book on it. This time it’s something called Carmilla.
“Lesbian vampires?” I say, reading the back. “Interesting choice.”
“It’s a classic.” He locks the door, and the click sounds very final. “Now. We need to talk about what you’re planning.”
“I’m not planning anything.”
He gives me a look that could freeze hell. “Rose.”
“Fine. I’m planning to not die in two years. Is that a crime?”
“Yes, actually. According to the Coven’s laws, attempting to break a blood contract is punishable by immediate termination.”
“Everything’s punishable by termination with you people.” I sit on his desk. “I breathe wrong, termination. I sneeze during a ceremony, termination. I save my own life, believe it or not, termination.”
“This isn’t a joke.”
“I’m not laughing.” I meet his eyes, and for once, I let him see how scared I really am. “I’m twenty-one years old, Lucien. I should be worried about college loans and whether to swipe right on dating apps. Instead, I’m counting down the days until some centuries-old witches drain my life force. So yeah, I’m looking for the hidden chamber. I’m looking for the original Accord. I’m looking for any possible way to not die.”
The silence lasts minutes. Finally, Lucien speaks.
“The chamber exists,” he says, and my heart nearly stops. “But you’ll never find it the way you’re searching.”
