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“There is no taking back a branded deal. The deed is done.” Panic shot through me as Royion’s words sank in.

“What is a branded deal?” I asked, my eyes flickering from the burned flesh to Landers.

Fury was etched into the lines of his face, his knuckles cracking as he clasped his fists together to reign in the anger simmering off of him.

“That brand will mark your skin until the deal has been completed,” Landers breathed, his voice lethal and quiet. “If one of you dies,allof you die. They are under your command until their side of the agreement is fulfilled, and when it is—theywill be the one commanding you until you have completed your part.” I slowly nodded.

It was bad, but not as bad as it sounded.

I wasn’t going to die, so this wouldn’t be a problem. This would just go away once I completed the deal, no one else had to be hurt or be involved if they didn’t want to be.

A heavy breath pushed between my lips as I pulled my eyes away from my hand and let my gaze fall back onto the five of them. None of them said anything; none of them opposed Royion making the deal on behalf of them.

“Now that that is done and we have come to an agreement, we have some things we need to take care of. We will meet you in Locdragoon,” Royion said, his gaze lifting to the sky as dragon wings beat above us. Siggy’s eyes fluttered to mine for only a second, an apology speaking behind her irises.

“No,” Landers clipped, stepping forward. “As of this moment, you have a deal with Hyacinth. If you do anything to break that deal—to go against it—I will rip the heads from every last one of you and feed them to your dragons.” Siggy took a timid step behind Essara at the threat as Royion lifted a brow in challenge. “You will fly overhead so Dukovich can glamour you as we make our way to the realm passage into Ithia. If you fly anywhere else, it will be considered a breach of your deal. You will follow every instruction given you, without hesitation. And you willstayin Ithia, until I can trust you to come into Locdragoon.”

“I did not make the deal with you. You do not command us,” Royion spat as the two men took a step closer.

I took a step in front of Landers as my shadows shot from my body and pushed Royion back two paces. My eyes locked on his as I spoke with a sharpness that would bring the God of Hell to his knees.

“He may not, but I do. If you so much as defy him, do one single thing to put our chance to win this war in jeopardy, I will turn you back to stone.”

Thatwas the threat they were scared of.

I could see it on Royion’s face, the wince that shook his features as the words hit their mark. “Do not forget that you are no longer a God—that Higher Magic no longer flows through your veins while my own blood is overflowing with it.”

Royion’s eyes flickered to Azeyr whose features were so hard he could have still been stone. From the corner of my eye I saw Nantia smile to herself, almost as if she had been waiting for someone to put Royion in his place.

I looked at him one last time, my gaze more threatening than any words. “You will follow us to Ithia.”

Dust began to coil from the ground on the tail of my words and I watched as each of their dragons landed behind them, huffs of smoke streaming from their nostrils. The five pulled themselves onto their backs, not looking back at me as their dragons pushed back from the ground and soared into the skies.

A shaky breath fell from my chest as I watched the wings grow smaller, my heart racing frantically. No matter how hard I tried to avoid it, it seemed like confrontation was determined to find me.

Dukovich chuckled as he dragged both hands over his face. “You really should stop making deals with strange men.”

I snapped my head toward him, my eyes glaring daggers. “Maybe strange men should stop offeringmedeals without sharing all of the information first,” I scolded, knowing full well that he was right.

It was becoming a habit I needed to break.

This day was quickly turning into an absolute disaster and I was beginning to wonder if the help they would provide wouldbe worth the things we now had to give in return—thatIhad to give in return.

Landers looked at me, his face softening as he let out a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. “You need to tether back to Locdragoon as soon as we touch Ithia’s soil. The mating bond—” His jaw flexed as he said the words, his teeth grinding as he worked to control his anger. “The mating bond will make it easy for Cain to find you—it will pull him toward you, but he will not be able to get through the wards around Locdragoon. I put a blood lock in it for him hundreds of years ago; they should still hold.”

I nodded, knowing that now was not the time to argue, no matter how badly I wanted to go stay in Ithia with him.

“We need to get going.Now. Those dragons left when they woke before I could glamour them and there is no way they were not spotted flying over Mornos. We need to get out of these mountains before an army descends upon us, glamoured or not,” Dukovich said as his gaze scanned the peaks surrounding us.

“When you get back to Locdragoon, send Andrues to meet me in Ithia. I will need him there with me. And Hyacinth—” Landers reached for my cheek, pushing a curl behind my ear before pulling my chin up to meet his gaze that was glittering back at me with chaos and rage and amusement. “Please, for the sake of everything I hold dear, do not make any more deals.”

Chapter twenty-seven

ATALIIA

Istoodacrossfroma house that was mine now. It couldn’t have looked less like home, less—lonely. It was bigger than I’d expected, just on the outskirts of Nethkar. It sat alone on the edge of the forest, just across the clearing in front of me, and the hollowness, the emptiness of the view, felt like a symbol.

A reflection of what I had let my life become—the life I had created.