Page 16 of The Spark that Ignites
Vesper clucked his tongue and lounged in the chair, propping his booted feet on the table and crossing them at the ankle. “That’s a lot of terms. I think you need me more than I need you.”
Shooting him a contemptuous look, she nodded at his feet. He grimaced before setting them back on the floor.
Then Emmery smiled but it was more a bearing of teeth. “I’ve been doing fine on my own.”
His face said he wasn’t buying it and, honestly, the waver in her voice was less than convincing even to her own ears.
“We both know that’s a lie,” he drawled.
Emmery clenched her jaw, unwilling to back down from her demands. They weren’t unreasonable. In fact, they were merely essentials. “Either agree to my terms or I walk away.”
An infinitely long silence swelled, and they watched each other. A plethora of emotions crossed Vesper’s face—too many to name.
Emmery fought with every twitching muscle in her face to keep a mask of stone, praying her desperation wouldn’t bleed through because it lingered in her glassy eyes and knotted chest.
Finally, after what seemed an eternity, he broke the silence as a slow smile claimed his mouth. “You’re thorough and I can respect that. I agree to your terms, Sparky.”
Ignoring her pounding heart and that asinine nickname, in a voice more brittle than she cared for, Emmery dared, “One last question.”
Vesper sighed. “Yes?”
“What happens if the bargain is broken? If one of us doesn’t fulfil their part.” She bit the inside of her cheek as he chuckled. “Don’t laugh. It’s a legitimate question.”
“It’s impossible. We don’t voluntarily break bargains. If it’s a choice against the others wishes, your body goes under compulsion, and you can’t fight it. And this goes both ways of course. There’s only one permanent way out if both parties don’t agree.”
Her stomach flipped. “What is it?”
“Death.” His voice echoed, an ominous force in the still room. “Butthat’s the worst scenario of course. Nothing to concern yourself with.”
A chill shot down her spine. Shewasin fact concerned about a lot of things as her head spun with new information, tangling with the need for safety. And that gate, the shining, golden thing haunting her dreams, was so close she could almost taste the freedom. And she wanted itsodamn badly.
“One tiny detail to add. We only have until the Fallen Equinox. A month from now.”
Not having a clue what the Fallen Equinox was, Emmery’s brows pulled together. “Why?”
“Let me worry about that.” Vesper’s gaze flicked across her face, and he seemed to be holding his breath too. She wasn’t the only one with a lot riding on this. “Do we have a deal?”
If anyone had told her that today she’d make a bargain with a complete stranger, and not just any stranger but a Damned One, she would have claimed them insane. But now, as she uttered the word, maybeshewas the one out of her mind.
“Yes.” Regret instantly cinched her gut.
Vesper snatched the dagger from the table, tugged off his glove, and nicked a shallow cut on his palm. He did it with an effortless, fluid motion, like flaying his own skin was a daily occurrence. And perhaps it was. For all she knew, he made bargains with everyone he met. Blood beaded along his wound, and he reached for her.
Emmery flinched and yanked her hand away. In what universe did he think she would let him take a blade to her? Maybe he was out of his mind too. From the confused furrow of his brows, he had to be, but Vesper handed over the dagger. Gripping it in her sweaty palm, she stroked the ruby jewelled handle, identical to her ring, as she searched for a way around this.
But there wasn’t one.
So, Emmery studied his bloody cut. It was absurd how a kiss from a blade could birth a situation this dangerous. Because this bargain was merely a mixing of words and blood—one open to trickery and one binding. Shackling was more like it. She rested the blade over her flesh, her chest inflating with air, but she may as well have been submerged underwater with her oxygen starved lungs and mind.
“It may sting a bit,” he teased, the sentiment anything but comforting.
Emmery hid her wince as she pressed down, and blood rose to the surface of the wound. She slammed the dagger back on the table and muttered, “I’m such an imbecile.”
“You said it, not me.” He gazed at her. Blinked. Blinked again. Those moonlit eyes locked on her, waiting for something or perhaps giving her a moment to run from this cottage screaming. “Last chance to back out now,” he offered.
A few heartbeats passed and the reality and weight of the decision settled into her chest. There was no going back after this. But Vesper was right, he was the only one willing to help her get to safety. And as much as it pained her to admit, she needed him as much as he needed her.
Good gods, she was really doing this.
