Page 5 of To Sway a Prince (Tempting Thieves)

5

BLOOD BOUND

" D amn it!" I shouted as I struck the inside. The sound bounced back at me, vibrating along the deceptively strong, clear walls. Another trap! How did he mask these so well?! I had literally broken into the Library of the Celestial Spire. I'd eluded dozens, maybe hundreds, of bounty hunters and mercenaries over the years. I'd unshackled the Beast of the Low Fiend's Pass with just my magic even though he'd killed more than a dozen others. And I'd done that in the air with Zephyrus threatening to do barrel rolls. Yet somehow—once again—Ramiel had snared me…like a gnat in a web.

Thread rot, I hated this!

Zephyrus huffed at me again. That blast of steam followed by the arching of his horned eyebrows annoyed me. He didn't seem bothered by this. Another steamy breath made the glass fog up on the one side. I narrowed my eyes. "You think this is funny? Use your tail and break this thing open." His low rumble was his only answer, and I set my jaw. Utterly useless.

I wove a series of knots, rubbing them between my fingers until they hummed with power. Then I bound them together and released them in a burst. They struck hard but slid off, unraveling into thin threads before they fell away entirely.

Thread rot!

Options. I had options. Even if the knots weren't enough, I still had my runes.

Breathe, Astraia.

I tried again.

Nothing.

I traced runes with my fingertip and with my pale-gold blade. Despite all the power I poured into them, they simply flared and vanished. My aura remained contained in this as well. But no matter how much I coaxed the runes or knots into their full strength, they simply crackled or sparked. Twice the bulb wobbled, but the walls always held. Pulseporting was entirely pointless. I tried three times, sapping my strength more. But whatever this bulb was, it kept all my magic inside even when I just envisioned standing on the flagstones just a few feet away.

Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. I screamed and struck it with my fist. It hurt as if I had just punched a stone wall rather than magical glass. I tried again and again until my magic was exhausted. Then I slid down to the bottom of my prison, drawing my knees to my chest.

My pulse pounded in my ears as I focused. Exhaustion tugged at me, my head throbbing from overextending. "Zephyrus, break this bulb open." I gestured toward him and then to my prison.

He huffed another column of steam at me and shook his head. Then he cocked it like he wanted to play.

I glared at him. "This isn't a game?—"

"No, it is not. Games are actually fun," a familiar deep voice said.

Thread rot…I resisted the urge to drop my chin against my chest. Well, this shouldn't be surprising.

Ramiel strode closer. He had combed his hair out so that it was no longer mussed as it had been when he lay on the floor. He'd changed his clothing as well, now wearing a deep-blue surcoat over silver trousers. Those dark circles under his eyes were more pronounced though, and he favored his right side. The way he looked at me made my skin prickle.

I lifted my chin in defiance, despite not having a single clue what I could do next.

"Why do I feel as if this is simply a look into what is to come?" he demanded.

"Because I will never stop." I squared my shoulders.

"You need to be reasonable," he said, his voice tight. He strode up to the glass bulb, his gaze fixed on me intently. "You should not be here. Zephyrus should."

"I won't abandon him!" I struck the glass with my fist. "Zephyrus is my family. He's all I have left. I won't let you kill him."

"Kill him?" he repeated, his eyebrow arching. He looked at me as if I had suddenly sprouted scales and insisted I was a dragon.

"Kill him or let him die or whatever it is. I heard you talking with Caein!"

His mouth pinched in a tight line. "I see…and how much did you hear?"

"Enough to know that Zephyrus isn't safe with you."

He pinched the bridge of his nose and then swept his hand through the air. Runes formed on the outside of the glass prison, and the walls evaporated as it lowered me back to the ground. The transformation was smooth enough that I easily unfolded my legs and slid out.

He still stared at me hard as I straightened my embossed bodice. My fingernails snagged on a loose turquoise thread. "Glare all you like," I said. "I don't abandon those I love. Especially when they're abducted by strange sorcerer princes in strange towers." Zephyrus huffed over me and rested his jaw lightly on the top of my head.

"I did not steal him or abduct him. There was nothing malevolent about any of this," Ramiel growled.

"If it was all so innocent, then why not come and explain it to me?" I snapped. "I know you were there."

"How could you possibly know that?" he demanded. "You speak confidently but without evidence."

"Except I have evidence. I know well the taste of magic and what it means even if I don't know exactly what you did. You did something to make me fall asleep. A spell. An incantation. How do you think I managed to track you here?"

