Page 8 of Angel Lost (Fates Academy #3)

Chapter Eight: Lorelei

Kai’s eyes widen, and he jumps up. He paces, yanking at his hair, this time pulling strands out entirely.

“The wild-eyed look is doing fuck all to calm my nerves, Kai,” I snap.

Chano clamps a hand on my shoulder. “He’s already plotting how to use this against us.”

The others murmur agreement. Farrell’s fingers inch toward the knife at his belt, and I smack them away.

“Shut up, all of you. When you ignored me this summer, he was there. I told him because he despises the Angel King as much as we do. More.” Please let me be right. Please.

Standing, I stalk in front of Kai, bringing him up short. “I told you because I need help. You know the most about the tests your uncle will run. How do I hide my aether?”

Kai reaches out. His fingers trail down my arm before he snatches his hand back. He swallows, forcing the words out. “He’d want you. He’d make you a queen, Lorelei. Are you sure you don’t want that?”

I snort. Of all the ridiculous things.

“I want nothing he has to offer. I want to live my life with my full magical potential, ascended. But not at the expense of that asshole wielding more power, my power , over his people. Not at the expense of my Aeternum.”

With a choked grunt Chano scoops me up and sits heavily at the table, cradling me in his lap. I squirm, but his grip is firm, unyielding. I give up fighting and allow myself to relax into him. As if it were entirely normal to be clutched on someone’s knee. Slowly, his breathing calms. The others take cautious seats around the table.

Everyone except Kai, who resumes his pacing, muttering half-under his breath. “She’d still need to go. But it might work. It would work. But it would be messy. You’d be tied to her.” He pauses at the far wall, staring straight at it, straight at the plaster. “Don’t want another one. Can’t do it for nothing. They don’t trust you. They’ll fuck you over.”

I share a look with Zephyr. Is Kai high?

Kai gives one last tug on his hair, staring at the strands he yanks loose. “I have an idea, but it will cost.”

“Of course it will,” Zephyr says quietly. “You’re fae.”

Kai fixes him with a hard look. “You all made it clear you don’t trust me. Fine. Then I need an oath.”

Wriggling on Chano’s lap, I splay my hands on the table. “What oath?”

“You have to swear to help me with something.”

“Could you get any more vague?” Farrell asks.

Kai shrugs, the quiet weight of hope woven into his silence.

“No, Kai,” I say firmly. “Not unless you tell me what it entails. I won’t swear a blind oath. Hell, you could make me kill innocents for all I know.”

Kai blanches, stepping back. “You know me better than that.”

“Do I?” I should have seen this coming. No one gives without expecting something in return—especially the fae. “Tell me what I’m agreeing to before I swear a magical oath.”

“Blood oath,” Kai corrects. “Too easy to get out of a magical one.”

I scoff. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. And I can’t tell you.” He folds his arms across his chest and sits with a thud. I let several long minutes pass, expecting him to say more, to at least give me some kind of explanation. But…nothing.

“He can’t.” Zephyr’s words in the silent room make everyone start. “He can’t tell you, Lorelei. But I can.”

Kai glares daggers at Zephyr. “I highly doubt that, angel. ”

Zephyr tosses his hair and stares hard at the ceiling. “He can’t tell you because he has the same thing I do.”

I glance around the table. Blank faces stare back. At least they’re as clueless as I am. A screech pierces the air, and I cover my ears.

Hewie. I wish he’d control that shit.

“What the fuck is he doing here?” Chano asks.

I stare Chano down. How did he not notice Hewie came in with us? It’s not like the banshee is ever quiet for long.

“He’s trying to tell you Kai is slave bonded,” Hewie grumbles, before edging away from Chano. “Note to self: Don’t annoy the demon—he’s scary. Also, stop talking in the third person. It’s weird.”

A muscle in Kai’s jaw ticks.

“It’s true,” Zephyr says, leaning across the table, staring at Kai. “When I had the vision―”

I groan.

