“Oslo was a man of great strength.” Baris stands, the drawing bare to all of us. “I knew him well. I told the royals of a son who would break the world for love.” His kind eyes look at me and I shift, uncomfortable. “Oslo never lost control, not because of the mating bond, but because he loved all of you. He kept a tight hold on the curse, so he may protect you from Zelos.”
Fee looks away, wiping her cheek angrily.
Layla comes to my shoulder, and points to a small corner. It’s hard to read, almost jotted down in a hurry. “Turn the page.”
On the back side, there seems to be more notes, but Layla sees something we don’t. “She’s hidden something.”
“She has?” I tilt the book, catching the fire to see better. A shimmer reflects the light and I gasp. “It’s spelled. Can you read it?”
Nodding, Layla has me lay the book out so she can scan the pages.
“She’s remarkable,” Reid mumbles. Fee and I both share a surprised look. I think that’s the first time Reid has ever said that about a woman.
Later.
“It’s an attachment spell,” she declares. “That combined with the love spell will possess the recipient. Like a bond.” She looks up, biting her lip. “But it can be fatal.”
“Fatal?” I rush forward, but still can’t see the writing. “Fatal, how?”
Layla wrings her hands together. “If it goes too long, he will wither away.”
Fenrir knew he was dying. That’s why he asked for mercy. She must have tried it on him first, to see if it would work on Kaden.
Mal catches my eye. He understands too. It doesn’t alleviate the guilt.
“She couldn’t bond with him, so she forced a magical one on him.” Fee shakes her head, sneering. “Can we kill her now?”
Layla shrugs. “I’m not sure. If we kill her without breaking the bond first, we may kill the king.”
“And Max too,” Baris reminds us. “That’s not an option.”
“Then how do we break the bond?”
The half-goddess goes back to the book, reading further. Zeke rushes through the entrance, grasping a small white paper in his gloved hand. Thankfully most were out patrolling when we were taken and Baris was able to round them up before they returned to the palace.
Zeke bows to me, then the siblings, handing me the note. “Correspondence from the Lords of the Shadowlands, Your Majesty.”
There isn’t much written and my stomach drops. “Godsdammit.”
“What?” Fee asks, moving to read over my shoulder. She curses softly.
“Griffin’s scouts have been found on the edge of our kingdom,” I tell the group. “Which means he’s set his eyes on the Black Palace.”
Kaden was right. Griffin used the In-Between as a way to gauge a resistance. He had a clue we were in the area and once we confirmed it, he turned his sights back to the Shadowlands.
“I’ve found it!” Layla smiles wide and it’s as if the moon has reached its peak. Then it falls and her light dims. “Oh no.”
“What?”
She glances to my father, then to me, concerned. “It says: ‘Only the most pure will know how to break the bond.’ I’m not sure what that means.”
My breaths come in short pants, unable to find relief. The back of my neck grows damp and my hands sweat.
The most pure.Purification. The purification ritual.
Only I know what needs to happen.
“Max?” Fee searches my face, worry clouding her gaze. “Max, what’s wrong?”
