Page 12 of A Bond in Blood (Blood Bound Duet #1)

Chapter 12

T hree months.

Eighty-four days.

I wasn’t sure how it had happened so fast. How the last month of my imprisonment had flashed past my eyes. Skirting around me while I played my role in this war between myself and the Unseelie King.

Neither of us bending. The fights had stopped though. With my attempts to end his life halting.

For now.

I walked the streets of Muspell, with Olen stalking beside me. His claws clinked against the cobbled roads of the city.

“This way,” he snarled.

My body went stiff at the command. We were heading to another poor soul who’d failed in their ability to uphold Ulrich’s deals. One name among a long list of the bodies I’d already witnessed lose their life.

A penance I suppose. Reminding me of my own foolish deal.

Ulrich’s sick upper hand in our silent battle.

The cloak on my back slowed me down compared to the beast I followed. Yet I couldn’t remove it. The most unexpected change in the last month had been the sudden drop in temperature throughout Ulrich’s island. In one day, it had gone from brisk but comfortable autumn breezes to frigid cold and frost.

Ulrich had joked one night that perhaps Ymir was waking from his sleep in the far Mountains of Vaneer, forcing the world to celebrate his cold.

I told him Gods of only ice and snow were the most insignificant of all but if the giant had awoken, it was likely with Bestla’s approval.

“Men do fall to their knees at a woman’s command,” he’d replied before turning on his side and falling into a deep sleep.

“How’s sleeping beside the king?” Olen’s question threw me from my thoughts.

“How did…?” I stopped my response. “It’s fine ,” I replied.

“Are you keeping one another warm and snug?” His white teeth peeked out over his black lip.

I rolled my eyes. “I am following my rules, Olen. I sleep beside him. Unmoving like a stone. Me on one side of that monstrous bed and him on the other. Then each day I wake alone with his side of the bed empty.”

“That’s no fun,” he grunted, rounding the corner of the cobbled road.

“Not all of us require an unending river of bodies each night.”

His head threw back and his laugh rumbled, the fur on his body shook along with the sound.

“Princess, if you’re ever interested, you know where to find me.”

With a scoff, I walked around him, picking up on the panicked fae and creatures now running from the harbingers of death.

I’d been gifted a fitting new title in the court and city: Ulrich’s Wraith Whore .

Me at Olen’s side while I watched, unmoving, frozen in my obedience as Olen ripped apart body after body.

The title had begun its whisper just days after our public deal. Filtering through the halls I was finally allowed to venture down alone. Following me when I passed doors and alleyways in the city.

Even the trees seemed to whisper on the occasional journey when Olen would take me down the dirt roads leading out to the outlying villages.

Like this entire island had heard of me. And they all feared me.

I didn’t understand why when I had about as much strength and power as a toddling. Perhaps even less.

Olen entered a courtyard surrounded by trees and I stopped. In the middle of the space stood Ulrich, his mask fitted against his face. It was a skeletal mask. One I was sure had been made from the bones of an actual victim.

Olen’s head dipped, his snout touching the cobbled road.

His paw hit my foot, but I couldn’t mimic the motion. Even when every head bowed to their king, I was rigid with shock.

Ulrich hadn’t appeared at any of these reapings. Until that moment, he had always sent his right hand to do his dirty work.

Yet, here he was, staring at me with his hair tied half-up and his torso completely bare.

My eyes took him in. His ink—it covered nearly half of the bare skin. I first stared at the horns on his neck. Menacing, a warning to stay clear. Replicas of the horns he regularly wore on his masks. As my eyes traveled down his neck, I studied the piece on his chest, finding the snouts of the creatures I’d seen before were identical pieces on either side. Their heads making up his chest, their necks traveling across his shoulders and as he twisted his body, I found their bodies, both with large fanned out wings at the back. With their limbs wrapped around his sides and long tails wrapping down his arms, stopping at his wrists.

Monsters.

He had monsters inked into his skin.

