Page 107 of Bound By Darkness

A sly grin crossed her face. “Is this why you have arrivedon my doorstep, Ivan?” she purred. “You wish to exhaust my resources once again?”

“Yes, but?—”

“Thalia, what of you? What can you offer me in exchange for these supplies you need?”

“What do you want?”

Iyanna grinned, and I knew I’d asked the wrong question, her canines gleaming as she said, “Your death.”

Chapter 31

New Oaths

THALIA

I stepped back,a dire mistake as Iyanna’s hands crept over the spine of the books atop her desk.

She shoved them across the table in one fell swoop. Books clattered to the floor, a crescendo of pages and ink as they toppled over one another. Iyanna splayed her hands on the wood as she leaned over, her nose twitching as she breathed in my scent.

“You weren’t thinking about leaving, were you?” Iyanna’s purple lips spread further until they revealed sharp canines waiting to pierce my flesh. “We haven’t even discussed payment.”

I smoothed out my shirt underneath the seer’s intense gaze. “You threaten me with death. What else am I supposed to do?”

Iyanna plucked a hidden dagger from her side and tossed it onto the emptied table. “A present for you.”

My eyes roamed the silver hilt, the intricate edges carved to the tip of its blade. The hilt was dipped in silver and gold, a fine weapon as Iobserved its weight and composure.

“Take it,” Iyanna said. “I do not need a weapon as small as this.”

My hands stayed at my side.

“Consider it a welcoming gift, a present, or whatever else your kind calls it,” she said. “No harm will befall you under my camp if you agree to my proposition.”

My eyes flicked from the dagger. “I am no one to mess with. Especially if you’re wanting to bargain my death.”

Iyanna licked her lips, a streak of purple remaining on her tongue. “What I want is your loyalty. I don’t care how you die, as long as you die for me.”

“My loyalty in exchange for your services?”

Iyanna gave a low nod. “I can even sweeten the deal. I seem to have someone under my care you are quite fond of.”

“What do you mean? Spit it out.”

Wickedness sparked across her eyes like flickers of blue venom. “Perhaps I’ve managed to catch a beautiful raven. A raven who seems to know who you are.”

“What raven? I don’t care for these games.”

She whistled, a haunting tone escaping her lips. “Ivanshould.”

Ivan gripped my arm tightly, his fingers flexing on my flushed skin. “I don’t understand.”

“Wasn’t it you who originally asked for my help in rescuing Thalia from Armas?”

“Yes, but?—”

“And did you think I wouldn’t do my own research? Research who she was fond of?”

Ivan growled, low and thick. “Iyanna.”

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