Caius? They wanted me to lie to him again? And they clearly weren’t going to tell me why until after I’d already signed, which was a gamble.
“I get access to my family and information on ending their contracts, while you get my secrecy and my lies.” I summed it up out loud, turning from the contract to meet Soren’s gaze.
He nodded.
Jaw tightening, I stiffened my spine. “I’m going to need to hear you say it.”
“That’s correct. The contract covers those four things.”
“And nothing else,” I challenged.
With a dip of his chin, he agreed softly. “Nothing else.”
Agreeing to this was a lot harder than the first time, when I hadn’t had any history with the prince, before I’d learned how much we had in common, and especially before he’d gone out of his way to help me.
But my family was at stake.
Soren’s name was already signed in blood, and he’d left a line for me right beside it.
There was only one catch I could find. “If I don’t say the lie right, you won’t take me to the burrow?”
At least, not without another deal, I added silently.
“Is that a deal-breaker?” Soren asked with an unreadable expression.
I considered. They’d tell me how to break my family out of the contracts as soon as I signed. That alone made this deal worthwhile... probably.
But no matter what the paper and ink said, my gut whispered that the deal tipped in their favor. “I think it should work both ways,” I said as an idea came to me. “If we don’t find my family at this solstice thing, then I don’t have to keep your secrets.”
When Gwen frowned and sat up straighter, I added, “Otherwise, there’s no incentive for you to really try.”
“False,” Gwen argued immediately. “There’s the contract’s magic—”
“I will add it.” Soren’s soft voice overrode her protests, and he held out a hand for the pen, which I handed over, then scrawled a quick line in cursive.
After reviewing his addition, I blew out a breath. “Okay. I’ll sign.”
This time, Soren gave me that strange bloodsucking pen.
I poked a different finger this time—the other still stung—and it sucked a dot of my blood inside.
Carefully, I signed my full name.
“There.” I held out both paper and pen, which Soren accepted with another strangely disappointed expression... almost like he wished I’d said no.
“Now you can tell me what’s going on.”
“Some of it, at least.” Lore winked at me.
“Could someone fill her in?” Soren sounded weary. To me, he added, “Consider this my permission to talk about it with anyone in this room.”
Julian shifted forward, bright blue eyes lighting up. He could pose for a photoshoot with those looks, but for once, his demeanor changed from flirtatious to serious. “We’re stealing the humans away from the fae who took them.”
