… And then a loud knock shatters everything.
We leap apart, both turning toward the door.
Layden moves to answer but I shove him aside.
“I got it.” Obviously I’m the one who should face threats.
I yank open the door, compulsion ready on my tongue?—
And my eyes go wide.
“Sabra?”
I grab her arm, drag her through the door, slam it shut. “What the hell are you doing here?”
She looks exactly the same as always. Frizzy brown hair in that long braid. Those too-big glasses. Baggy clothes that make her look like a kid playing dress-up, even though she can afford better. But the money would be from Vlad, and Sabra would rather die.
“Warmest greetings to you too, bestie.” She pushes up her glasses—that familiar gesture that breaks my heart.
I pull her into a hug. “You know I love you. But what thehell? You’re supposed to be on the other side of the world by now.”
We had a plan. Run and don’t stop running. I have to stay within five hundred kilometers of Grandfather—blood bond bullshit—so I planned to run in circles until he found me. But Sabra should’ve been long gone. Safe. Away from me and my nightmare family.
She pulls back. The look on her face?—
“I made a deal with your grandfather.”
The world tilts and legs give out. Layden catches me from behind.
“No,” I whisper. “Tell me you didn’t.”
“I didn’t make a blood oath.” She’s talking fast now, helping me stand. “I’m not stupid enough to make my mom’s mistake. Come on, who do you think I am?”
I can breathe again. Barely.
“Then what?—”
“He knows I’m a powerful witch. And I decided I didn’t want to spend my life running.” She meets my eyes. “This has always been my home. SoIcontactedhim. I told him I’d work for him like my mom did—but only on my terms.”
“Sabra...” My head tilts. She can’t be this naive. “You know what he’s like. Give an inch and he’ll steal your soul.”
But she juts her chin out stubbornly. “This way I get to study with powerful mages around the world. Which I have a much better shot at doing with Vlad’s resources than as a runaway.” Her eyes go hard. “He owes me. I’m just demanding what I deserve.”
Despair curls in my gut. She knows Grandfather as well as I do. She knows how evil he is. “In return for what?”
Her eyes soften. Our shared sisterhood of brokenness has always been a bond between us, both raised as children in the house of Vlad Dracul.
“… For dragging me back,” I finish.
“We both know you’d have to go back eventually.”
I shake my head. “He never found my parents. Thereissome way to escape him.”
“Well unlike them, I don’t plan on hiding in some hole forever.” She grasps my hands. “I’m a mage. One of the most powerful of my age. I’m meant to do important work. I can’t do that if I’m always afraid my magic will be detected by him or oneof your dammed uncles.” Her hands squeeze mine. “Come with me? We’re always better together.”
My chest seizes. I can’t breathe.
“Who the hell is Vlad?” Layden’s voice cuts through. “Is he your grandfather? He sounds like a real asshole.”