A fitting piece of art for a monster himself.

My hands stared at the tails wrapping around his forearms, and the strange letters along the end. I didn’t recognize the words, but they appeared old. Perhaps older than this world itself.

His hands clapped, pulling me from my daze.

“Enjoying yourself?” the king’s amused voice asked.

I met his eyes then glanced to find his people peering up at me.

“Citizens bow, Brenna,” he stated.

“Citizens of Muspell,” I replied. “I am still a citizen of Nóatún.”

His hands clapped together once more, and he turned away from me, giving me a clear view of his muscled back and the bodies of the creatures wrapping around his own.

“My deals are claimed each day,” he said. “Surprising to see so many of you failing in your basic responsibilities.”

He turned to face me again then his eyes traveled past my head and his hand rose with a pointed finger.

“Today’s deal is special.”

A shocked cry filled the courtyard, and I blinked, realizing Olen had left my side and was now dragging a woman through the crowd.

“Oh my gods,” I exclaimed, covering my mouth.

I knew her, perhaps not intimately, but she was a Seelie Fae, a member of Oberon’s court.

“Please!” the woman cried out, grabbing my forearm while Olen continued dragging her by the hem of her gown. “Please, princess! He’s a madman!”

I stepped forward, addressing the king.

“Your grace,” I lowered my head. “Please.”

Ulrich was before me in an instant, his eyes staring into mine. “Please, what?”

“Spare her,” I begged.

His head threw back with a laugh. “As much as you’d want to believe, I’m not the one who called for her deal to be claimed.” He turned on his heel, addressing the woman. “Your king has informed me you’ve failed him.”

My eyes widened while my mind attempted to remember the name of the woman cowering before the Unseelie King. She was familiar, a face I’d seen countless times in the crowd. Her laugh—one of her distinguishable features—rang in my mind.

Who was she?

A question plaguing my mind.

“My king,” she sobbed. “Please.”

Ulrich lifted her chin, and her dark curls fell around her face. “I’m not your king.”

I rubbed my temple, praying the Gods would stop whatever this madness was.

What was her name?

Frustrated tears lined my eyes and then I jumped.

“Sigrun!” I cried out.

The woman’s head snapped in my direction and her shoulders sagged.

Ulrich turned back to me, a vile smile across his lips. “You are familiar?”

I stepped forward, holding my hands out in a plea. “She’s a member of one of the queens’ personal courts. I’ve met her when spending time with Titania.”

Ulrich’s body went stiff, and hisses echoed throughout the courtyard. I chose to ignore them, keeping my eyes on the woman.

“Sigrun, why would Oberon call for your deal to be called? What was your deal?” I asked, dropping beside her.

The fae woman shook her head, tears lining her eyes.

“I cannot, princess. I cannot,” she sobbed.

“Look, the woman can’t even admit to her crimes,” Ulrich laughed.

I jumped to my feet, pointing at him. “Do you know?” I demanded.

“Of course I know,” he replied.

“Why would Oberon require this of you?” I asked. My hand landed on Sigrun’s shoulder, giving her a reassuring squeeze.

“ Sigrun failed in the duties the Seelie King assigned her to. When he’d found out her deal with me, to become one of those personal members of Titania’s court , he was enraged.”

“But you don’t bow to the Seelie King,” I countered, digging through the miniscule information I knew about their relationship and dynamic.

Olen snarled beside me. Ulrich gripped the neck of my gown, pulling me toward his face and dropping his voice. “I’m bound by duty and Fate, Brenna. Oberon unfortunately falls into that binding.”

He dropped me and I fell back. Olen’s body caught me, keeping me from falling against the hard cobbled street.

“Keep quiet,” he snarled.

I moved to reach for the king, but Olen’s mouth grabbed my cloak, yanking me backward.

“Stop!” I cried out.

“Brenna, just watch,” Olen muttered.

Ulrich circled Sigrun, his eyes flashing with those brief wisps of black I’d seen before.

