Chapter 12 #2
Even as I look at the words on the page in front of me, I debate what I am about to ask my friends to do.
There are no details beyond what is required for the spell.
No explanation as to what will happen if it is broken, though I can assume that whatever it is, it won’t be good.
Death, either instant or excruciating, would be my assumption.
Summer is fetching Caz from the High Hold library for me, while Benny and Ruben wait in the drawing room for me to come and explain exactly why I’ve summoned them there. The rest of us are in the kitchen, the hub of the home.
‘It’s the only way,’ Jonas says as he, Kay, William, and I sit around the table. We’re family now. All of us, by blood or marriage. And it’s more than I thought I’d ever have again, that’s for sure. ‘I wish I’d thought of it with you both, if I’m honest.’
‘Really?’ I give him my most withering look, only to shake my head and sigh. He was just protecting William, that was all, just the same way I want to do now.
‘I don’t see why you need to tell them anything at all,’ Kay says. ‘If it’s that much of a risk, why not just keep it secret? Why suggest a vow?’
It’s a valid question, but one I can’t answer without telling her what I have planned next, and that’s not something I plan on doing right now. So instead, I offer her a different truth.
‘I would not be alive without these people, Kay,’ I tell her. ‘I owe them my life. Ruben, too, for the gift he gave me. Not to mention they are all smart as hell. Whatever happens next, having them here to help plan can only be a good thing.’
‘And you’re sure that this blood vow will work?’ William asks, worry etched on his face.
‘Not a hundred percent, but confident enough. Still, it’s your call. It’s your secret, as much as it is mine.’
‘I trust you,’ he says slowly. ‘And you trust them.’
‘Trusts them so much she needs to make them do a blood vow,’ Kay mutters beside me, but I ignore her.
A silence starts to settle when there’s a knock at the door.
‘M’lady, I have shown your guest to the drawing room with the others,’ Summer says as she steps inside the room.
I push back my chair and stand. ‘Thank you. You have the evening off. Please stay away from the house for a few hours.’
She drops me a curtsy. If she finds my order curious, her face does not show it.
I wait until she’s gone before turning to the others. ‘I’ll give them the chance to leave first. They may not choose to take the vow. Either way, I’ll fetch you when it’s done.’
My hand is trembling as I weave my way down the hallway to the corridor. I’ve barely said two words to Ruben since he woke up, and at some point I will need to see how he is doing, but this is not that moment.
Inside the room, the three are chatting – presumably Benny has already made introductions between Caz and Ruben – and seeing them together like this causes my throat to go dry.
Rapidly.
Several cups of wine sit on the table, probably poured by Benny. I could do with a sizeable glass myself, but I need to be clear-headed for this. And I need to do this now.
‘So this is all very cloak and dagger,’ Benny says drolly as I walk in. ‘You want to tell us what’s going on, Rose?’
I rub my hands on the seat of my trousers, trying to dry the sweat that slicks my palms. Trying to find the words to start.
‘You know that I trust you guys with my life …’ It feels like as good a place as any to start, and I make sure I look each of them in the eye as I talk.
‘I wouldn’t be here without you – or without Llin,’ I add to Caz.
‘But what I have to share now, it’s not about trusting you with my life.
It’s about trusting you with something infinitely more precious, and I can’t risk anyone outside this house ever knowing what I’m about to tell you. ’
I watch as Benny and Caz exchange a worried look.
‘Is this about what you told me before?’ she asks.
‘Partly, but not completely. This is even more … treasonous.’
Three sets of eyes widen, particularly Caz’s. And I get it. After all, what’s more treasonous than having the blood of our enemies flowing in my veins?
Having a brother who was supposed to be killed by order of the king. That’s what.
‘If you want to leave now, then please do,’ I continue. ‘I will understand completely, and it will make no difference to how much I love and respect every one of—’
‘I’m in.’ Ruben’s answer comes before I can finish, and I can’t help but smile as my eyes meet his. ‘Whatever you need, Rosey, I’m in.’
‘Thank you,’ I whisper. ‘But you should know that what I’m going to request of you is very serious. I’m going to ask each of you to join me in a blood vow, and I don’t know what the effects will be if you break it.’
‘Good job I don’t spill secrets,’ Benny says simply. ‘Like Ruben said, I’m in. I wouldn’t be here without you. That’s not something I’ll forget. Ever.’
My heart swells with love for these two men. Would I have answered so quickly to help them, not knowing what it was they were going to share with me? I’d like to think the answer was yes, but I can’t say for sure.
With their two answers given, I look to Caz.
‘There’s no pressure here,’ I tell her. ‘If you want to walk away, then you can absolutely go, but I had to ask you here. I had to give you the choice.’
‘For Llin?’ she asks, causing a tug behind my sternum.
‘For you, as my friend,’ I say, holding her gaze fixedly. Llin may have been the past that brought us together, but any future friendship we have will be built on bricks we forge together.
‘Well,’ Caz says slowly, ‘as your friend then, I’m with these guys. I’m in. Now, what do you need?’
‘Oh, not much,’ I say, trying to ignore the prickling that raises the hairs on the back of my neck. ‘But it’s going to start with a little spilled blood.’
We leave the dining room half an hour later, all a little paler.
‘Is it me, or do you feel different?’ Ruben asks quietly. ‘Like you can feel the extra magic in you?’
‘It’s not finished yet,’ Benny reminds him. ‘Rose still has to do the final part. I expect the sensation will settle after that.’
‘I’m just grateful I wasn’t given healing magic,’ Caz comments, carrying two glasses of wine with her and taking a hefty gulp from one of them. ‘There’s no way I could deal with seeing blood every day.’
I’m grateful for the way they’re trying to act like this is all normal.
Trying to make out that what I just asked of them is entirely reasonable in the realm of friendship.
I’m also aware that now that the blood’s been prepared, I have to do the final part to seal the vow, and that includes telling them the secret they will never, ever be able to share.
When I reach the door to the kitchen, I push it open with my hip, my hands full with the small glass dish that holds my friends’ blood, which flashes with a sheen of magic that sits like an oil slick on water.
Jonas and William jump to their feet while Kay remains seated, as if this is all just a load of unnecessary fuss.
‘It’s done?’ Jonas questions as his eyes scan the group. ‘All of them?’
‘All of them,’ I reply, flashing my friends a smile as Benny heads over to the counter and grabs another bottle of wine. ‘And it’s almost done. Just the final bit to go.’
I place the bowl on the table then take a scrap of paper and write the secret on it. When I place it into the blood, a stream of red smoke billows into the air.
A low, collective gasp rattles around the table as I look at my friends, all three of whom are clutching their chests in exactly the same spot on the right-hand side.
If I wanted confirmation that the spell worked, I think I just got it.
Their eyes are expectantly locked on me, and I know there’s nothing more to do but trust.
Trust my magic.
Trust they will choose not to forfeit their lives to share this secret.
‘Benny, Caz, Ruben. I’d like to introduce you to William. Also known as Florian. My brother.’