Page 124 of A Bond in Blood

“What do white bears have to do with anything?” he growled. The noise should have scared me, but I picked up on the amusement hidden within it.

“They swim in water colder than this. Their fur keeps them warm. Gods, they even prefer the cold.”

Olen pulled his paw away. “I agree with the bears.”

I laughed then turned back to the shore, heading toward the beach.

“Are you done?” he asked.

I nodded. “I’m not sure how long I’ve been out here. Ulrich will be waiting for me.”

“How many hallways have you explored?”

Standing on the beach, I wrapped my cloak around me. “Every single one. Some more than others. We’ve started on the bedroom floors now with the passages I ran down that night.”

Olen growled. “And you are not yet closer to a decision.”

The sentence was a question as much as it was a statement.

“I will not send someone to their grave,” I replied.

The beast jumped before me, splattering wet sand across my cloak. “You already have. That sniveling prince is dead by your hands and Bjorn will die anyway if you do not make your decision.”

“I do not believe Ulrich wouldn’t kill him if I choose banishment.”

Olen’s eyes held my gaze, and his shoulders moved with his breaths. “Why?”

I skirted past him, holding my cloak closer to my body. “He is not someone I trust.”

“I don’t believe you,” Olen countered behind me.

I twisted back to meet his eyes. “There was abrief, insane moment when I thought perhaps he wasn’t a monster. But it also happened to cross my mind when I was intoxicated with faerie wine. The substance likely made the insane thought pass through me.”

“Why do you think people come to him for deals?”

I groaned. “You told me it was because the Gods stopped listening.”

Olen nodded his large head. “Yes, but it’s because they trust he will do his end.”

“Please enlighten me, Olen. Explain howheholds up his end of the bargain.”

“Did your ancestor not live a long life with his wife and receive the chance to settle a new kingdom?”

“Yes but—”

“Was that not centuries ago?” Olen interrupted me. “Ulrich gained no upper hand at that moment. Yet he held up his end of the bargain.”

I blinked. “He offered an insane deal.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t to be trusted.”

My mouth hung open while I considered his words. “Alright, well what about Sigrun?”

Olen snarled.

“What was her bargain? She had her life ripped from her.”

“Sigrun was a changeling. He was well aware she’d never hold up her end.”

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