Page 52 of Wicked Bonds
She leans against the wall, arms crossed. “You said you’d tell me more. About the Accord. About what happened to you.”
“You’re upset.”
“I had a magical meltdown. In front of everyone. With a haunted water feature. Lucien showed up, Soren showed up, and I’m pretty sure the Headmistress was watching from her creepy tower window.”
I nod. “You’re getting stronger.”
“I don’t want to be strong. I want to be safe. It feels like they’re waiting for my magic to fully manifest so they can drain it, and me. Ever read Hansel and Gretel? Training me to bring my magic out is like stuffing me with candy to fatten me up.”
I don’t answer right away. I want to tell her everything. I want to unload the centuries of regret and rot and longing. But if I do, I’ll lose her. And I can’t lose her. Not when she’s the only one who can help me.
But I have to tell her something. She’s looking for answers and Rose Smith is nothing if not tenacious. She won’t stop digging, and she’ll find out anyway. I’m surprised the vampire hasn’t spilled the beans. “I used to know a witch from your bloodline.”
She straightens. “Really?”
“She wasn’t as powerful as you. Or as smart.” I watch her process that.
“What happened?”
“We were friends. And then we weren’t.”
Rose makes a face. “Why?”
“People change. Things change.”
She paces now, chewing on her thumbnail. I like the nervous energy. It makes her more alive, more beautiful. “Tell me the truth, Drake. I’m tired of the vampire’s half-answers and the demon’s mind games. I want to know what you found out. What you were trying to do before you died.”
I could lie. I could say nothing. But I want her to trust me. Even if it’s only for another hour. “You want to know how to break the Accord?”
She stops pacing and looks at me. Really looks at me. “Yes.”
I lean back against the wall, folding my arms. “You have to find the original blood oath. The first one. Not the copy under lock and key in the archives. The real one.”
“How, in the ever-loving fuck, do I do that?”
“That’s the trick, isn’t it?”
She groans. “Not helpful. I can barely control my own magic. How am I supposed to find some centuries-old blood contract? Where would I look? How does a person even start with something like that?”
We sit like that for a while, not saying anything, just being near each other.
“You still haven’t told me about the witch you knew,” she says finally.
I close my eyes and try to remember the girl’s face. It’s faded, like all old memories. I remember the day she died, and the way the sky turned dark in the middle of the day. “Her name was Isabell. She wanted to break the Accord, too. But not for herself.”
Rose waits.
“She’s gone now.”
“Was it for you? She wanted to break the contract to save you?” Her voice is quiet.
I nod, but I don’t say any more.
She opens her eyes. “If I find the real blood oath, and I break it, what happens to you?”
It’s a question I didn’t expect, and it lands with a force that almost knocks me over. “I don’t know,” I admit. “Maybe I finally get to leave. Maybe I just… disappear.”
She studies me. “Is that what you want?”