His mouth pinched even tighter, his lips almost disappearing. "You have proven yourself quite resourceful. I would have assumed it was the bond that guided you here."

"It helped, but I also knew roughly where to start because of that magic. Sentinel magic is well known even to the farthest reaches of Taldao." That was perhaps a bit of an exaggeration, but I'd first heard of it back when I was much farther south. "You were in my camp. You came while I slept and made my sleep deeper, and you stole Zephyrus." I still didn't know how he had convinced Zephyrus to leave me. Part of me quailed just to remember that.

Even worse was that the dreams right before I awoke were among the best I had ever had. So soft and soothing, gentle. A welcome reprieve after the usual nightmares I suffered. It had felt as if someone had wrapped me in warmth, comfort, love, and peace. But then the cold, harsh reality had crashed over me, leaving only that taste and a longing for so much more. It was almost enough to bring me to tears, but I swallowed them and straightened my shoulders.

A sharp scoff escaped his lips before he at last lifted both hands. "I mean you no harm, Astraia. And I would never do anything to harm any of these dragons. But the Chasm is dangerous, and there are risks in defending it. That is why I cannot guarantee their safety."

There was one gamble I could try. "You can kill me, or you can let me leave with Zephyrus."

Zephyrus huffed again, his head cocking over mine.

I reached up to stroke his jaw as I kept my gaze fixed on Ramiel.

"I'm not going to kill you." His nostrils flared as he studied me. Annoyance flashed in his eyes with something else. "That would go against everything I stand for." He tapped his hands in the air as he drew in a deep breath. "There are things I cannot explain to you. Please. I am asking you to leave."

"Never. I will never stop."

He met my gaze, unblinking. I could tell that he was calculating the possibilities and how likely it was that I meant what I said. I did, of course. My entire life revolved around Zephyrus. We'd been inseparable since the day he found me on the outside of ruin and fire. He'd been part of the Resistance. And when I chose to leave, he stayed at my side.

"If you continue to speak that way, I will have no choice but to blood bind you from reaching him."

Zephyrus's head snapped up, and a low growl rumbled in his chest.

"Zephyrus." His gaze snapped up to the dragon.

My eyes widened at the sudden aggression in his voice. Zephyrus drew back in response to the raised tone, his ears lying flat against his skull as he withdrew back into his cell.

"You bastard," I growled. "Don't you dare speak to him like that!"

"He understands more than you, and he knows why this is unacceptable and dangerous." His gaze returned to me. "Give me your word and bind yourself, making it clear that you will not make him to leave this place in any fashion."

"By make, do you mean ask?" I demanded.

"By any means."

"I make no such promise." If he hadn't required that I bind myself, I might have tried to lie. But even agreeing to something with that term might bind me. I couldn't risk it with how well Ramiel had hidden his other spellwork. He was a rune fae, and unless a rune fae formed a binding spell rooted in love, it always had a weakness. But just because there was a weakness didn't mean I could find it. "And I ask that you please look into your heart and take pity on Zephyrus. Don't condemn him to death."

His jaw worked. "I am not condemning him to death. This is his calling as it is mine. None of us are safe in this place," he said sharply. "Do you even understand what the Chasm is? What it does, woman?" He dragged his hand across the back of his neck, shoving aside his long, sleek hair. "Astraia?—"

My core tightened when he said my name. I folded my arms tighter, pushing that feeling down. Not the time or the place.

He released a heavy sigh. "I am not sacrificing them. But they are our last line of defense in protecting the Chasm from this world and itself. Without the dragons, I cannot shut the rifts that are tearing open within it. Without the dragons, I cannot defend our world. Without them, the Eye of the Needle falls, and once it falls, all of Rune may fall as well or at least be deeply and grievously wounded. I'm sorry." He then lifted his hand. "Do not make this harder than it must be."

My gut clenched. I tried to rush him, but he moved too fast, silver magic spilling from his fingertips. Runes spun around me in a silver column, a cyclone of letters and light, and then—something cleaved within my spirit.

The stable pulsed and hummed with energy, jagged streaks of lightning arcing across the air. Zephyrus's ears pinned back against his broad skull as he snarled. The other dragons roused as well, their hoarse bellows and rasping roars filling my ears. My hands flew to my chest, clawing at the runes that swept over me.

"Zephyrus!" I screamed.

Everything went dark.