“It counts when you transferred him into Zarina’s cave.” A laugh left my lips at their bickering. They almost sounded boyish, going back and forth like this.
“You can do the disappearing thing too?” I asked Kieran. Of all the times I was transported to a new place, it was always Samian who did it.
Kieran grimaced, his hand coming to his stomach, rubbing it up and down. “I can, but I don’t like to.”
“He gets sick,” Samian whispered low in my ear.
Snickering, I twisted to Samian. “Will I be able to do that?”
“Those who have enough power and strength can do it, so I don’t see why not. You’ll just have to practice it to see. But we probably shouldn’t keep the others waiting for too much longer. It’s not safe here, and it won’t be safethereif we keep Zarina waiting.”
Kieran came up behind me, putting his hand on my shoulder while he whispered a lowbastardto Samian. I held in my giggle as the world fell away from us, zipping by until we came into the council room. The others were already sitting around the table, talking quietly, though Zarina scowled with impatience. A pale-faced Daelan was weakly recounting a story that he had told us way too many times, and she wasnotimpressed.
Ivara impassively watched Zarina’s face morph from annoyance to downright indignation. There was a strain in herfeatures that I’ve never seen before, and I made a note to ask her about it later. Especially when Zarina’s eyes kept flicking to Ivara, filling with an unreadable emotion I couldn’t discern.
Samian walked over, clapping his hand on Daelan’s shoulder in support, and sat beside him. Kieran pushed me toward the table, pulling out the seat beside Samian, while taking the chair next to me. He sat beside Edris as the god watched him with narrowed eyes. Apprehension prickled inside me, but eased when I noticed the amusement that flashed across the god’s face. It almost felt as if they were friends, though learning how they put each other in near-death situations made it hard to believe they would call each other that. But there was a comfort both Edris and Kieran felt around each other.
“I guess we should start,” Samian said slowly, eyeing Zarina and Edris while bringing the conversation around us to a halt. “Should we discuss what you both have learned?”
“Yes, little soul-meander,” Edris smirked. “We can go ahead and get started. After Kieran came to Zarina, we scoured the library looking for any clues about bargains. Bargains that failed, bargains that were incomplete, so on and so on. We found a few documents that discussed bargains that had failed, usually when the one completing the bargain wasn’t strong enough to do so, which often ended in a gruesome way for them, and sometimes for both parties involved.
“However, there was one thing that we foundveryinteresting. It was a partial tale that someone decided to write down after hundreds and thousands of years of it being told by word of mouth.”
“Can you get to the fucking point, Edris?” Kieran growled. “We have shit to do and don’t have all night.”
Zarina sneered at Kieran, making a move to stand when Edris lifted his hand to stop her. “I’m not trying to waste yourprecioustime here, Kieran. This story has a point. Onethat I think you will find interesting—thatallof us will find interesting.” Edris slid his gaze to me, giving me a pointed look, emphasizing his last statement.
“Now, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted. The story was fragmented, with parts missing as it was passed down from generation to generation. However, what was written said that there was a beautiful female with eyes like golden flame, whose gleaming hair shone so bright as if it were made from pure gold. She had wings of fire and could soar through the highest of clouds.
“This beautiful maiden, however, was stolen away, kept against her will. The male who kidnapped her believed she could make him rich beyond his wildest imagination. He threatened her, forcing her into a bargain that would keep her by his side or else he would kill off every member of her family. Heartbroken and full of despair, the young maiden agreed to his bargain to protect those whom she loved. Yet, once the bargain was completed, she found the marks broken and unfinished. As time went on, the male began to spiral, losing control of his mind until one day, the mark of the bargain disappeared, and the maiden was able to escape back to her family.”
“Well?” Samian pushed. “Did it say how she was able to break the bargain?”
“Nope,” Edris shrugged. “That was the end of the story.”
“You fucking bastard,” Kieran hissed, standing from his chair to lean over the table. The muscles in his arm flexed under his weight as he planted his hands on the wooden surface. “You told us you had something useful to help us. How the hell is that story useful? We don’t even know if it’s true.”
Edris let out a heavy sigh, his eyes focusing on Vivi, waiting for her to speak. Vivi’s brows furrowed as she stared at the table, whispering silently to herself, going over the story again in hermind. Coming to a realization, she gasped, her head snapping to Edris. A slow smile rose on Edris’ lips, giving her a slight nod.
Looking between Samian and Kieran, Vivi’s thoughts came tumbling out. “The story of a female with eyes of golden flame and wings of fire!”
“And?” Kieran asked, scowling impatiently.
“She was a phoenix! There’s only one type of being that has golden eyes, hair, and fiery wings. She was a phoenix!” Vivi looked back to Edris, her eyes wide in disbelief. “Did you ask Solaris what she knew?”
“We did,” Edris exhaled, grimacing. “She confirmed it was a phoenix. She even confirmed that she knewwhothat phoenix was. But she refused to tell us anything more than that. Instead, she requested to speak to our little Sybil here.” Edris looked back at me, giving me a soft smile. “She won’t give any information unless it’s to you and to you only. We know you won’t be able to go tonight. However, we want to take you to the Seelie Court to learn more. Is that okay with you?”
Blinking, I dared to sneak a glance at Samian and Kieran, hoping I could sense what they thought about my visiting the Seelie Court.
“No,” Edris murmured to me. “It’s not up to them. It’s up to you. Onlyyoucan make that decision.”
Swallowing, I pulled on the edges of my jacket, my mark itching underneath. If I could find out how to break this bargain, I could stop Ambrose. I could help Queen Cassia and maybe survive this. I wouldn’t have to die. Warmth bloomed in my chest, a hope that I hadn’t felt in so long, reviving and growing. “I’ll go. I'll go to Solaris and speak with her.”
Edris nodded, his gaze burning with triumph. When I looked at Zarina, her chin lifted in the air, her head tilting to the side, making the charms along her horns sway.
“There is one more thing that we learned during our search,” Zarina said calmly, her tone conflicting with the emotionless look on her face. Warning bells rang in my mind at the sight. “Of all the bargains that failed, it was because of a power imbalance. Meaning, the one creating the bargain was weaker than the one making it. From the few stories we found, most suggested that it was usually some arrogant Fae attempting to trap a god, though there were one or two stories of the power imbalance being between two Fae. We found this information quite interesting. What do you think about this?”
“Don’t say anything,” Samian warned, his voice strained. My heart jumped at his sudden comment, apprehension tingling down my spine.
