Page 58 of Oath of Revenge

She frowned, and he stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. “What do you mean, it’s half-done?”

It was his turn to look away. He took another drink and dropped her hand to his thigh before he answered. “I bit you when I climaxed, both times actually. The wolf took over, and I couldn’t stop it, so my half of the mate bond is done.”

She tugged her hand from his, and it left an emptiness in his chest. She frowned and avoided his gaze, going back to drawing in the dirt as her face settled into a stoic mask that hid all emotions and vulnerabilities. He could practically feel the emotional walls going back up between them.

He sighed, “Can I have your dagger? I’ll draw a map of the camp and tell you what I’m planning.”

She nodded and handed it over with barely a pause, which made him breathe easier. The only way they’d get through what lay ahead is if they trusted each other. He’d known he shouldn’t have bit her, but it’d been nearly impossible to resist.

He crouched in the frozen dirt and drew with the tip of the dagger, his voice soft and low as he talked through a plan.

Chapter 18

Five months ago…

“Blast it straight to the hells,” Bella said, throwing one of the two potions at the stone wall. It smashed, splattering and dripping down the dining room wall.

She startled at the wide-eyed wild haired man as the door to the kitchen swung behind him.

As she turned to face him, her hands instinctively went to her hips, immediate remorse flooding her. How could she have been so foolish and reckless? He was one of the few who had stayed behind when everyone else fled the castle, and she couldn’t shake off the guilt of trapping him there. Yet, in that moment, she also felt a surge of anger towards him for witnessing her moment of weakness and putting himself in harm’s way. She didn’t know how to make it right by changing his curse and giving him freedom. She sighed and rubbed her forehead.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make such a mess for you to clean up,” she said, waving a hand to activate a silent spell. The spell opened the drawer to the buffet table and out flew several napkins. She used the animated napkins to wipe up the wall as Ignot rubbed his heavily wrinkled forehead.

“I take it the newest potion isn’t ready?” His wry question made her snort and shake her head. He’d never treated her like the queen, since he’d often snuck to the tavern to drink when the royal family wasn’t in residence. She’d known him since she was a child.

“No, Ignot, it’s not ready yet. It’s too dangerous,” she admitted. There was one bottle left, but the one she’d thrown had bubbled on its own, growing bigger and bigger. Part of throwing it had been to dispel the magic as quickly as possible, as it’d shown signs of impending explosion.

Still, it didn’t make the regret of her decision fade. The weight of the world was on her shoulders, and nothing had gone right since she’d met the king. She was already so weary after only a few weeks stuck in this form.

“Are you sure, your highness? I’m not sure how much longer I can hold on.”

He stiffly walked across the room, holding tightly to the broom as he slowly swept the broken glass.

Her hand fluttered in her skirt. “What do you mean?”

“I feel less and less human every day. Soon I’ll just be an empty husk of a knight.”

“No, don’t say that. We’ll figure this out.”

When the castle curse had settled, he’d been merged with a metal knight in the hallway. His skin was metal, his white hair sticking out oddly from his head, and his movements stiff and awkward.

His eyes remained human, and it was unnerving. He’d been the under-butler before, his old age preventing him from taking the prized position of head butler. Having armor for skin pained him greatly, though he was too proud to complain about it.

“Are you sure we can’t just try this other bottle?” He didn’t meet her eyes as he knelt to the floor.

“I’m sure. I tested it on the stuffed eagle in the hall. It didn’t work,” Bella said bitterly as she put the dirty napkins on the edge of the table for Sharlo to find and clean later.

Ignot waved the broom handle to the potion still sitting on the table. “Perhaps you should test it on the cat or any of the dozen kittens, then.”

Bella shook her head and gripped her skirts in both hands now, staring at the dining table. What had once held grand dinners with dignitaries and nobles now was strewn with ingredients and supplies for potions.

It had been too difficult for Ignot to go up and down the stairs. After he and Sharlo had cleaned up her room from all the rotting flesh and blood, she’d wanted to make things easier on them. So she’d moved her workshop down here so they could still assist with collecting ingredients.

The guilt gnawed at her as they sat trapped in this cursed place. It was her decision that led them here, that turned Ignot into a rigid metal knight and Sharlo into a dangerous hat stand. The pregnant cat’s transformation into a footstool only added to the weight of her regret. How could she have known the consequences of her actions? It was all her fault.

One footstool kitten pushed through the swinging door as Ignot knelt to sweep the glass into the dustpan. The kitten snuggled against his clunky metal leg, and Ignot scratched its head.

“I can’t risk them,” Bella said. She was so afraid to test the reversal potion on anything living. She’d already tested it on the plants that had morphed and merged with inanimate objects.

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