Page 25 of Angel Lost

“Nope.” Zephyr tips an imaginary hat to Farrell. “Sir Farrell has already spoken.”

“Why not?” I frown, looking between the two.

“Because it’s the Virrey’s bond and only he can break it,” Farrell explains, shifting uncomfortably in his wingback chair at the head of the table.

“Unless Farrell kills his father,” Zephyr says quietly.

“As if I can just break into the P.I.G.’s prison and murder the Virrey and then come back in time for class on Monday,” Farrell says, his voice strained. “Oh, and he is my father, in case that didn’t sink in.”

Shit. I knew that, kind of. Maybe not in so many words. I knew it was complicated, I just hoped—

Kai snatches up a small dragon statue, cradling it like a beloved pet. “You heard that too, right?” he asks the stone creature, stroking its head. “The angel wants to kill his friend’s father, And the supposed friend is happy to keep the angel a slave. This allegiance is fucked up.”

He’s not wrong. Groaning, I bash my head on the giant table. “We’ll come back to this, Z, I promise. Kai? Cut the crazy and explain.”

Kai flings the fragile little statue in Farrell’s direction, so deliberately off-target Farrell has to dive for it, his magnificent chair clattering to the floor.

Swiftly, Kai rights the wingback, drags it closer to the table, and sinks in, ignoring Farrell’s grumble. “It works because we can siphon power through the slave bond. Not enough to hide your aether, but enough to make you seem weaker for the assessment.”

Drumming my fingers on the wood, I digest the information. It might just…

“You can’t seriously think Lorelei will accept that.” Zephyr sneers. “She’s seen what a slave bond can do to a person, to me.”

Kai stabs his knife into the table and leans in. “And you think I haven’t? It’s the only way. Tell me, what’s your bright idea,angel? Let her become queen? You become Royal Seer at her side?”

A vein on Zephyr’s forehead throbs.

“I’ll do it.” I force the words out.

Silence settles over the room, thick, suffocating.

Zephyr deflates. He takes a stumbling step away, then another. With a sharp crack, his wings flare wide. In a flash, he rounds on me, hauling mefrom Chano’s lap and pinning me against the wall. His feathered wings cage me in, arms braced on either side of my shoulders, trapping me.

“You’ve never offered to free me of the Virrey, yet you’ll offer it to this fae over me?”

I chew my lip, bracing myself to meet his gaze. “Zephyr, it’s not like that.”

“So,” his voice drops to a hiss, “what exactly is it like?”

Zephyr is jerked backward, and the tension in my muscles uncoils. Chano fists Zephyr’s collar, his eyes flashing.

“She’s doing it because I have a bargaining chip.” Kai steps causally between us, never taking his gaze off Zephyr. “Because the great Lorelei doesn’t need friends. She needs her freedom. Needs to ascend. And I have something that will get her closer to that.”

I cringe. He’s twisting my words. “It isn’t like that either!”

“Isn’t it? You’ve never offered me a blood oath to sort my ‘problem,’” Zephyr says.

My jaw drops. Of all the stupid, idiotic…He has to know if I ever found a way to free him I would do it. I’d do whatever it took. In a heartbeat.

“No response?” Zephyr asks. “Didn’t think so.”

I deke past Kai to stand toe-to-toe with Zephyr, only vaguely aware my flames are rippling over my skin. Chano lets him go, stepping back, hands held up. Zephyr’s sea-green eyes scan my face, pupils widening slightly as I lean in. I rest my forehead on his. “I do not need an oath for you.”

Anger mars his brow, and I palm the back of his neck to stop him from pulling away.

“For you I’d do it without being forced, Zephyr,” I say quietly. “But if you need it I will swear a blood oath for you too. I…I just don’t know how to help you, yet.”

Slowly, the corner of his mouth pulls up, and Zephyr shakes his head ever so slightly. He slips an arm around my waist and gives me a squeeze. His wings fold neatly away.

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