Page 131 of A Bond with the Dark

A terror rises up in me that frays me. This is a dark I had never imagined. This warlock is part demon and wants me dead; floating petals and making sun talismans are not comparable to a demon’s magick. They’re not in the same realm. There’s nothing I can do to fight this.

“Hey,” he says, giving me a weak but hopeful smile, “I trust Hattie, Scarlet, and my mom. They’ll be able to break this. I believe that.”

“I hope so. I can’t imagine what will happen if it doesn’t work.”

“If it doesn’t work,” he says, and the tone in his voice dangles in the winds of utter and severe gravity, “you have to kill me.”

“No! I will not kill?—”

“Sayah, you have to. This mark will change me into someone who is mindless; I’ll be dead anyway. And if she wants you dead, there’s nothing that will stop me from killing you. You have to keep you and Gauge safe. End me. Take my necklace and throw me in the sun. Or drive a silver stake through my heart. Sayah..” He pulls my chin so that I’m looking at him directly. “You have to.”

Tears swim in my eyes and roll down my cheeks.

“Promise me?”

I nod.

If it comes down to it, I am going to have to kill my boyfriend.

36

A TRIBRID

SAYAH

We watch the sun break the horizon and melt the stars, sitting quietly with each other, enjoying our last moments while he’s still him. The gentle rocking motion of the hammock lulls me, and his arms are tight against my stomach. His shirt is rolled up to reveal the mark on him, a little more red flecks within the white raised skin. I wonder if that has anything to do with him going dark a few hours ago.

There’s no way to tell how much time we have left until the mark ignites him again.

“I overheard your mom and Jasantha discussing something interesting when you were gone.” I had almost forgotten the conversation with the unfolding of the latest events.

“What?” he sounds interested.

At least it will keep our minds off our impending doom.

“They were talking about how Bash is a tribrid.”

His weight shifts under me, and I can tell by his tone he’s surprised at this information. “A tribrid?”

“Yeah,” I say, leaning up to look at him. “Your mom thinks that’s the curse he’s trying to break. She said he’s part demon, and since she’s a witch, you all are too. And then, of course, the vampire curse she put on all of you. That would make him a tribrid.”

“And she thinks that’s the curse he is trying to break?”

“I guess so.”

“But if he is part demon, that would make him?—”

“Not your father’s son.”

He turns the corners of his mouth down and nods. “That would clear a lot of things up, honestly. About him and about my dad’s hatred toward him.”

“But how could you all have not known this entire time?”

“My mom is a vault when it comes to things that will protect us.” He studies me with piercing scrutiny.

“So why do you think he needs his sibling’s blood to break the curse?” I ask, folding my leg up under me.

“I’m not sure,” he says, rolling his sleeve down. “And I’m not sure how his way differs from Hattie’s.”

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