“Rude,” Zephyr says. “Anyway, when I had the vision, I saw our bond―”

A chorus of groans drowns him out.

“I don’t know why I put up with this disrespect,” Zephyr grouses. “As I was saying, I saw our bond, but also a tangle of dark red energy containing Kai. It’s the same when I see myself in visions. He’s slave bonded.”

Kai’s fingers play across the whorls in the wood of the tabletop, then drift to the nape of his neck, to a small brand nestled at his hairline. Finally, he heaves a sigh. “There are workarounds. I can talk around it, not directly about it.” He lays his hands palms up on the table and stares at me. “Zephyr’s right. As much as I hate to admit an angel is right. It’s that I need help with, Lorelei. If you’ll take an oath to help break it, then I will show you how to hide your aether. ”

How can I help break it? If it was that easy we’d have done it for Zephyr already. Farrell wouldn’t let him stay like that.

“More information, fae,” Chano snarls, his fingertips digging into my hips. “You need to give us more.”

“Information is power, hell-boy,” Kai fires back.

“He’s right,” I say. “Chano is right. I need to know more. Know you can do what you’re claiming—that your end isn’t an empty promise.”

Kai sniffs, hurt flashing over his face. “The solution is the same as Zephyr’s problem, the same as my problem.”

“What?”

“You’re slave bonded.”

“No,” Chano bellows. His horns explode from the top of his head and there’s a ripping sound as his pants shred. His tail pops through the hole in the back of his chair, lashing side to side, battering into the furniture. Hewie clutches at his chest, backing away into the wall.

Kai continues, nonplussed. “More precisely, the four of us bond you.”

Chano opens his mouth and I quickly press a finger to his lips. He bites it, a wicked glint in his eye. I yank my hand back and flip him off.

Kai’s mouth twists in a half smile. “When you two have finished flirting…”

Rolling my eyes, I give Kai a nod.

He moves around the room as he talks. “The four of us—Hewie excluded, no offense—will perform the slave bond. We can dissolve it after.”

“Dissolve it?” I sit up straighter. “If we can dissolve it then, Zephyr, you could—”

“Nope.” Zephyr tips an imaginary hat to Farrell. “Sir Farrell has already spoken.”

“Why not?” I frown, looking between the two.

“Because it’s the Virrey’s bond and only he can break it,” Farrell explains, shifting uncomfortably in his wingback chair at the head of the table.

“Unless Farrell kills his father,” Zephyr says quietly .

“As if I can just break into the P.I.G.’s prison and murder the Virrey and then come back in time for class on Monday,” Farrell says, his voice strained. “Oh, and he is my father, in case that didn’t sink in.”

Shit. I knew that, kind of. Maybe not in so many words. I knew it was complicated, I just hoped—

Kai snatches up a small dragon statue, cradling it like a beloved pet. “You heard that too, right?” he asks the stone creature, stroking its head. “The angel wants to kill his friend’s father, And the supposed friend is happy to keep the angel a slave. This allegiance is fucked up.”

He’s not wrong. Groaning, I bash my head on the giant table. “We’ll come back to this, Z, I promise. Kai? Cut the crazy and explain.”

Kai flings the fragile little statue in Farrell’s direction, so deliberately off-target Farrell has to dive for it, his magnificent chair clattering to the floor.

Swiftly, Kai rights the wingback, drags it closer to the table, and sinks in, ignoring Farrell’s grumble. “It works because we can siphon power through the slave bond. Not enough to hide your aether, but enough to make you seem weaker for the assessment.”

Drumming my fingers on the wood, I digest the information. It might just…

“You can’t seriously think Lorelei will accept that.” Zephyr sneers. “She’s seen what a slave bond can do to a person, to me.”

Kai stabs his knife into the table and leans in. “And you think I haven’t? It’s the only way. Tell me, what’s your bright idea, angel ? Let her become queen? You become Royal Seer at her side?”

