“And now she’s told you about this because she knows that she can use you to control me. She knows about us, Seven. We may have kept our relationship secret from the general public, but she made damn sure I knew she wasn’t buying it for a second. She knows I love you and that all she has to do is command you away from me and I’ll do anything she asks.”
He tips his head back and closes his eyes. “Of course. That’s exactly it and why she chose this moment to reveal it. She wants us both to know we’re under her thumb.”
My fingers toy with the coin around my neck, remembering how she’d looked at it. “We have to find a way to break her hold over you.”
He snorts. “Breaking a fairy bargain without being released from it is nearly impossible. Breaking a bargain made with Godmother has never been done.”
I fold my hands in front of my stomach. “Then we get her to release you.”
He laughs and shakes his head. “She’s not in the business of being forgiving.”
“No, but maybe we can find something she wants and convince her to release you in exchange.”
“If you figure out what it is that Godmother wants and doesn’t have, you are a smarter fairy than I am.”
I cross my arms. The chance that we will ever break Godmother’s hold over Seven are close to nil. Even with all his luck and all his riches, he’s not even close to as powerful as she is. Clever of her to trap him like she did, at a time when he’d been drained by his father and was at his most vulnerable. If she hadn’t tricked him then, she never would have succeeded later. She knew what she was doing, and now he’s her own lucky charm.Bitch.
“Sophia… I know you don’t want to consider it, but it’s dangerous for you to love me. As long as she’s in control, you can’t trust what I do. What if she commands me to do something really awful? What if she commands me to leave you and never return?” The weariness I saw on his face when I first arrived is back again. So it wasn’t about me being late. It was about this… guilt over the consequences of his bargain with Godmother and the strong feeling that he was roping me into those consequences by loving me.
“Why would she do something like that?”
“Why does Godmother do anything?”
“Right now she needs me. I’m doing what she wants, and someday we will find a way to convince her to break the bargain. Have faith in that.”
He kisses me soundly. “I’ll try.”
Drawing a deep breath, I blow it out slowly. “Have you spent any time trying to decipher your father’s riddle yet?”
He rubs his forehead. “No. And about that… it’s going to have to wait a few days.”
“Why?”
“That problem I mentioned with our supplier, it’s bigger than I thought it was. I have to go to the US for a few days to meet with the CEO and see if we can come to an agreement.”
My heart thumps heavier, missing him already. “No one else can go for you?”
He shakes his head. “This was one of the few vendor relationships my dad always handled himself. The CEO is old-school, likes the personal touch. It shouldn’t take long. I’ll go there for a few days, finish negotiating the new contract, seal the deal, and be back here before you know it.”
I can’t hide my disappointment, but I can’t be unfair to him. His responsibilities have multiplied since his father was imprisoned. He has a company to run. I know Seven wouldn’t do this if it wasn’t absolutely necessary. “When do you leave?”
“First thing in the morning.”
“On a Friday? You’ll be there all weekend?”
“This can’t wait.”
“I’ll miss you,” I say. “And you’ll miss your Saturday lesson with Arden.”
He closes his eyes as if my words sting. “I’ll text her. Tell her I’m sorry.”
“She’ll understand, Seven. You have important work to do. No one is blaming you.”
“Thanks.”
“Will you text me?”
“Of course.”
