Page 19 of A Bond in Blood (Blood Bound Duet #1)

Chapter 19

I met Ulrich in the library the next day. My hands trembled when I met his eyes.

“The princess and the beast alone,” he snarled. “I’m sure there are countless tales recounting this story.”

“Usually that princess is killed,” I snapped back with a glare.

He stepped forward, his horned mask making him appear even more like the demon he was. “I believe I’ve read the opposite. Usually, they fuck and fall in love by the end.”

“Likely a story written by a man,” I countered, stepping away from his hand reaching toward me.

He smiled, pulling his hand back to his side then gestured to the table with my ink and parchment. “Grab blank parchment, Brenna. Then we’ll begin.”

I shook my head. “I need koal. Something I can wipe away if I make a mistake. The ink is what’s been available to me.”

Ulrich’s smile dropped. “You said nothing about this yesterday.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “And you failed to mention you’d be giving me personal tours of your home.”

“Fair,” he replied, then sat on the chair, his eyes traveling out the window where the red moon sat high in the sky.

“I’ll have my troll gather koal and whatever you need. We can begin the mapping tomorrow.”

I nodded my head, stepping back slowly.

His head turned in my direction. “Where are you going?”

My heart sank. “Am I required to keep you company, your grace?”

“Drop the formalities, Brenna. Call me whatever you wish. We’re alone.”

“Alright,” I grinned. “Demented Demon, am I required to stay with you?”

Ulrich’s face cracked with a large smile and his hand slammed against the table. “What did you just call me?”

My cheeks warmed with embarrassment. “The first insult that came to my mind,” I admitted.

“Do it again,” Ulrich laughed. “Gods, that was hilarious.”

“I’m not your personal jester,” I grumbled.

He leaned back in his chair. “Maybe I should make you one.”

“Ulrich,” I sighed. “May I please go?”

“No,” he replied. “Sit.”

His hand pointed to the bench against the wall. With a frown, I did as I was told. I leaned my back against the wall while my eyes traveled around the red moon lit room.

“This is the saddest library I’ve ever seen,” I whispered.

“Why?” Ulrich replied, turning his gaze away from the window.

My hands moved out around me. “The history on these shelves should be treated with respect. The stories should be cared for. But each shelf is covered in a thick layer of dust. There’s almost no place to sit. It’s heartbreaking.”

“Are you a lover of tales and fables?”

I shook my head. “While I do read, I view myself as more of a historian, Ulrich. A lover of history and tales of our world. History is the most valuable weapon we have at our fingertips. You’re making a mockery of our future by allowing all of this history to fall into ruin.”

“Is this why you learned mapping?”

I rolled my eyes. “Why do you wish to know? What advantage does this provide you to hold over me later?”

Ulrich shrugged. “You’ve lived under my roof for five months. I should at least learn more about you.”

“I thought you knew everything about the things you owned?” I bit back.

Ulrich’s smile grew wide. “You love to load your tongue with fighting words, princess. Impressive for someone who allowed herself to live a life alone on that little island.”

I went silent, turning my head away from him.

“Why did my ancestor come to you?” I whispered my question. “Harold said Oberon gifted my island to my ancestor, a false tale I was told my entire life. But you and I both know that’s not true.”

“It is,” Ulrich replied.

“Explain it to me.”

“It wasn’t your deal,” Ulrich replied coldly.

“I am here because of that deal. I deserve to understand the workings of it.”

Ulrich glanced at me then placed his feet on to the table before him, leaning back on his chair.

“Your ancestor was a fool,” he began. “A fool who had fallen in love with a mortal. Despite his king forbidding him from doing so.”

Ulrich sighed.

“He called for me. Meeting me at a crossroads near Aesir and the small kingdom Oberon allowed him to rule.”

“Called for you?” I asked.

Ulrich smiled. “There are many ways to enact a deal with me. Requesting it outright when in my presence, as you did.” He winked. “Requesting it through a desperate letter—my least favored way. And then my favorite— burying your blood deep into the soil of the earth at a crossroads in Vaneer, requesting my presence.”

The air stilled while the king talked, and his hands tapped against the arm of his chair.

“Your ancestor fell to his knees when I appeared through my shadows. Lifting his hands, he begged me to convince Oberon to allow him to marry the woman he loved.”

“I’d almost said no. Almost denied the pathetic request, but I had a moment of weakness that evening. So, I offered him my terms—he gets the woman, and I get the service of the first daughter of his bloodline born on the first day of the blood moon.”

“Why?” I interjected.

“Why not?”

I stood from my bench, placing myself right before him.

“Why offer such an odd term? The blood moons are long, they take millennia to appear again.”