A vein on Zephyr’s forehead throbs.

“I’ll do it.” I force the words out.

Silence settles over the room, thick, suffocating.

Zephyr deflates. He takes a stumbling step away, then another. With a sharp crack, his wings flare wide. In a flash, he rounds on me, hauling me from Chano’s lap and pinning me against the wall. His feathered wings cage me in, arms braced on either side of my shoulders, trapping me.

“You’ve never offered to free me of the Virrey, yet you’ll offer it to this fae over me?”

I chew my lip, bracing myself to meet his gaze. “Zephyr, it’s not like that.”

“So,” his voice drops to a hiss, “what exactly is it like?”

Zephyr is jerked backward, and the tension in my muscles uncoils. Chano fists Zephyr’s collar, his eyes flashing.

“She’s doing it because I have a bargaining chip.” Kai steps causally between us, never taking his gaze off Zephyr. “Because the great Lorelei doesn’t need friends. She needs her freedom. Needs to ascend. And I have something that will get her closer to that.”

I cringe. He’s twisting my words. “It isn’t like that either!”

“Isn’t it? You’ve never offered me a blood oath to sort my ‘problem,’” Zephyr says.

My jaw drops. Of all the stupid, idiotic…He has to know if I ever found a way to free him I would do it. I’d do whatever it took. In a heartbeat.

“No response?” Zephyr asks. “Didn’t think so.”

I deke past Kai to stand toe-to-toe with Zephyr, only vaguely aware my flames are rippling over my skin. Chano lets him go, stepping back, hands held up. Zephyr’s sea-green eyes scan my face, pupils widening slightly as I lean in. I rest my forehead on his. “I do not need an oath for you.”

Anger mars his brow, and I palm the back of his neck to stop him from pulling away.

“For you I’d do it without being forced, Zephyr,” I say quietly. “But if you need it I will swear a blood oath for you too. I…I just don’t know how to help you, yet.”

Slowly, the corner of his mouth pulls up, and Zephyr shakes his head ever so slightly. He slips an arm around my waist and gives me a squeeze. His wings fold neatly away .

“Now the angel is down off his high horse, perhaps we should get on with it?” Kai sounds bored. “Ticktock, Lorelei.”

Screwing my eyes shut, I heave a breath, then extract myself from Zephyr’s grip. Best get it over with. Grabbing my knife from my waistband, I press the tip to the palm of my hand, clenching my teeth as the first droplet of blood oozes to the surface.

Chano’s hand smacks into mine, sending my blade flying. It clatters across the floor, all eyes fixed on it.

“Not your call, Chano.”

“She made her choice, hell-boy,” Kai jibes. “You don’t get a say. Not after abandoning her all summer.”

Chano’s tail lashes to the side, but otherwise he ignores Kai.

“Wrong order, chica,” he says calmly. “We do the slave bond first. Make sure that we can pull your aether away. Then you make your oath with the trickster.”

I look between Chano and Kai. “So, he has to trust us, but we don’t trust him?”

“It’s fine, Lorelei.” Kai places a hand on my arm, Chano’s eyes boring into where he touches me. “It’s fine. Let’s get this done.”

“Anyone else feel he’s too keen?” Chano grumbles, snatching my arm away from Kai and hugging me tight to his side.

We gather the few items necessary. So little for such a strong spell; it’s terrifying. A candle, a bowl, a knife. So, so little to take complete control of someone’s life.

“Don’t we need a brand?” Zephyr asks, and I grimace. This is going to hurt.

“Got a tattoo kit. It’ll do,” Kai says, pulling a box from where it’s neatly stowed in a cupboard.

“Why do you know all this?” Chano barks.

Kai stills, only a muscle in his jaw working .

Zephyr flicks his hair over his shoulder and interjects. “We talked about this already, bonehead.” He gestures to the back of Kai’s neck. “It’s been done to him. He’s slave bonded. Like me.”

