“If anything happens to them, I swear to you—”
“No more harm will come to them if you speak with me. All this—all of it—is for you.”
I must have misheard him. “You havetrulylost your mind, Niethal.”
A wide grin spreads across his face. “It will make sense soon.” He turns and moves deeper into the castle.
Out of options, I follow.
“You will return to Selen with me and complete your training. It was foolish to leave with the prince before we finished. Whatever is between you is nothing compared to what is coming.” Niethal sits on the throne, a slap in the face to Isiah and his father.
I sneer. “And if I say no?”
He rolls his eyes. “This again? If you refuse, the prince and his friends will die, along with your parents. Is that incentive enough?”
I could never live with myself if they died because of me, and he sees it written plainly on my face. “If we do this right, you will have bigger priorities than the prince—or, I suppose, king, if we are being politically correct.” A weight presses on my chest, stealing the breath from my lungs. Isiah’s grief from before now makes sense.His father.My heart aches for Isiah, for what he has lost. But I can’t show weakness now. So I focus on anger. The smugness in Niethal’s tone makes me want to smack the smile off his face.
“What do you intend to do with Isiah and the others?”
His head tilts as he studies me. “What would you like me to do with them? If you give me your full cooperation, I will do as you wish.”
An idiotic idea crosses my mind. Probably one of the worst I’ve had, but I’m short on time. If I am to do this, my wording needs to be perfect. “A bargain, then.”
His eyes flash silver before he responds, “Careful. Your family has a history of breaking bargains.”
“This bargain I will keep. I will cooperate if you promise to spare Isiah, Mikal, Liam, Corren, and Thom. My parents are to be free of this as well. They will see no further harm to their persons, and after I perform the ritual, successful or not, they will be free.”
I hold my breath. It’s a lot to ask, but he responds faster than expected.
“It’s a bargain.” He comes off the dais to stand before me, forcing me to glance up at him. “We usually seal bargains with a kiss in Selen.” I cringe and he smirks. “But here, a simple handshake will do.” Niethal holds out his hand, and I take it. Once our palms touch, a burning sensation slides up my arm and scorches its way into my mind. He smirks when he releases my hand and strides back to the dais.
My arm burns, and as I watch, a small delicate-script tattoo in a language I can’t read develops vertically from the inside of my wrist to mid-forearm. Horror rolls through me at the mistake I may have made. “What is this?”
“It’s our bargain, my dear,” he drawls as he sits on the throne. “It says the penalty for breaking our agreement is a forfeit of one’s life. I learned the hard way not to trust words solely.”
“That wasn’t a part of our bargain!”
He leans back and grins. “It was in the fine print, but you shouldn’t worry, seeing as you are going to cooperate to free your true love.” He bats his eyelashes. “It’s so romantic, isn’t it?”
His mocking words have fire licking my fingers. “You know nothingabout me.”
“Don’t I?” he snaps. “Do you ever wonder how I found you? How Iknewit would be you?”
I stare at him blankly. I have wondered, but I’ll bedamnedif I feed his need to hear his voice and ask.
He leans an elbow on the arm of the throne, propping his head up with a fist, and sighs. “For the last thousand years, your kin have lived on the land outside of Trimton and forgot who they were. ButIdid not.I knew the Anaeris bloodline did not end with Gabriel and Alessandra. So I watched and waited.” He shifts forward in his seat on the throne and smiles at the scowl drawn across my face. “When you were born, I finally sensed the spark of magic that had long been absent from previous generations. Now, I may have left out the details of the prior bargain, but simply put, your ancestors negotiated with me to save the humans, and just because they died does not end our deal—at least, not since you, their magic wielding heir, was born. Have you wondered what terms I would accept sufficient to give up the war for Esmarae and slink behind magical borders?”
I never could figure out what he got from it. My ancestors bargained with him but broke it to keep it from coming to fruition. What would be terrible enough to have them die hiding the city?
The realization hits me. “The king and queen bartered rule over the capital city Anaeris, and with it, the relics. Then, in return, you would end the war between the fae and humans by agreeing to separate.”
He smiles like a proud teacher. “Yes, but you are missing one crucial piece. One must be of the family bloodline to wield the relics, whether born in or tied. The only relic in the vault I’m interested in is the bloodstone, which belongs to you.”
I don’t understand how someone not of the bloodline could wield the relics, but from the pit in my stomach, I know it won’t be in my favor, however the tie works.
“You were correct, my dear. Gabriel and Alessandra bargained the rule of Anaeris, but with the promise of a marriage to an heir, so I would become one of the blood and gain use of the bloodstone. With our marriage, I will become king of Anaeris and you, my queen.”
The floor drops from under me, and I’m falling.