Page 31 of Vale of Dreams

His smile deepens. “Ah, good. You are intelligent. I was beginning to wonder if you were my daughter after all. Of course, you’re right. All you know is what I told you, and I could be lying through my teeth. I’ve been known to lie once or twice.”

“So, you understand why I won’t do it, then? I mean, you literally just told me you married your first wife to learn her secrets and then murdered her, so I guess I’m not getting a trustworthy vibe.”

“It was for the greater good of the Fey. Anyway, you’ll do it. You just need some assurances.” As he unsheathes a long dagger, the wind whips over us, toying with his black cloak. His blade glints in the moonlight.

My breath stills in my lungs.

“Do you know what a Hemlock Oath is?” he asks.

Vaguely, I remember that term from my studies as a cadet in Avalon Tower. “It’s a dark magic ceremony, practiced by Fey. The oath-takers bind their lives to a promise, and if the promise is broken, they die a horrible death, as if poisoned by hemlock.”

“You’re right, essentially, but I don’t know why you call it dark magic. I’d call it useful magic. Humans made up something much worse, didn’t they?”

“What are you talking about?”

“They have binding covenants written on parchment, the language complex and tedious. An elaborate, arcane process navigated by advocates and proctors in the inns of court.”

I stare at him. “Are you talking about lawyers? Contracts?”

“And when the covenant is broken,” he goes on, “the proctors battle each other, sometimes for years, while their pockets and purses fill with gold, until finally, the winner is chosen by a be-wigged magistrate in a robe. Now, that’s a strange and dark practice.”

“Point taken.”

He rolls up his sleeve. “We Fey are more pragmatic. We make an oath bound by blood. We write nothing down because the terms are simple and incontrovertible. If anyone breaks the oath, he dies. No need for the inns of court. Now, you and I will perform the oath, whereby I swear that the moth only serves as my ears and eyes and cannot kill anyone directly. And then you promise to place it in Avalon Tower. If one of us fails, we die, writhing in pain. Simple. Yes?”

I don’t truly have many options. I need Mordred’s portal, but I need to make sure we protect ourselves against his spying.

“Fine,” I finally say. “How does this work?”

“Usually, there would be a ceremony, sometimes a sacrifice, but it’s late, and I can’t be bothered. We mix our blood and recite the words of the Hemlock Oath. Then we each make our vows.”

He holds out a palm and traces the blade along it. As blood starts to drip from the gash, he hands me the blade, and I place the tip on my palm. Grimacing, I slice quickly, not letting the lacerating pain show on my face. I clench my fist.

Mordred seems satisfied with my stoicism, like this is another test that I just passed. He holds out his bleeding hand, and I grip it with mine. Our blood mingles, dripping on the cold earth.

“Repeat after me,” he says. “In hemlock’s kiss, our fates entwine. In blood-signed bonds, oaths enshrined. Break the seal, and death is thine.”

As the wind howls over us, whipping at my hair, I repeat the words. With the words spoken, heat burns through my palm. I grit my teeth as magical energies buzz through my open wound, crackling along my veins.

“I, Mordred, Scion of Morgan, King of Avalon, swear that the silver moth that I gave you will be used only to listen and watch. It will be my eyes and ears in Avalon Tower and will do nothing else.” He raises his eyebrows at me. “Now you.”

“I, Nia Melisandre, swear to place the silver moth in Avalon Tower.”

He squeezes my hand, his expression darkening. “You will place it there tonight, where it can’t be found. And you will leave it there for as long as I need.”

“Fine,” I grit out. “I will place it today where it can’t be found and won’t remove it for as long as you need.”

“And you will remain silent about it, tell no one about the moth or of my existence.”

Fuck. My heart thunders. “That’s not what I agreed to.”

“Of course it’s part of the agreement.”

“And will you also swear as part of your oath not to hurt anyone at Avalon Tower who isn’t a Pendragon?” He has me cornered, and he knows it, but I’m going to get as much out of this bargain as I can.

“It’s not as though I can leave here, Nia. I couldn’t kill them even if I wanted to.”

“Swear that you don’t want to anyway.”

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