“Well, that was the most entertaining part of it. I wasn’t even sure it would happen. My deals do not have to make sense, Brenna.”

“You’re sick,” I groaned. “Tricking innocent souls into deals they may never be able to fulfill.”

He shrugged. “They could always wait for their Gods to respond. I do not force them to take my blood and agree.”

“How does Oberon fall into this?”

Ulrich held my gaze, his chest moving slowly. “Unknown to you, and most of this world, I meet with Oberon yearly. In secret. We discuss the current conditions of our courts and every now and then, I will follow through with any deals that involve him. Your ancestor only wanted to marry this mortal. Oberon thought it was disgusting to have fae and mortal blood mixed. He came up with granting an island as long as your family paid him a yearly visit to acknowledge his rightful place as your true king.”

“You also managed to place Sigrun in Titania’s personal court.”

Ulrich’s hands gripped his chair. “Yes,” he hissed. “And you saw how that worked out.”

“How many spies do you have in Oberon’s court?”

The words left my lips and Ulrich’s chair clattered to the ground. He was before me, his hands wrapping around my wrists.

“Quiet your tongue,” he sneered.

“No!” I pulled from his grasp. “I’m not stupid, Ulrich. She all but said it! How many? How many more deals will Oberon force you to claim? How many more lives of people you tricked?”

“Brenna,” his voice dropped low. “You do not know what you speak of, and I suggest you stop immediately.”

“Or what?” I countered. “You’re going to attack me again? You’re going to kill me in a fit of rage? Or will you whip me until I bleed again and mark the rest of my body with your violence?”

“Get out,” Ulrich snapped. His hands landed on my shoulders, and he spun me toward the door. “Leave my sight now before you regret it.”

I scoffed. “Still a coward.”

Ulrich let out an angry breath and I expected his hands to grip me, but he kept away. I gave him another scoff, picking up my skirts as I walked towards the door.

“Don’t forget you’re a pawn in this game!” Ulrich yelled after me.

“And don’t forget that I hate you!” I replied.

I made my way out of the library, hate heating my blood, and turned toward my looking glass hall. I didn’t want to return to the bedroom. Not when I knew he would eventually lay beside me in bed. Sleeping like a peaceful brute while I spent the night fidgeting in my spot.

I saw the red moonlight before I crossed the threshold and relief flooded through me. I couldn’t usually stay angry the moment I entered this room. Not with the beauty and simplicity of the space.

I approached the glass, laying my cheek against the cool surface while I drew scribbles in the fog left by my breath.

The city below was alive and bright. A population of people living under the moon of my blood. Oddly fitting when I came to ponder it, that I would find myself trapped on an island living under the moon that had ushered in my birth.

My hands continued to scribble while my breath fogged the glass, absently drawing the markings I’d seen across the king’s forearms. The letters I didn’t recognize running up the tails of the strange beasts on his body.

“Did he have you mesmerized?”

I pulled my head from the glass, finding Olen in his beast form. The red of the moon lightened the dark scar across his face.

“What’s that from?” I asked, pointing to the scar.

Olen growled.

I glared in response. “It is only a question.”

Olen laid before me, resting his head on my feet. Trapping me in place. His chest rumbled just below the tops of my shoes as he spoke. “A deadly creature marked me, leaving me with the shame of it for the rest of my life.”

I shrugged, leaning back on my arms while I studied the scar. “I think it’s handsome.”

His chest rumbled and that strange laugh sound came from his throat. “Handsome? I have yet to be told that.”

I smiled at him. “It’s odd when I see it on your face in beast form. The way it’s raised and how none of your fur covers it. But… when you are yourself and it’s across your face? It’s handsome and unique.”

Olen’s head dropped. “I would be blushing if I could.”

I laughed and laid back on the floor, staring at the moon from the top of the window. My eyes closed while I imagined the sun through this window and bright white clouds above.

“How many passageways are in this palace?” I asked.

“Only Ulrich knows the answer to that,” Olen replied.

I sat up once more. “He’s awful.”

Olen’s teeth peeked above his lips. “So am I.”

“Yes you are.” I frowned and pulled my feet away forcefully. The beast jumped to his feet, scowling at me.

“Leave me,” I said coldly.

His massive head shook in response. “No.”

“You are not my keeper, Olen. I am not escaping. I only wish for solitude.”

We held our glares for a moment before his head dipped to the ground, startling me with the show of respect.

“As you wish, princess. The king expects you to be in bed soon.”

I waved the beast away. “Tell your king I will do as I’m told.”

Olen stalked away silently, allowing me more time alone.

I took it in. The silence of the palace with the lack of wall-trembling music. The red light, warming the hall and my heart. I appreciated the beauty of the city below with the water at its edge and the black mist barely visible in the distance. It was a hidden world of monsters and secrets, but surprisingly beautiful despite the chaos of it all.

