Page 86 of Love Heals
Vlad finally lowered himself into one of the armchairs, even thought it was clear from his posture that he didn't feel like sitting. Jared could only guess at how long he'd been searching for this prophecy. Probably for longer than Jared had been alive. "I have reason to believe that you know the prophecy made by Inga the Ingenious about dhampirs and vampires, in its original wording." He stressed the last part of that sentence.
Sage touched a finger to the corner of her mouth, a thoughtful expression on her face. "I might have that," she said after a moment. "No one's come to ask for it in quite some time." Her eyes focused on Vlad. "It's unique, though. A very important secret. I'm the only one who knows now. It's an old secret too. A very old one."
"Name your price," Vlad said, his expression unchanging.
"I'm going to need a secret of equal value in return," Sage said. "That's the only way to make it a fair deal, you see? But if it's only equal in value... well, I don't gain anything, do I? So you'll also have to pay me at least two bags of diamond dust in addition to that."
"I told you she'd ask for too much," Puck said, almost immediately.
Sage shot him a cutting glare. "Hush you, or I'll throw you out."
"Oh, you've scared me now."
“Good luck trying to get that one to shut up,” Aldrich muttered.
"What would a secret of equal value be?" Jared asked before the argument had a chance to escalate.
When Sage turned to him, her lips twitched up again. "I like juicy secrets. Something you haven't ever told anyone else. But be careful what you want to give away. This prophecy is something only I know, so once you've told me your secret, I will take it out of your memory and put it into one of my pretty orbs. You won't remember, and I will be the only one to know." She squeezed onto the couch next to him. "Just imagine how liberated you will feel, though, once you don't remember your dirty secrets."
"He doesn't have dirty secrets," Silas spoke up. "And he's already sacrificed enough memories today."
"No dirty secrets?" Aldrich cut in. "Please, you two must have gotten up to something by now."
Jared cringed. Maybe it wasn't entirely true that he had 'no' dirty secrets. Not that he was actively trying to keep Silas a secret...
Sage, meanwhile, left Jared's side to plop down next to Silas, laying one arm around his shoulder as if they were friends who hadn't seen each other in a while. "And what secrets do you hold?" she purred. "It's not every day I'm visited by vampires." She glanced around at her other guests, then gaze stuck to Jared again before dropping down to his belly. "If you two were planning to tell me aboutthat, that's not going to be a secret for long."
Jared had absolutely no idea what she was talking about, but got the feeling that it would be a stupid idea to ask.
"I can tell you a secret," Silas announced as if he wanted to distract her. "Something only I know."
She looked at him with interest.
He leaned in to whisper into her ear. Jared didn't know what was being said, but Sage's brows furrowed. "I see," she said after a moment. "I might trade you for that if you also gave me three bags of diamond dust."
"We don't have any diamonds," Jared said, almost glad that they wouldn't be able to complete this deal. Whatever Silas had offered up, Jared didn't want him to lose it. It was enough that he had lost a part ofhismemories today.
To his surprise, Vlad spoke up, his gazed fixed solely on Sage. "You're going to give us that prophecy without requiring additional payment."
Sage turned to him with a curious expression. "Do you think you can threaten me? I'll have you know, if you try to take something forcefully—"
"I'm not threatening you. I'm offering you something you can’t say no to."
She tilted her head at him, and he beckoned for her to come closer. Once she was within reach, hovering in mid-air, Vlad spoke into her ear.
At the same time, Jared was distracted by Silas's fingers intertwining with his. "I don't like this," Silas murmured.
"Me neither," Jared said, but he didn't know what he could do to stop Vlad or Sage. Remy had mentioned that they might need Vlad. Was this why?
After a moment, Sage took a step back, her expression unreadable. "You're speaking the truth?"
"I have no reason to lie."
"You have someone who can vouch for you?"
"Of course not. It's as I told you. I'm the only one who knows."
Sage's expression remained unchanged, but her wings started flapping rapidly.
