Page 19 of With Wing And Claw

‘Amongst other things, yes.’ She glanced down at the slender nymph hand reaching out to her – soft, slender, and coated in a thick layer of dried blood. ‘I can’t have you disobeying me in public, either. People will think—’

Naxi scoffed. ‘I’m not going to bargain forobedience, Sashka. Won’t willingly harm you, and that’s as far as I’m prepared to go.’

Notwillingly– a dangerous clause to add to any bargain. The more foolish a person, the more likely they would accidentally breach the contract. Then again …

This little demon was no fool.

And if Naxi’s magic senses could offer helpful information in cases of emergency, it would admittedly be unhelpful if she had to wait for permission to act.

‘Fine.’ Deep breaths. It wouldn’t help anyone if she were to pass out from nothing but sheer nerves. ‘Do we have a deal, then?’

‘Oh, I would like your guarantee that you won’t quietly sacrifice me to the court either,’ Naxi dryly said, beaming up at her. ‘Not that I could imagine you ever being tempted, of course! But it can’t hurt to be sure. And we need to include an end date – I would like for the bargain to be voided if you ever send me away.’

‘If you decide to leave the Crimson Court for whatever reason,’ Thysandra amended, her throat dry. Demons got bored.There was no use in pretending this one wouldn’t. ‘I’m not going to go on protecting you if you get sick of me tomorrow.’

Naxi rolled her eyes, then extended her blood-crusted hand again, ignoring the alarming red flickers of the Labyrinth beneath them. ‘Deal?’

It took an effort not to recoil as their fingers twined together. The blood was still a fraction sticky in places.

‘Deal,’ Thysandra said hoarsely.

The bargain magic flared between their palms. Blinding light, stinging pain – she barely saw and felt it anymore. It was over in mere seconds, leaving nothing but the bargain mark on the inside of her wrist: a pale shade of pink, like a small shard of rose quartz embedded in the umber of her skin.

The last bargain between them had been white. It was hard to ignore, suddenly, what that one had led to.

‘Howlovely,’ Naxi purred, pulling back her hand to study the identical mark in her own forearm. Against her tender, unmarred skin, the sharp edges of the crystal looked oddly out of place – a violation of something far too sweet to be damaged like this. ‘So where do we start, Sashka? I could murder a few more people for you?’

She thought of the glaring eyes outside. Of Nicanor, stiff with justified disgust. Of Bereas and Orthea, looking for traitors, for people to blame.

Her ribcage squeezed her lungs a little tighter.

‘Perhaps you should take a bath before you start thinking of murdering anyone else,’ she ground out.

‘That’s not a bad idea,’ Naxi blithely admitted, looking down at her blood-stained feet. ‘Not sure where I could safely take a bath in this castle, though. Would you mind if I borrowed your quarters for a bit?’

Chapter 6

They barely saw asingle living soul on their way up through the castle. All that moved was the occasional flash of wings around a corner as yet another fae managed to get out of the way just in time; other than those lucky survivors, there were just the corpses on the marble floors, curled up in their never-ending agony.

Naxi’s cheerful humming didn’t falter as she passed them by.

It felt like a terrible idea, giving this ruthless creature access to her only safe haven at the court … but by the time they’d reached the familiar redwood door, Thysandra still hadn’t come up with any better solutions. So she opened the locks and gestured for her unwelcome visitor to go first, wincing at the sight of Naxi’s bloodied feet against her spotless wooden floor.

A temporary solution, she reminded herself. A few days, maybe, and she’d have her home to herself again – she could handle that, couldn’t she?

‘Just to be clear,’ she said nonetheless, waiting by the doorstep, ‘youwillharm me by destroying anything in my rooms. I’m fond of this place.’

There.That should at least keep the bargain active.

Naxi whirled around, eyes narrowing. ‘You’re not saying you’ll let me roam around on my own here, are you?’

‘Did you think I was planning to join you in that bath?’ Thysandra sharply retorted, realising a moment too late that that had beenentirelythe wrong thing to say. It conjured up mental images she truly should not be thinking about – that lithe body in her bathtub, willowy limbs and small, foam-covered breasts, wet skin gleaming like mother-of-pearl in the faelights … She hastily pushed the vision away with a panicked stutter of her heart and added, voice choked, ‘I still have a bloody court to rule. Which won’t have gotten any easier after your antics of last night, either.’

‘Oh, it probably hasn’t,’ Naxi admitted in that breezy, careless way of hers. Her smile grew broader, then more wicked. ‘You’ll manage, though. And of course, if you need a reward for your hard work—’

‘I’m good, thank you,’ Thysandra interrupted tightly. ‘Enjoy your bath.’

No matter how swiftly she slammed the door shut, it didn’t block out the subsequent melodious peal of laughter, or the way it sent her heart jumping alarmingly in her chest.