Loathed to cause her more discomfort, I waved a hand. “I believe you.” I wasn’t a complete bastard, after all. “Even so, how many of Hathor’s supposed symbols have we chased over the years? Not a single one of them led to a cure.”
“This one is real.”He pounded his tail against the tile.“You think I cannot tell the difference? When she touched me—”
“She touched you?” If so, she must truly be crazed. Meaning Alaric had brought a filthy, dying, potentially insane woman into our refuge. And yet he claimed I was the irresponsible one.
“Yes.”He bared his monstrous teeth.“I felt something. Some strange magic between us.”
“That’s impossible,” I scoffed. “The Puritans have no magic.”
“And yet she does. That is why it’s vital that she survives.”
Myrna harrumphed. “If Hathor marked this child, best to leave her life in the goddess’s hands. Only a fool would interfere in her plans.”
I nodded my agreement. “None are safe from her vengeance.”
Shadows darkened his brow, his steely gaze hardening.“You realize that Hathor, in all her divine wisdom, would let this girl die. Still, She is the deity they all worship,”Alaric said with a sneer.“While the goddess refuses to help, there is one solution that is within my power.”
The appraising glance he gave me set my teeth on edge. “I have a feeling I’m not going to like this.”
“You will give her your flame.”
My head snapped around. “You can’t be serious.”
“It’s the only way. She must live.”
A cold, nauseating dread filled me, turning my blood to slurry. “No.” I refused to share a piece of my soul, of that unique part of me that made me exceptional, with a dung-flinging banshee.
“You dare to deny me?”His nostrils flared, thick brow furrowing.
“Flark, yes, I dare.” I flashed sharpened teeth, my spine prickling my back. “You’d have me bind myself to a complete stranger? With a stray you’ve dragged off the streets?” My voice rose with each word. “Sharing one’s flame with another is a sacred rite. An intimate bond only performed with a mate. What you’re asking, what you’redemanding, is sacrilege.”
Myrna’s grating voice interrupted. “It’s a sacrilege, alright. One I’ll not take part in. Hathor won’t take kindly to your meddling in this girl’s fate. I for one don’t want to be here when she strikes.” The trogg turned in a huff, thick sandals slapping the floor as she fled the room.
Alaric’s jaw clenched, frustration twisting his craggyfeatures.“I’d do it myself if I didn’t think I would turn her to ash in the process.”
Proving the injured woman’s insanity was contagious. “You’d force a bond with an unconscious woman who isn’t even capable of choosing for herself?”
“If it means breaking my curse, then yes.”His gaze bore into mine, fierce and unyielding.“And so will you. Or must I remind you of the oath you swore to me?”
I raked a hand through my dark hair, pacing. “Over the last thousand years, I have served you, doing my utmost to fulfill that oath. Together, we have scoured every corner of this forsaken realm, hunting for a cure. Tracked down every magical potion. Tromped through bug-infested forests, sailed turbulent seas, hiked endless deserts. I have dug up, traded, and stolen countless artifacts all in the name of making you whole.”
“It’s no favor you’ve done me, but your duty,”he growled, his scaled frame looming over me.“Don’t pretend otherwise.”
Ungrateful prick. Damn him. Did he want me to beg? I was almost desperate enough to try. “I’m asking you. Do not make me do this. Don’t place another’s life in my hands.” Alaric’s already weighed too heavily. I couldn’t bear the burden of another, especially not some magic-hating Puritan.
He sneered, shaking his head.“All these years, and your inability to see beyond your own selfish desires continues to astound me.”
Selfish?Myinability? The accusation struck like a spike to the jaw, knocking me speechless.
“Do it now,”he commanded with a searing punch of his alpha flame, hammering against my freewill, suffocating my independence.
An alpha’s command—the one force I couldn’t fight. To ignore that order would have me curled in a ball, frothing at the mouth as agony consumed me. Fury and helplessness surged in equal measure, my shoulders heaving with the effort to breathe.
“Flark you, Alaric,” I spat, teeth bared. “I’ll see you in Hades for this.”
“We both know I’m already there.”His tone turned chilly.
“Fine then,” I snarled, fighting the panic squeezing my lungs. “Since this is your will and not mine, consider heryourproblem when she wakes.”
