Page 50 of Of Blood and Banes
I shake my head. “Wait, please…it meant nothing to me.”
His lips part before tightening into a line. Squeezing his eyes shut, he shakes his head. “But it meant something to me.” He slips out of my grasp and leaves.
CHAPTER 18
RECKLESS HONESTY
After I’ve spent some time in my room lying in bed and tearing up thinking about how broken Cole and I are, I force myself up. No time to let it keep me down. There’s too much at stake.
Daeja escorts me through the cobblestone streets to Sethan’s office. She’s quiet. Sensing my heartache. Every townsperson gawks and shifts out of the way, giving us a healthy amount of space as we make our way through the town side-by-side.
“Don’t let that go to your head,”I tease.
Her head is lifted, eyes locked on the path, and her lips twitch into something like a grin.Too late.
Once we get to Sethan’s office, I pound on the door a second before it swings open and I enter. Daeja’s breath heats my back as she edges her muzzle through the door and opens her mouth in a hissing growl. The two guards who were standing at the door shift away, their hands sliding to their weapons.
“Thank you, but I think they get the point.”
“Just in case they need a reminder…”Daeja snaps at the air with a sound that rings in my ears before she retreats.
I walk past the guards and straight for Sethan sitting at his desk. His eyes flick up from his letter, then he waves the guardsout to leave us. They hesitate but exit anyway, their eyes trained on Daeja in one of the side windows before the door closes. The same side window Cole and I snuck in the other night to retrieve the black book, which is now tucked into my satchel.
“Yes? To what do I owe the pleasure?” Sethan prompts.
I flex my sweating hands in my black leather gloves to try and redirect the tension in my chest. But the longer I think of it, the more I know with certainty it’s the best path forward. “I went against our agreement about the curfew.”
“You did. And you’ve lied about your relations with Cole.”
“Yes. We lied because back in Arterias I had to pretend to be his sister in order to stay at the military outpost. And…” I pause, not wanting to disclose the fact Cole was—oris—engaged. And to the King’s granddaughter, of all people. “...and we’ve kept that front, because the rest of the squad doesn’t know. Considering we’re already walking on eggshells within our own group by a temporary agreement to stay, I don’t want to disrupt it by revealing such a long-winded lie.”
“I see…and you’re trusting me to keep it a secret?”
“For now. I think sharing that secret with the squad would be disastrous, especially if we want to make it to Vitalis as a group. You told me you could lead through fear or respect. But…I think there’s another way. I think you can lead through honesty. And while I can’t disclose that secret right now…there is one thing I can do.”
He leans back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest and waiting.
Praying I’m not making a colossal mistake, I pluck the little black book from my satchel and rest it on his desk in an utter leap of faith. “The reason we were out last night is because we stole this.”
Daeja’s dark figure glides past the set of windows behind Sethan’s back and pauses, her eyes fixed on him and waiting for any of my commands.
“My…” His gaze flicks down to the book. “I must admit—I’m impressed by the reckless honesty.”
Despite my fear, I don’t drop my chin, nor take my eyes off him. Waiting for him to also come clean. “I noticed after you caught us out after curfew, nothing happened. If I violated the blood pact we made, doesn’t that void our agreement? Would I have felt something?”
Catching on to my train of thought, he glances up. “I haven’t broken our blood pact, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“What is this book for, then?”
“It’s a study on how to break binds and pacts betweendragonsand theirriders.”
“And why would anyone do that?”
“I’m not sure. But the elders thought the celestial event was an important piece of information. It was noted the currents of magic are strongest then. And we have reason to believe the King is waiting for one to test out the theory, since he doesn’t have that ring.” He motions to my hand. “Now comes our conversation about what your punishment should be.”
“Punishment?”
“Is this the part where I break through the window?”Daeja grumbles down our bond.
