And perhaps he always would.
The air grew warmer the closer we got to the forge. Thenarrow alley deposited us directly in front of Miller’s smithy, the air sweltering and the street echoing with the sounds of clanging metal.
Theron made to step forward, then suddenly stiffened, his arms going rigid at his sides.
“What is it?” I glanced up and down the street, expecting to find soldiers. But it was empty.
When I looked at Theron, his head was thrown back, the tendons along his neck standing out. With a loud shudder, he fell backward into me. I barely caught him, resting against the brick wall for support.
“Theron?” I grunted from his weight, then eased him to the ground so I could get a better look at him.
I crouched in front of him, and my heart dropped like a stone.
His eyes were all black. His mouth opened wide as he inhaled a rattling gasp. I had seen this before.
He was being summoned by Calista.
I shook his shoulders. “Snap out of it, hunter. Stay with me.”
He made a choking sound, like he couldn’t get enough air.
I slapped him hard across the face and shook him again. “Wake up! You have to fight it, Theron!”
In a flash, his arm shot out, his hand aiming for my throat. Just before he touched me, he cried out in pain, his back arching as he twisted violently away from me. His head hit the brick wall behind him, and he let out a pained groan.
“Shivering bones,” I muttered, drawing closer to him. His eyes were closed, his brows creased in anguish. I put my hands on his cheeks, then lifted one of his eyelids.
His eyes were back to normal. He jerked away from mygrasp, blinking rapidly, his breaths sharp and ragged. “Eira. What… What…” He winced, bringing a hand to his head.
“It was Calista,” I said grimly. “She’s using your blood to call on you.”
Theron stared at me, his face draining of color. “Shit.Shit.Eira, she’ll order me to kill you. And?—”
“And if you try, the fae bargain will take your life,” I said quietly.
Theron shook his head, scrambling to his feet. He stumbled, leaning against the wall with another groan. “I… I have to get out of here. I have to get away from you.”
I grabbed his shoulders before he could stagger off somewhere. “What are you doing?”
“Eira, you aren’t safe!”
I snorted. “When am I ever?”
“If she commands me to do something to you, Ihaveto do it.” His voice was tortured, and the haunted look in his eyes told me he’d done unspeakable things under Calista’s influence. “I don’t know which one is stronger, her blood magic or our fae bargain. But I don’t want to find out. You have to let me go.”
I took a shaky breath and squeezed his shoulders. “There might be another way.”
His brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“I watched Calista for years. Sometimes she didn’t even know I was there. And there is one thing that makes her hold on someone a bit less potent.”
His gaze turned wary. “And what is that?”
“Loss of blood.”
My eyes narrowedat the princess, every alarm bell ringing through my body. “How much blood loss?”
Her face twisted in an apologetic grimace, and that was all I needed to know.
