Page 375 of Eight of Swords, Part Two

Riley gestures towards her. ‘By all means.’

Blaire looks at her sister. ‘I suspect that the affliction he has carried is a weakened version of a very old spell from the book.’

Lee narrows her eyes thoughtfully. ‘The Vassal Writ?’

‘I think so.’

‘What’s that?’ Finn asks with evident interest.

‘The Vassal Writ is an ancient form of compelled ownership. Its earliest known form was used by the armies of old Rome. Captives and unwilling conscripts were named, blooded and bound by oath before being marched into service. The Writ made desertion and disobedience physically impossible,’ Lee explains. ‘Over time, it evolved from a military binding into a means of occupation, allowing the master to enter the vassal’s dreams and search their memories, but it fell into disuse outside of the hereditary elite.’

Blaire nods. ‘Resonyx is the elevated ideal of the Writ, but Penhalyx had not yet perfected it when he hired Lachlan.’

‘You knew this?’ Vasily asks Blaire quietly, a dent between his eyes.

‘Céliane and I did not possess the book until the night I fled the Estate with you. Before we left, I broke into Penhalyx’s office and took what I could. Once I had time to study it, I understood the signs in retrospect, but I always hoped I was wrong.’ Blaire looks at the floating helix. ‘One can never truly know another person outside of their skin.’

‘Well, the good news,’ Lee says, ‘is that, unlike a Death Knot, it can be reliably broken without killing the host.’

‘And the bad news?’ Kade asks.

‘It requires two Wildwanes to perform the breaking, and I cannot do it alone,’ she says, glancing at Riley, who turns to stone in the moment.

Kade can’t help but think he doesn’t like being referred to that way, even peripherally.

‘I can’t help.’

‘You can.’

‘What does it entail?’

‘I will explain upstairs. We should do it in your room.’

His jaw working, Riley swallows his argument and nods. ‘Boys, let’s move on to the threat board. If Roman gave Penhalyx our location, we need to assume he intends to use it. I want everything ready when this is done.’

‘Heard.’ Finn dismisses the blood results. The floating helix collapses and is replaced by a revolving schematic of the Tower.

Cole says, ‘We’ve had movement building outside the Varrow boundary since sunrise.’

The door opens behind them.

‘Then assume an assault before nightfall,’ Lachlan adds, coming inside. ‘And assume they know every conventional way through your walls.’

Kade smiles despite himself. ‘Hey.’

Lachlan returns it, coming to his side and delivering one of those neat little kisses again. Kade fights with all he has to contain the warm blood spreading like a water stain through his cheeks.

‘Aww,’ Vasily observes cheerfully. ‘Is like old times.’

‘You look gorgeous, Silly,’ Lachlan says, settling by Kade’s side.

‘I thought today was a look nice day.’

‘What did I miss?’

‘We think we can break Penhalyx’s hold over you,’ Lee tells him. ‘It will be extremely painful, but—’

‘Let’s do it right now, then. I can’t be involved in anything if there’s even a slight chance he’ll get wind of it.’