“Fine,” she grudgingly agreed.What are you doing, Sunshine?But it was too late to back out now. “But I will add a termination point of twenty-five years to this clause because I cannot pledge myself to unlawful protection duty for the rest of eternity.”
“Two hundred years.”
“Preposterous. Seventy-five.”
“One hundred fifty.”
“One hundred.”
“Fine. One hundred years.” He tilted his head from side to side in a stretch, and her gaze fixed on the tendons in his neck. She hadn’t thought necks could be attractive, but his undoubtedly was.How odd.
“But the time limit applies only to this,” he added. “The rest of the contract is indefinitely binding. You can’t betray us, try to kill us, or ask someone else to kill us—for the rest of time.”
By the Spheres, I am a fool.She should not be agreeing to this. No one knew what the future held.
But what option did she have? After three weeks of observation, her conscience would not let her act in the way she should. If the demon realized this and called her bluff, she would lose everything. Her only chance was to secure his assistance now before he realized her for the fraud she was.
“Very well,” she said, swallowing hard. “But let me also clarify that this contract works in reverse. From now for the rest of time, you shall not attempt to kill or imprison me nor enlist another to do so. You shall not speak of our association to anyone, including your brothers, and you shall not make any attempt to impart information through hints or uncharacteristic actions.
“Fine. But let’s add an out. If we both agree to end the contract for whatever reason, we can.”
“Agreed.” Honestly, that made her feel better too. “But again, consent must be given free of duress and manipulation. If there is any misunderstanding for either party, it shall not count as such.”
His eyes glinted with some kind of satisfaction. “Agreed.”
Her heart jumped at that look; she didn’t trust it one bit. But she couldn’t think of a single way to find a loophole from that clause. Once again, he had far more to lose than her.
Or so he believed.
And that continued belief was essential. Every second she wasted in negotiation was another second he could realize her farce and turn the tables.
In the end, she had no choice but to relent. “Then let us bind the contract and be done.”
A bound contract was unbreakable. Both parties were physically incapable of breaking their vows. She had no desire to trap herself so irreparably, but it was the only way to guarantee they couldn’t turn on each other.
Raum climbed to his feet, legs steady beneath him, gaze sharp. The effects of her blood had worn off completely after the first hour. She’d never seen such a thing before and wasn’t sure what to make of it.
He lifted his right hand, and she watched sharp talons grow from his fingertips, much like those on a bird. Her eyes widened at the sight, and she fought to disguise her intrigue. Only the highest ranks of angels could take multiple forms, and even if Raum was shifting into a beast of the underworld, there was a certain beauty in his strangeness.
Each of his fingers ended in a curved black claw, and his knuckles were gnarled and rough. His leathery skin, scaled like that of a reptile, was a shiny obsidian that reflected the light up to his elbow where it transitioned back to the dark bronze of his human skin.
Holding out his other, still-human palm, he slashed his foreclaw across it, and blood welled and dripped to the floor.
Lifting his gaze, he met her eyes and said, “On my own blood, I vow it.”
Nodding once, Sunshine finally rose from her chair and stretched her stiff limbs. She flashed into the bedroom closet where she’d stashed her weapons and retrieved a dagger in a leather thigh holster. Returning to the main room, she unsheathed the blade, cut her own palm similarly, and repeated the vow.
“On my own blood, I vow it.”
Empyrean, Sheolic, or Temporal, a blood vow was a blood vow. The magic worked equally for any being foolish enough to make use of it.
Their promise hung heavily in the air until the binding sank into their skin and crystallized. It was done, and there was no turning back.
She could only hope she hadn’t just made the biggest mistake of her immortal life.
* * *
Safely ensconcedin his underworld lair, the Necromancer jolted upright in bed, his skin slick with cold sweat, his chest heaving.