When my body began to ache from laying on the ground for so long, I pulled myself up and left the hall. I made my way back down the hall to the stairs, winding through the Unseelie palace with ease as though it were actually becoming my home.

When I found myself before the bedroom doors, my hands trembled as I reached for the handles. They slammed open and Ulrich’s cold wrapped around my lungs.

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Shouldn’t old men be sleeping?” I snapped.

His chuckle rang out through the dark and I lifted my hands, finding the wall to guide me into the room.

“I need light to change.”

“No, you do not,” Ulrich replied.

“Ulrich.”

“Get into the bed, Brenna. I am tired,” he replied.

I reached the end of the wall and shuffled through the dark. Making a scene with my stumbling feet despite having learned the room weeks before.

“I grow older by the minute,” Ulrich groaned.

“Perhaps you will wither into dust by the time I reach the bed and I’ll be free of this madness.”

His chest hit mine, taking my breath and his hand landed on my lower-back.

“Is that what you want?” he whispered. “For me to wither away?”

My words stuck in my throat at the heat of his hand on me.

“Brenna,” he groaned. “Have you ever laid with someone you loathe?”

“Is that not what we do each night?” I forced out.

He laughed and pressed his hand against my back. “ Ursa , you know what I’m asking.”

My body was too close to him. Suffocating my ability to think straight.

“Let me go,” I whispered.

His thumb circled my back. “You were taking too long to get into bed. I had to fetch you.”

“Stop doing that,” I squeaked.

“That noise.” He pressed my body against his. “Do it again.”

“Unhand me,” I replied.

His palm left a burning brand on my skin when he pulled away. “One day, Brenna, you will ask—no—you will beg for my touch.”

“Ulrich,” I laughed. “I would have to go mad for that day to come.”

His hand brushed my cheek. “I’m patient.”

The bed groaned and I blinked, realizing he’d been leading us across the room. Quietly, I slipped off my gown, allowing myself to sleep in only my chemise.

“You should sleep like that more often,” Ulrich sneered in the dark.

I climbed under the covers quickly, lining the pillows between our bodies.

“Do not touch me,” I demanded.

His body shifted toward mine and his voice drew closer. “Fucking someone you hate can be addictive. It fuels the body and your blood with a need for more. The passion, Ursa , it’s as maddening as faerie wine.”

“Then go fuck someone you hate,” I replied. “I’m sure there’s plenty of people who fit that requirement.

“None as close to me as you.”

I shoved against the pillows and my hand connected with a hard muscle. “Unfortunately for you, that’s not an option.”

“What, will you cut me from my balls to my head if I do?”

I froze at his words.

“Olen and I are the closest of friends. We tell each other everything.”

“I hate you,” I replied.

“He didn’t fail to mention the little ink you have on your hip.”

My shocked gasp echoed in the room. “What?”

“When he removed your clothing so you wouldn’t stink up his bed, he said he found ink on your skin. A little bird on your hip.”

“Olen took advantage of me in a vulnerable state and removed my clothing without my permission,” I replied.

“Avoiding the conversation like a perfectly trained princess.” Ulrich laughed.

I grabbed the pillow under my head and threw it. His shocked grunt filled me with satisfaction.

“A bird,” his voice coiled around me. “I would think a bear is more fitting. But a bird… I wonder what that looks like.”

“Gods,” I groaned, pulling the covers over my head. “Silence yourself,” I begged.

“Princess skin is not supposed to be inked. Has no one told you that?”

I sat up, glaring in the dark. “It’s my body. I can do whatever I please.”

“Show it to me,” he replied.

“No!” I yelled.

The pillows just barely below my arm were gone and his body was against mine before I could move.

“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” he whispered.

“Stop it.”

“It wouldn’t take much for that chemise to rise, Ursa . Just a little peek?”

I turned on my side, holding the edges of my chemise between my legs. Glaring at him in the dark, hoping he could see the hate in my eyes.

“I’ve seen yours,” I bit back. “Fitting for you to have monsters on your skin.”

He laughed. “You haven’t seen all of mine. There are some in more intimate places.”

“Get away from me,” I seethed.

His hand brushed my cheek, bringing a startled gasp from me. “Maybe one day.”

Then the heat of him was gone and the pillows were back under my arm.

“Again, Ulrich, I would have to go mad to allow that to happen.”

“Whatever you say, princess,” he laughed.

I pressed the back of my head into the pillow while his breaths slowed. Not able to prevent my mind from wondering what other places he could actually be hiding ink on his skin.

And that one insane part of my mind considered, only briefly, if I really did want to see it all.