Having Percy taken from me introduced me to it.
I didn’t know what to do to ensure her safe return. I had been focused on finding her. Finding her was easy. It was getting her back unharmed that I struggled to find the solution for.
“House Vouna likely do not suspect that we know they have Percy. I could simply walk in and take her,” I suggested.
“It would be too great a risk to your safety,” Rylan replied, shaking his head.
“Fuck my safety. Percy is my only concern!”
“What!” Heidi awoke startled and Ana cowered back in her seat at my outburst.
“I want her back with me, now,” I said, breathing deeply to regain my composure. I felt like I had lost control of everything. I felt that everything I had was slipping from my grasp.
“I know you want her back. I want her back too,” Ana said. “We know where Percy is being kept and who took her. But why did they take her? Did they take her because she is your soul match?”
“I am certain my cousin and Clara are unaware of the soul match. If they were… Well, they have had her in their possession for some time and would have used her against me by now,” I said and ran my hands through my hair. I had never been more stressed.
I felt her absence from me like a physical ache, a hole in my chest that started small and grew with each passing minute she was gone.
“If we know why they took her, then we’ll know what they might do with her and that might help you decide the best way to get Percy back,” Ana continued. A smart witch.
Yet, there was the issue that I didn’t want to make it evident to Valen the true nature of the power he held while he had my pet. There was a chance he was simply trying to antagonise me. I wouldn’t allow him to, for Percy’s sake.
“Rylan, get Valen on a call,” I instructed. He bowed and left the room. “If the pathetic snake won’t come to me with his demands, I’ll reach out to him.”
“I want to help with Percy, I really do Selene, but I also need to get out of this dress and have a shower,” Heidi said, lifting her arm and sniffing herself. “I stink.”
“Very well. You will both be free to leave once the blood oath is made,” I told both witches and made my way to the kitchen to retrieve the oath dagger.
“Oh my Gods, Selene, you keep that thing in the kitchen drawer?” Heidi asked, looking rather disgusted.
“It’s only a dagger, and you wouldn’t have expected to find it in the kitchen.”
“It is most certainly not only a dagger!” Ana snarled. “A Syngeneia witch was murdered to create that damned instrument you now use to enforce your will on others.”
“Yes, this dagger was used to kill a Syngeneia witch. Her magic drained with her blood and this dagger enchanted with the magic it spilled. And I use it now to enforce my will. But you always have the option of death, if you so choose?” I looked at her pointedly. I would never force a blood oath on another. There is always a choice.
“Death isn’t a choice,” she spat back.
“It is. Do you choose death, Ana?” I asked.
“I don’t,” Heidi interrupted, standing and taking the dagger from me. “But I do choose to leave here and have a bath.” She held her left hand out. “I, Heidi of Coactus, swear never to reveal that Percy and Selene are soul matched,” she said a little rushed and brought the sharp edge of the dagger to her palm, cutting a deep line. Her blood ran up, along and between the intricate grooves of the blade, glowing briefly bright gold. “There, that’s it done, yes?” she asked, hissing in pain and fisting her hand, which continued to drip red to my floor.
“Yes, you may leave now. And Heidi, tell no one of anything that has transpired here. Remember that to break a blood oath is to sacrifice your blood, your life,” I told her.
“Yes, yes, blah, blah, scary death, keep my mouth shut, got ya,” she said as she began her walk to the door. “I’ll get back in touch soon, Selene. I am at your services until Percy is returned,” she added more seriously before she opened the door to leave. I nodded.
“And now you, Ana, what do you choose?” I asked and held the dagger out to her. She frowned deeply.
“This is against my House,” she said as she took the dagger and said words similar to Heidi, hesitating before cutting her palm.
She walked towards the door without another word once the oath was made.
20. Dank and Dirty
Persephone Flores
We drove throughout the night and into the morning. I had no idea where I was being taken. I had spent the journey pressing myself tightly against the door and as far away from Valen as possible.