Page 33 of Truthfinder’s Promise

“Why not?”

“I’ve never been tempted to tell any non-Shifters we exist before.”

“Are the risks equal to both of us? Does one party have an advantage over the other?”

Did she hang out with lawyers or something? “The risks are equal, and no.”

“What happens if one of us fails to uphold our end of the bargain?”

“The oath will physically prevent you from speaking about Shifters to anyone who doesn’t already know about us. As to our mutual promise to accept each others’ people as our own, as long as we never deny the connection, it’s nothing to worry about.”

“And if we do deny it for some reason?”

“I honestly don’t know. I’ve never seen it broken.”

He could see her dislike of that answer on her face. Honestly, he couldn’t blame her. But she let it go and pressed forward.

“Can the magic be nullified in some way?”

“If we both agree to its undoing, or one of us dies.”

Meredith wore a pained expression. “You understand that what you are describing sounds remarkably like a reciprocal curse?”

He laughed. “Curses aren’t real.”

She gave him a look. “Werewolves aren’t real.”

He pointed at himself. “Not a werewolf.”

“Fine.” Meredith threw up her hands. “Shifters aren’t real.”

She had him there. “Point taken. So, uh, curses? Those are a thing?”

“Yes. They are technically illegal within the bounds of my society, but they are a thing. In fact, Siren, the redhead who wanted to heal you? She was cursed when I first met her.”

Jensen’s eyebrows rose. “What kind of curse?”

“The kind that wouldn’t let her tell us anything about the man who’d been hunting her for years. We worked around the issues it posed, and she eventually killed the man who cursed her, thereby ridding herself of said curse. Now do you understand why I’m seeing similarities between what you’re proposing and a curse?”

Grudgingly, he had to admit she had a point. “Are all curses bad?”

“Of course they’re all—” She broke off, considering. “I don’t know. Can I see the spell structure?”

“Spell structure?” he echoed. What the hell was she talking about?

“How do Shifters describe your magic use if ‘spell structure’ isn’t in your vocabulary?”

“We don’t.”

She gestured vaguely. “You know, spell structure. How you weave the magic together to make the spell form?” He shook his head and she gave a little huff of frustration. “How exactly do Shifters use magic if none of this is ringing a bell?”

“We just use it,” he said. “I don’t see you weaving spells every time you determine truth.”

“Truth is an innate affinity for me, of course I don’t need a spell to—” She broke off, her eyes narrowing. “Are you telling me that Shifters have an innate ability to use curses?”

“You’re really hung up on the logistics of this, aren’t you?” Which was good for him, since her obsession with understanding how it worked was distracting her from asking anything else about it.

“I dated an Aspect-theory-obsessed genius nerd for four years. It rubs off.”