Page 153 of Jagged Souls

He sighs even more exaggerated this time. “You’re lucky you’re my favourite kid,” he says as he turns around to us. He tosses the crumbled pic over his shoulder. “Get back in your cage, Bella. I’ll need to think of a tiebreaker between you and Blue anyway.”

His eyes slide to mine. “You look like shit.” He chuckles. “And not a healthy shit either but one of those you get after eating at Ta–”

“You wanted to know about Mother and Caden,” I cut in, not in the fucking mood for any of his shit. My jaw clenches at that, but he doesn’t smirk at me like he normally would. His eyes are on his second as he sticks both of his hands in the pockets of his surfer shorts and rocks back on his heels.

“Am I killing him?” he asks joyfully.

“No,” Vlad says as I stop on the stairs, only a couple steps from the bottom. The hairs on my neck rise. I don’t know what I have just done to insult him, but if he’s this volatile, perhaps this isn’t the best time to strike a deal. I don’t have much control of my magic, and I can’t move fast enough to draw a knife before he’s on me. None of my brothers know where I am either; I snuck out of the house after they fell asleep so I could have this meeting in private.

I am completely alone in the lion’s den.

But Micha’s pain is eating at me even through the walls I keep erecting, so I can’t turn back now. Not when he could have the answers I need to save her.

“Pity.” He inhales strongly, his smile one of ease. “You would’ve been a lovely meal. All that magic in your veins.” He walks towards me, and I stand still, unflinching.

“Tell me everything you know about blood bonds, and I’ll make sure Mother answers all your questions,” I say.

“If I wanted lies from her, I would’ve asked her.”

“What do you want then?” I have already told him all I know, but he refuses to accept my answers. So if he wants something I cannot give, then I’ll have to revert to Plan B – figuring out a way to beat the information I want out of him.

Except, he’s a masochist as well as a sadist, and he cares about no one but himself. Torturing him will be damn near impossible, but I’ll figure out a way to break him. Even if I have to use Mother to do it.

There is not a single line I will not cross to save my wife.

“That cage Maddox made for the Shadow Domain,” he casually says. “I want to go in it.”

“Fine.” I don’t ask him why because I don’t give a shit. All I care about right now is the intel inside his head. I’ve used up too much of the blood bond; every time I pulse, the uncontrollable burst of magic destroys the wall I put up between me and Micha; in the time it takes me to rebuild, I can feel so much of her pain. Even now, it lingers in the back of my throat, a heavy weight in my chest, and I’m terrified I’ll use up just enough to not make it in time to save her. I need to figure out a way to extend it.

“While it’s in the Shadow Domain,” he adds on. “Pull me out every few days, but I want to be in there for a year – unless I decide I’m done with it.”

My eyes narrow as curiosity starts to dig its claws in. I push it aside, however, staying focused on why I’m here. “Fine, but the book you read about blood bonds, I want it first.”

“It’s gone.”

“Bullshit.” Knowledge is power, and barely anything is known about blood bonds. He’d be able to name his price to anyone who wants to look at it – just like he has with me. Over and over again, as long as it stays in his possession.

He holds up both hands and shakes them in exasperation. “Okay, yeah, you got me. It’s upstairs.”

He vanishes in the blink of an eye.

Vlad reaches for me, but I step back. “Why did he ask you if I was to die?”

His jaw tics. “He thought you saved Micha but not Rudy.”

My eyes narrow, but his hand is on me, and my thoughts are ripped away as we phase.

We land in a library with a tall ceiling, two floors high, but Aleric is nowhere to be found. The door opens before I can ask where he is, and he strolls in with a small leather book in his hand.

“This stays here,” he says. I reach for it, but he pulls it back. “And you’re to tell no one about it. I’ll take a blood oath now.”

Paranoia burns a brand into my brain, urging me to give it thought – a blood oath cannot be broken without severe consequences. I pull a folding knife from my pocket, then lift up my shirt. Cutting the palm is only done on TV and for initiation rituals that symbolize the giving of the hand, of one’s service. Otherwise, it’s a dumb place to cut as the wound gets agitated all the fucking time.

I look down at the flat of my stomach. Normally, I would choose the top of my forearm, but I don’t want Khalid to know what I’ve done.

“With the gift of the gods,” I say as I carve a V into my flesh, “I bind their blessing to my oath.” Breaking it means I won’t just be risking my life, I’ll be risking the wrath of the gods. “I’ll never mention the next book I touch to anyone other than the two vampires with me now.”

“Or take it from this room,” Aleric adds.