I let out a breath, my shoulders sagging in relief. He was okay.
Of course, he was. “Don’t you dare kill him.”
Grayson frowned down at the agent who was staring down the barrel of his gun. “Don’t worry. I’m not allowed to shoot anymore agents,” he grumbled, then swiftly struck the man across the head. The agent collapsed to the floor.
I checked to see if the agent I had hit was still breathing then gently removed Grayson’s knife from his arm, wiping the blood off the blade with his shirt. “Don’t forget your emotional support knife.” I handed it to Grayson.
“It’s yours, actually.” He smiled down at it, then pushed it back into his tactical belt.
“Mine?”
Grayson peered out the door, gripped my hand and led me into a stairwell. “You never even recognised it.”
We bounded up the stairs. “What do you mean?” Was he planning on going all the way to the roof? That was six flights of stairs!
“Faster, Princess. Or they will catch up to us.” Grayson gave a quick glance downwards.
I looked down too, and picked up my pace, my heart beating frantically against my ribs. About four levels down were a swarm of agents, making their way up towards us.
“You were at the Opera with the Andersons. Charles was talking business with another man in the hallway. You looked so adorably bored listening to their pompous conversation. You remember that?” Grayson asked in a hush tone, grinning like there wasn’t a truckload of agents on our tail.
I snorted an incredulous laugh. “Of course, you were there.”
He winked at me as we turned the corner of another flight of stairs and my stomach fluttered. “The man Charles was talking to had a little girl.”
“I remember. I made her a flower crown from the flower arrangement in the hallway, while we waited.” I panted softly.
We made it to the top. Grayson pushed the fire alarm button next to the door, and the sirens started blaring again. The door popped open. We stepped onto the roof.
Grayson closed the door behind us, then grabbed a thick iron pipe, probably left there by him, and jammed it into the doorhandle. He pushed at the door a few times, making sure it stayed secure. “You used the knife to cut some of the stems. Then you forgot it on the bench. Why did you carry a knife with you, anyway?” He looked at me curiously, like it had bothered him for years.
I laughed into the open air, my breath creating a cloud around me. I suddenly felt light, like I might float into the air if it wasn’t for Grayson’s grasp on my hand. “I always carried one with me. To take cuttings if I saw a plant I liked. You kept it?”
We came to a stop at the edge of the building. “It’s perfectly balanced. And it always brought me luck.” He tugged at a strand of my hair blowing in the breeze.
“That’s surprising. Stealing from a witch is usuallybadluck,” I teased.
He dropped his forehead to mine, smiling from ear to ear. “Not if I was destined to pay her back with my soul.”
My stomach fluttered again. Tentatively, I reached up and touched him. I trailed my hand up his torso, until it rested over his heart. I felt the outline of Aegis pinned underneath his shirt. That made me smile, my heart warming. He covered my hand with his, holding me there.
“I missed you, little witch. It was hell without you,” he breathed.
“Don’t you see yet, darling? Thisishell.”His last words to me in Volkov’s office, echoed in my mind. How had I missed it? It was on his face before he’d buried it under that cruel mask—the truth disguised as a taunt.
“Don’t youeverleave me again, Grayson Varon,” I choked out, shoving at his chest, my chin trembling with the helplessness I felt. Nothing could stop him from doing it again. How could I ever trust him again? I should be running. As far away as I could possibly get from him to save my battered heart. It wasn’t strong enough to lose him twice.
The door to the roof rattled, but Grayson paid it no mind. He plucked his knife from his belt and sliced it across his hand. He jerked my hand up and before I could object, he sliced the knife through my palm. He wrapped his hand around mine, pressing our two bleeding palms together.
He grabbed my jaw with his other hand, his fingers trembling as his eyes bored into mine. “A blood oath then.”
Something between a sob and a laugh escaped my throat. “With a witch?” I taunted through the tears.
One side of his mouth quirked up. “I’m well aware of the gravity of it, Ved’ma.”
“You better be. The gods will rip you to shreds if you break it.”
His hand tightened around mine. “Together or death.”
