It stops me in my tracks.
She blinks hard and turns her head.
I cave. "Okay. Sorry. I get it. I'll be serious."
She looks at me. "Then tell me what it means?"
I don't hesitate. I'm not new to the world of loyalty. "I assume it means that once you're part of the Underworld, there's no getting out. Anyone who dares be disloyal pays by death."
She nods and smiles. "Good."
"Told you I had a brain," I tease.
She cracks a smile. "The next one will be harder for you to comprehend."
"Why is that?" I ask.
Valentina relays, "Speak little. See everything. A silent tongue lives longer. A careless tongue feeds the grave."
"You're wrong. I know all about taking secrets to the grave," I boast.
"Why do I find that hard to believe?" she questions.
"I'm not a rat," I hurl.
She holds her hands in the air. "I didn't say that."
"Didn't you?"
"No. I just meant you talk a lot."
"Joking around has nothing to do with knowing when to keep your mouth shut. I'm not a rat now and never will be. And I know how to observe others," I insist.
She sits straighter. "Okay. Good."
I glare at her.
She clears her throat. "Number three. Repeat after me. A life taken is a debt paid. But a life spared is a chain placed. Mercy binds the hand that offers it."
I recite, "A life taken is a debt paid. But a life spared is a chain placed. Mercy binds the hand that offers it."
She presses, "And what does it mean?"
"It means—" I freeze, except for my stomach flipping.
Valentina insists, "Tell me what it means, Brax."
The chill resumes in my spine. I meet her eye. "It means I just placed a chain around Sean, and the Underworld isn't going to show him any mercy."
She gives me a knowing look. "That's right. So now do you understand why this isn't a joke?"
I say nothing, feeling a dread pour over me like nothing I've ever felt before.
3
Valentina
Three hours have passed since we got trapped in this inferno, and it's wearing on me. Every breath feels like the air could have been scraped from the sun itself. The fireplace hasn't dimmed once. If anything, the flames blaze hotter, even showing blue at times.
