To be honest, I was reveling in it too.
He snapped his eyes open and cut his gaze to the seer, his brows slamming down as his smile slipped into a frown. “What did you do?”
“I saved you both, as she asked.” She carried the mugs to the sink and set them down. “It was the only way.”
His hands curled into fists at his sides, and he tightened them, staring daggers into her back as she washed the dishes. Neither of them spoke, but the tension between them grew thicker than my great-grandma’s infamous oatmeal.
I cleared my throat. “What exactly was in the potion you made me drink?”
She set the mugs on a shelf and turned around. “You’re a powerful witch. You tell me.”
“I tasted dandelion and maybe some myrrh. Then there was something sweet and something metallic that I can’t name.”
“Detoxification and antiseptic. Very good.” She nodded her appreciation. “The sweetness was from the berries of stygian bramble. They aid in psychic connections.”
“And the metallic?” Discord asked, his jaw tight.
She steepled her fingers. “Why do you ask questions to which you already know the answers?”
He closed his eyes for a long blink and sighed. “The metallic taste came from my blood. Our bond is now complete. We’re inseparable.”
My mouth dropped open. “What?”
“It was the only way,” she said again.
“You made me drink his blood? Demon blood?” My head shook of its own volition, as if every cell in my body refused to accept the information. “No. No, no, no. What do you mean inseparable? How am I…? Demon blood drives mortals insane.”
“Not when you’re already connected by a blood bond,” the seer said.
I opened and closed my mouth a few times, trying to wrap my mind around it. “So I’m not going to lose my mind?”
She laughed. “You summoned a prince through a blood ritual, only to vanquish him so you could get into Hell. That ship has sailed, child.”
“It isn’t funny.” I crossed my arms. Powerful ancient being or not, she didn’t get to mock me…even if she was right.
The seer sighed. “Sit down. Both of you.”
I looked at Discord, and he nodded before pulling out a chair for me. He dragged another around the table to sit catty-corner, and the seer took the cauldron from the fire and set it in the center before pulling up another chair.
“When the poison entered your bloodstream,” she said as she sprinkled dried herbs into the pot, “Discord attempted to heal you through the connection you forged when you summoned him.”
I nodded. “Like he has done before. Why didn’t it work this time?”
“The poison the archer used is lethal, even for royalty. The stronger the being, the faster it works. When Discord shared himself with you, it grabbed on to his essence and seeped into his psyche. The actual poison never made it into his bloodstream, but the effects were the same because of your bond.”
“So the whole frostbite thing, him not being able to move, was some kind of psychosomatic thing?” I backhanded him on the shoulder. “You made me drag you all the way here when it wasn’t even real?”
He narrowed his eyes. “It was very real.”
“It was indeed real to him.” She stirred the pot and tapped the spoon on the rim before setting it on the table. “So real, in fact, that had you not ingested his blood, it would have killed him. Then you would have died, and I would not have held up my end of the bargain.”
She leaned forward, folding her arms on the table. “So, I had to do everything within my power to save you, even if that meant completing your blood bond without your consent. I always deliver what I promise.”
I drummed my fingers on the table, contemplating what she’d said. We already had a blood bond, thanks to my accident. Surely another little blood exchange wasn’t that big of a deal, right? It didn’t mean I was doomed to be his beck and call girl for all eternity… I hoped. Wait…
“But according to Discord, I overpaid you, right? You still owe me a debt.”
She leaned back in her chair, gesturing to the cauldron. “Yes. What would you like to see?”