Kai relaxes. “Thanks, man. I can’t talk about it directly—”

“Shut up.” Zephyr’s expression hardens. “Don’t thank me. I don’t like you. I just want this over with.”

My stomach clenches as I take Zephyr in. He’s pale, his breathing is quick and, although he’s trying to hide it, his hands have a tremor. The very thing he’s desperate to be rid of…and here I am, blindly accepting it. And forcing him to be part of the process.

“Z?”

He blinks.

“Zephyr, you don’t have to do this. I get it. It’s against everything you are, everything you stand for. I’ll find another way.”

“It has to be your allegiance, Lorelei,” Kai says. “There isn’t time—”

I stamp on his foot, and he yelps, hopping around, cursing.

Zephyr smiles, but it’s sad somehow. Then, he shakes his head. “As much as I enjoy seeing you beat the fae up, he’s right. Even if there were another way, there’s no time to find it. I’ll do it.” Then, so quietly I almost don’t hear him, he says, “For you.”

Kai yanks a chair out from the table and sprays it with disinfectant before gesturing for me to sit. I perch self-consciously on the edge of the seat, watching him bustle around the room. With short, precise movements he creates a sterile field, upending his kit and gloves on it before stepping back.

“Right, gentlemen. We cut our hands, blood goes in the bowl, we do not touch the bowl without gloves, got it? After we’re done, I add the ink, cast a cleansing spell in case any of you have blood boogers, and we’re good to tattoo, okay?”

One at a time the others slit their palms and allow their blood to drip into the innocuous silver bowl. There are no complaints, no whining. Chano and Zephyr grimace. Farrell remains entirely impassive. But Kai? Kai grins as he slices his hand open. What the ever-loving hell-born is wrong with him?

“How do we brand her?” Zephyr asks. “Mine was done with the Cuelebre house seal.”

Kai nods stiffly, mixing the blood and ink, heating it slowly over the single black candle.

“Mine was similar. I’ll design one.”

“Now you’re an artist too?” Chano asks.

“Tattooist,” Kai corrects.

Chano scoffs as Kai removes his gloves and begins a rough sketch.

“I don’t care how it looks, so long as it works,” I say, squeezing Chano’s fingers, willing him to shut up. This would be so much easier if they would stop taking cheap shots at one another.

Chano plucks Kai’s pad from his fingers. “It’s going on your skin, chica. It better be good.”

Chano’s fingers smooth the paper and he pauses, bringing it closer to his face. “These are half-decent,” he mutters.

It shouldn’t matter but…I take the pad from him and gasp. What Kai has sketched in a few short minutes is nothing short of stunning. There’s something about it though…

I hand it back.

“Change it. It’s too much like an allegiance mark.” He’s not replacing Naeve. No one can replace Naeve.

Zephyr leans over, flicking back and forth between the sketches. “A pentagram is a strong shape. It has to be for the magic it needs to contain.”

“It’s good, chica,” Chano admits gruffly before turning to Kai. “You do this on the side?”

“I’m still learning.” Kai shrugs. “I need to get better…”

I stand, suddenly uncomfortable. “Wait, you might not have the skill? ”

Kai rolls his eyes, pressing down on my shoulders, making me sit again. “No. I’m skilled enough for this. It’s the stronger, darker stuff that needs extra precision. Better spell work.”

“This is very strong magic,” Farrell protests, tugging at his tie.

Kai shrugs, bored.

“What else are you planning, fae?” Farrell asks. “World domination?”

“None of your damn business,” Kai replies, his cool facade gone in a heartbeat. “You all made it clear you don’t trust me. Why would I trust you?”

He snaps on a fresh pair of gloves and picks up his tattoo gun, brandishing it in the air.

“Okay, okay,” I mutter. “Everyone has secrets. Let’s just calm down before we do this.”

I do not want an angry man to give me my first tattoo. No, thank you. I grip the seat, knuckles whitening as the machine starts to buzz.