She doubted it was the right one, but it was the one that could help her. She feared she wouldn't get another chance. She was ready to risk it all even if it did not go as she wanted and would regret this decision later. After all, sometimes to get something – you have to lose something first.
“So what is my part of the deal?” Her brows lifted.
“There will be a time and place to answer your questions. But it won’t be now,” Dante uttered calmly.
“Great, and you want me to trust you?”
A sigh. “I want to break a curse related to the thing on my face. Is that enough for you to trust?”
Right, the scarf on his face. Violette thought it might just be a fashion preference.
“Barely, but better than nothing.” She played it cool, even if she didn’t appear this way.
“Anyway,” his back straightened, “I don't believe words. I don't think you do either.”
“And what do you want? To sign a contract with blood?” She sneered but when her eyes met his, she realized he might consider it.
“I want to seal our deal with magic. I think it's not a problem for you,wizards?”
Violette didn't like this ideabut, she must admit – it was fair enough. He wanted to be sure she wouldn't leave him the moment she got the cure, and she could understand that.
“Fine,” she breathed, folding her hands together. “How exactly?”
“Ever heard about Grotte de La Foi?”
Her eyes shone brighter, brows raised in intrigue. “Cave of Faith and Disbelief?”
“Some called it this way.” He raised his gaze from the table to her face, the corners of his eyes lifted in an enigmatic manner. “Do you know why?”
“It connects to an old ballad about trust,” she commented skeptically. “Two allies who didn't trust each other made a deal in this cave. Every word said there becomes an unbreakable promise. Is that what you want?”
He tilted his head to the side like it was an obvious answer.
She didn't remember how this ballad ended, it was an old story she heard in history class but she couldn't recall what happens if you break a promise. Well, she wasn't thinking about breaking it, so it wasn't relevant. The worst could be if he asked for a vow sealed by blood – the worst type of magic as it could tie you to something you wouldn't like in the future. Everyone knew it was better to not bind with any blood spells.
By that, there was nothing bad in making a promise in a magic cave. Though, if she was remembering right, something happenedto this place or the magic inside it, and it was no longer there.
She voiced this thought aloud, “Didn’t something happen to the cave?”
“Oh, not every story tells you the truth, Little Witch.”
“That was not necessary,” a hint of reproach crept into her voice.
“It's not magic inside the cave that ties promises,” he voiced before abruptly changing the topic of the conversation. “Go home, tell your dad some story about you having to leave and meet me at midnight at the end of Sorcery Road, near Momentary Lane. We'll start our little adventure from there.”
“At midnight?” A wrinkle formed between her brows. “Are we traveling at night?”
“Is that problem for you? Scared of the dark?” His eyes flashed for a brittle moment, challenging her.
“I don't think traveling at night with a stranger is a good idea,” she insisted.
“Then, making a deal with a stranger is an even worse one, don't you think so?”
“Fine, so it’s midnight, Fairy Godmother,” she drawled bitterly.
The corner of his mouth turned up before he disappeared without a trace.
Violette stared at the closed door for some time after. Too many thoughts were flying aroundand wrapping her in. The suspense lodged inside her chest. What had she done?
