I’d begged for his help and he’d answered.
The scar on my inner thigh burned. The ancient runes inked there were a constant reminder every time I invoked his name. Garrick had not seen them—I’d been careful. The darkness before the Memory Gate, the heavy furs in the temple, they’d hidden the Dark God’s true claim on me. More than witch.
Bride.
“I am well aware of the bargain we made.” It haunted me every night when I went to sleep. But I would not take it back. My worst memory was that night in the cave when Kyrelle was captured, but there was nothing I wanted to change. Until Xyta got involved.
The Dark God leaned forward on his obsidian throne, dark hair falling over his brow. “You seem to have developed afondness for bargaining with gods. Are you regretting your dealings with Xyta yet? They are not as straightforward and trustworthy as I am.”
He did not smile even as he made what could only be a twisted attempt at a joke. The most powerful being in existence did not need to indulge in such mundane human niceties.
I exhaled slowly, biting down on my tongue to keep it in check. I’d learned the first time we’d played this game—he loved to hear himself talk.
“Our bargain was simple. You killed your coven sister to protect your blood sister’s descendant. I did exactly as you asked. I spirited the human woman away to safety.”
But as usual, even in the most fraught situations, I could not keep my mouth shut. “They would have killed her if I had not asked for your help. I could not defeat them all.” I advanced on the throne as I spoke.
He was right—and I hated it.
I’d killed McKean. That was the part of the memory that Xyta wanted to compel me to change. The vengeful Deity of Sacrifice wanted me to kill Garrick instead. Not that either choice would bring back McKean, dead almost a year now.
I’d killed McKean to stop her from killing Kyrelle. But that had still left me to defend an injured woman against three other witches. And while I’d always struggled with my power, Maura, Elodie, and Aurienna had perfect control over theirs.
So, I’d begged the Dark God for help. He’d offered his terms, and I’d accepted them.
He saved Kyrelle. I was cast out from my coven for my crimes.
And when that second death finally came for me, I would spend my eternity here—in hell.
“The terms of our bargain have not changed,” he said, drumming his fingers on the arm of his throne.
“I want to make another bargain.”
The Dark God stilled.
I refused to let myself flinch as he stared down at me. His dark eyes, black as his crown of hair and the throne on which he sat and the kingdom around us, watched me for any change. He’d gifted the witches with their heightened senses. He must possess them too.
Could he hear the blood thundering through my veins? Smell my desperation?
“You wish to save your bonded.”
More than anything.
But if he could not read my mind, I was not giving him any extra insights. “If you save him from Xyta, I will… I will come to you sooner.”
His mouth twisted in a sneer. “How much sooner, Koryn? A year? A decade? A century?”
My life was the only thing I had to bargain. Maybe I should have been more careful with it. But I had to get through the Seven Gates first. If I got through the gates, I would be reunited with my coven and restored to my full power. I would be able to save Kyrelle not just for a few weeks or months, but for the rest of her natural life.
But to bargain away a decade or a century, when I did not know how many remained to me…it doesn’t matter. Not if it saved Garrick.
It mattered to the Dark God.
He stood from his throne, descending the stairs that separated us in three easy bounds. His thick brows curved slightly above his deep-set, dark eyes. He advanced until I was close enough to see the stubble on his upper lip. What a ridiculous affectation for a god.
“You will sacrifice for him, even knowing he will always be beyond your grasp?”
My stomach clenched at the threat. But if he could have undone the Lifebind, he already would have. And the terms of our bargain stated he could not bring about my second death to hurry me along to the place that waited for me at his side.
