Chapter 46

W ith a dull crack, the tip of my boot hit Skrain's jaw, and his head snapped sideways. My stomach jumped as an ache built in the back of my throat, but I forced myself to laugh.

Even on his knees, bruises covering his face, shackles I enchanted binding his magic and his wrists, Skrain was imposing. Strength in the stiff set of his shoulders. Defiance in the lift of his chin as he looked up at me, the setting sun behind him throwing his shadow at my feet. And—only for me to see—a glimmer of another emotion in his eyes, for the fraction of a heartbeat, fast enough to miss.

Affectionate pride. Reassurance.

The best way to make it look real is for it to be real, Kerys. Don't worry. I can take it , he'd whispered during the ride here. Just remember how mad you were when you thought I killed you. Channel that contempt, and you'll do fine.

How awfully right Skrain was. With the cuffs dulling his magic, he wouldn't be able to detect Aculeus as accurately, and we had to assume he might have already been watching.

The stud in his forked tongue glistened as he licked a trickle of dark green blood from the corner of his lips.

"Didn't know you were into dishing out the pain instead of receiving it." He smirked at me. "Actually, I didn't think this was what you had in mind when you brought me out here to the destroyed mansion. What did you call it? An especially naughty roleplay ? And Emily joining us now? Pah, I never would have guessed you were after a threesome."

"Disgusting," Emily said, stepping to my side.

"If you two can play practical jokes on me, I'm allowed an amusing comment or two," Skrain cut in, the grin immovably carved into his face. "I'm taking it like a good sport, aren't I?"

He played clueless as we intended. For now, he was meant to act as if he considered all of this an outrageous prank.

Emily grimaced and spat on the roof tiles right in front of him. Her saliva landed on a faded line of murky blood, left over from the memory-retrieval ritual we performed weeks ago.

I hadn't seen it myself, but Emily assured me she had drawn the binding circle this morning while Skrain called on Aculeus, distracting him with a fake discussion on taking down a budding business rival in the capital.

Our assumption held true, the old ritual site made for an ideal cover, masking the spell signature of the new one a little further toward the edge of the roof. If I didn't know what I was looking for, I wouldn't have noticed the subtle resonance of power from here.

We could only hope that Aculeus wouldn't notice it, either.

My chest squeezed as I recalled our preparations in her laboratory late last night, Skrain standing guard. It seemed like eons ago.

A flurry of power had surged from Emily as she cut runes into her left palm, then mine, chanting under her breath. I remembered the sting as her obsidian ritual blade split my flesh and I clenched my teeth so hard I feared they might crack. When she brought our hands together, mixing my blood with hers, heat burned through me.

A bloodlinked soul covenant, she called it.

I'm basically your sister now , she'd said with a cheerful grin. Soul sister .

I glanced down at my left hand, flexing. There was no trace of a scar, courtesy of Emily's hemomancy knitting my wound together. Aculeus would be none the wiser, she assured me. Her rune across the back of my neck already put her magical signature on me, and the demon knew about that.

While my hand was healing, she had mixed an odd, foul-smelling concoction. Every ingredient she pulled from the shelves and dropped into a pot simmering above a small fireplace was more questionable than the last.

Yellow bones. Scraps of something meaty. Bunches of coarse, red twine, maybe hair.

The thought almost made me gag. I didn't want to know.

At least I didn't have to drink it, only suffer the sting of a needle in the bend of my elbow as she injected me with the repulsive serum.

Emily laid a hand on my shoulder, her casual touch helping me to regain my focus. "I don't know how you endured fucking this cretin," she said, grimacing. "Working for him was bad. But sharing his bed? Gods, no! I couldn't take enough baths to wash off that taint."

The spark of pure malice in her iron gaze took me off guard, every word dripping with hate like a blade coated in poison. She played the role of evil co-conspirator just as easily as she played the doe-eyed, giggling admirer in the theater.

I gave an indifferent shrug. "Sometimes, when victory is out of reach, you have to settle for revenge. And this moment was worth going along with his sick desires."

"Well, I'd call this more of a delayed victory ," Emily said, snickering brightly. "After all, when Skrain is gone, we'll both be rich. And once I've gotten my reward, I'll also remove that rune from the back of your neck. Lucky for you, the proximity spell is bound to his magic, his soul, so you can just carry around the stone until then. Can you imagine having to drag around his rotting corpse?" Emily asked with a humorous lilt, giving my arm two squeezes.

My pulse skipped.

The sign for I'm ready .

"Speaking of delays, I'm done with him." I rolled my eyes. "Let's get this over with."

"And I'm done with this little game of yours," Skrain chimed in, his smirk finally slipping as he sighed. "We've all had a good laugh and made fun of mean old Skrain. You wanted to give me a taste of my own medicine, humiliate me, make me hurt. I understand the curiosity. But I've tolerated this long enough, and I want you to unbind me right now."

As we planned, I ignored his demand and reached into my pocket, my fingers brushing along the smooth surface of the soulstone. I took out a bundle of gauze, unwrapping layer after layer after layer, until I reached a square of thick felt. Stuck in it, sharp side first, was the thorn Aculeus had given me. Hands shaking, I pulled it free, discarding the rest.

With my life, Skrain's life, and Emily's life on the line, the black spike somehow looked bigger. Sharper. Longer.

I gritted my teeth against the onslaught of anxiety lashing my insides.

Before I could overthink it, before I let all those terrifying possibilities of failure get to my head, I pressed the thorn to the tip of my index finger.

A drop of red pearled from the tiny puncture.

At first, I thought the undulating mass of darkness appearing at the edge of the roof was a swarm of insects, but then it took shape.

Long arms, falling nearly to the ground. Spindly legs. Hunched shoulders and a face of black nothingness.

"Well, well, Keryssa. I admit I had my suspicions; thought you wouldn't follow through … but what a wonderful present this is! It's even gift-wrapped," Aculeus said, hissing laughter accentuating the last word as he approached. "Seems like you already had some fun of your own with Skrain. Who knew you were powerful enough to subdue him by yourself?"

I gestured at Emily, who gave the demon a cheeky wave. "I had a little help," I said, bringing up the carefully prepared excuse for her presence.

"Skrain's blood witch. Interesting," Aculeus snarled. "And here I thought you were loyal to your Xar'vathi master."

"Are you kidding me?" Emily scoffed. "I was just waiting for the right moment to get what I'm owed. And when Kerys asked me for assistance to enchant the shackles with Skrain's concentrated blood, it was the perfect opportunity. She said we'll split his fortune 60-40. Good enough for me."

I let out a scornful laugh. "And luring the idiot here was too easy. He thought it was some sort of fetish play when I put the shackles on him, and once he realized what was actually happening, it was too late."

Skrain got to his feet, scowling. "I should have known you had something to do with this crass joke, Aculeus!"

The demon snickered. "I wouldn't miss this spectacle for the world, and soon you'll realize this is no jest. Soon, you'll be calling me master."

In a flurry of rage, ponytail flying, Skrain spun around to face the demon fully. "I'd rather fucking die than submit to you!" he yelled, but hidden behind his back, out of Aculeus's view, he wiggled his fingers rhythmically.

The second sign.

An invisible noose tightened around my neck, and my breath caught.

I concentrated on the cuffs. As the one who had cast the enchantment, weakening the spell was a trivial task, and with the residual magic from the old ritual circle, Aculeus wouldn't be able to sense such a small surge.

But I knew what came next, and that part had nauseous acid burning my throat.