“Care to be truthful yet?”

Sigrun was silent for a moment then her head threw back and I screamed as her skin cracked across her face. In an instant, the beautiful woman that had been begging on her knees was shifting before my eyes. Her tanned skin now turning a decayed grey and her dark hair cascading to pure white locks down her back.

“Ulrich,” she sneered, her voice now high and bone chilling. She stood, nearly meeting his height. Her fingers, now long and pointed, stroked his cheek.

“Oberon was angry,” she snarled. “So, so, angry.”

Her finger ran down Ulrich’s bare chest and I wondered if he would allow her to continue her descent when his hand grabbed her wrist.

The creature let out a hiss. “So angry.”

“You failed,” he replied.

“Yes, my King .” Her eyes met mine and she grinned. Her black teeth peeked through her thin lips and her grey tongue lapped while she held my gaze.

“You’ve got such a pretty princess here, my King. Tell me, when did you collect her from that quaint island her family rules?”

Olen let out a low growl, chilling my blood instantly. The cold that embodied him when he was in his beast form filtered over me.

Ulrich smiled at the woman.

“Do you know what she is, Brenna?”

I startled, not expecting him to address me.

“Well?” he asked, his forehead wrinkling with the brows I couldn’t see raised under his death mask.

“I—” I stared at the creature. I had no idea what she was. Despite that, I knew she was awful. A monster I would never want to meet in the night.

“She does not know, my master,” Sigrun cooed.

“Sigrun is—or was—a changeling,” Ulrich answered, not allowing me to admit my lack of knowledge. “We made a deal, centuries ago. She received beauty and a new life with a Seelie fae family, replacing their child. When she had grown to accept Seelie adulthood, she would work for me , providing me details of the Seelie fae court. She’s failed in her duties.”

“Oh my poor king,” Sigrun laughed. “Upset I didn’t get you what you wanted?”

Ulrich’s hand gripped her face, and I shuddered at the crunching sound of her jaw beneath his hold. “ Sigrun ,” he sneered. “I was content to allow you to fail in your duties for centuries more. I knew you would fail the moment you left my sight all those years ago.”

He threw her down to the ground, circling her while she laid curled around herself.

“You were caught .” He put emphasis on the last word as it echoed around us all.

“It was not my fault, master,” the creature cried out. “Oberon is on a tyrant’s path now. Determined to find us all.”

“Us?” I whispered then yelped when Olen softly bit the tips of my fingers. “What in the Gods?” I muttered.

“Shut your mouth,” he ordered.

I straightened, holding my pulsating fingertips to my chest.

“How many?” Ulrich asked, his eyes moving to Olen beside me.

I turned my gaze back to the beast, watching his body rise and fall with slow breaths. When I raised my eyes back up, I found Sigrun sneering at me once more.

“Oh, my master,” she hissed. “I’m one of many. He will require the demise of us all. Placing your duty before your people once—”

Shocked screams filled the courtyard when Olen suddenly lunged, ripping Sigrun’s head off. Stopping her from finishing her biting statement.

He stayed above her, his body heaving while he appeared to consume the gore of her insides.

I stepped back, holding a hand to my mouth. Not understanding what I’d just witnessed.

Oberon? Deals? People?

I met Ulrich’s emotionless gaze, finding Sigrun’s greyed blood splattered up his bare torso. He didn’t move as he stared back, his chest barely moving with his breaths.

I turned back to Olen, still consuming the body, sure I had seen a trick of light while his fur lit with silver for only a moment. Then he stood, grey blood dripping from his jaw, dipping his head to Ulrich’s feet.

“A deal has been claimed,” he snarled.

“Yes,” Ulrich replied, patting Olen’s shoulder. “Yes it has.”

He addressed his right hand but his eyes staring into mine told me all I needed to know.

He was warning me of my future. Of the demise I was fated to receive if I did not hold up my end of our bargain.