Chapter 24
24
EVANGELINE
I never went to sleep.
I watched from the windows, flitting from room to room, until I spotted the knot of activity out in front, the eastern horizon beginning to glow.
A group of soldiers, Nash, Blake, Riordan…and Aria.
She looked so delicate—and so dangerous—her salt and pepper hair fanning out from her face in a wild tangle of curls, a long, simple dress, her cloak dragging across the dew-covered lawn, leaving a dark streak behind her across the wet grass.
The sight of her made the tracking mark on my back flare, fear twisting in the pit of my stomach. There was always a risk, asking help from a witch. And sometimes…that risk wasn’t worth taking, no matter how great the reward.
And I didn’t trust Aria, any more than I trusted Malachi.
But Blake losing his magic was my fault. I’d understood the risks, and even so, had urged a half-dead Blake to drink from my vein. I had to make this right.
I waited until Aria was alone, feeding tendrils of white, glowing magic into the protective ward. When I stepped outside, the air was ripe with spent magic, a luminescent glow clinging to the dark stone of the castle, the sloping front lawn, tickling the soles of my feet .
Aria’s wild hair gleamed like strands of spun silver, every breath of the predawn air tasted like spent lightning, coating my mouth with the taste of ozone and something bitterly metallic.
I took a breath, gathered my courage, and stepped forward. Everyone else had vanished, but from the drive, Nash lifted his hand in greeting, and I waved back, shooting him confident smile, not wanting him to interfere. The crunch of my footsteps brought Aria’s head snapping my direction, sharp eyes gleaming.
“Silverwood,” she said, her voice knowing, like she’d been expecting me all along.
“Aria,” I replied, meeting her gaze without flinching. Such immense power emanated from her, ancient and wild, completely at odds with Blake’s and Riordan’s…yet oddly familiar. “I need your help.”
She raised an eyebrow, amusement sparking in her expression. “Help from me? What could a witch like me possibly do for the… Silverwood heir ?”
I hesitated, unease growing as my plea hovered on my lips.
But did I really have a choice? Blake needed my help.
Blake was hurting because of the pain I’d caused . I would fix this, even if it meant making a bargain, I knew would cost me. The words tumbled out before I could stop them. “I need you to break a bond. An addiction, really… Blake’s addiction. To my blood.”
Her sharp smile widened. “Ah, I wondered why I smelled such pathetic misery all over you. The famous Blake Marten, tethered by a bloodlust curse.” She tilted her head. “And what do you offer in return?”
“You know what I’m asking,” I said, my voice barely a whisper. “What do you want? ”
Her eyes narrowed, gleaming with intrigue. “ What do I want ? That’s a dangerous question, Silverwood.”
I nodded, knowing I was making a terrible mistake. “I’m well aware. Now answer me, what is your asking price?”
She considered me for a long moment, her eyes flickering as if reading some hidden message written in the air around me. As she opened her mouth to speak, footsteps rang out behind me. I turned to face Blake; his gaze stormy as he skidded to a stop.
“Evie?” He breathed, hands clenched into shaking fists, voice laced with a sharp bite of anger. His narrowed gaze drifted between us, the truth already dawning on his handsome face. “What are you doing here?”
God, like a punch to the chest, he took my fucking breath away.
I didn’t know if it was the days apart, but the dark brown of his eyes seemed richer, his hair silkier, the cut of his jaw stronger. Right now, everything about him seemed… more .
I wanted to drag him into a dark corner and taste those lips, kiss away the darkness in his eyes, take away the pain pounding below my heart like a hammer. I wanted him so badly, my entire body softened, as if I already felt his fingers on my skin.
“I’m fixing this. My blood, my fault,” I explained, the words catching on the knot in my throat. “I came to ask Aria for help. For us .”
Blake’s gaze softened, though it was still wary as he focused on Aria. “Evangeline beat me here, I see. I brought you here to protect the castle, but also to break the bloodlust curse.”
Aria’s amused laugh went even darker. “Well, the two of you are aligned in your desires, at least, though I wonder if you fully understand what you’re asking. ”
I turned my full attention back to Aria, my pulse racing. “Can you do it? Get rid of his bloodlust? Stop his addiction?”
“Oh, little slayer, I can do all the above.” Her voice was a silken murmur as she stepped closer, her gaze darting between us, measuring, calculating. “But this kind of spell, one that severs a bond as deep as a blood addiction… an addiction to Silverwood blood, is not a simple transaction. There are consequences, and those consequences require sacrifices.”
“Then tell us what you want,” Blake said firmly, his voice steady and resolute. I opened my mouth to stop him, to prevent him from offering himself up, but he spoke too fast.
“And I will pay whatever price you demand.”
Aria’s smile grew wicked. “Then consider the bargain sealed.”
A weight settled over me, smothering in its completeness, bound tighter by her cunning, pleased laugh. “Very well, then. As to my price…this favor does not come cheaply. True love is a costly venture. This will cost you… ten years of your lives.”
My stomach lurched. Ten years? My gaze flickered to Blake, searching his face, seeing the same shock mirrored there. His jaw tightened, “The price is mine to bear. Twenty years of my…”
“ No .” I grasped his hand, “Ten years from each of us.”
“Evie,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper, “if it means we can be together, I’ll give everything.”
Ten less years than we would have had, otherwise.
But what was ten years to an immortal, when we might have a hundred years together? More? All I could think about—not at all rationally—was I’d rather spend whatever time we had together…than my last twenty years without him .
A bittersweet ache tightened my chest as I squeezed his hand.
“Ten years from each of us. We accept the cost,” I promised, my voice barely more than a whisper.
Aria’s eyes glinted, satisfied. She lifted her hands, muttering a string of words in a language I didn’t recognize, her voice echoing with ancient power. The air grew thick and charged, sparking like a storm as her magic wove around us, binding us to the deal.
My last thought was… this bitch had better not fuck us over.