Page 148 of Of Bargains & Betrayal

But, goddess above, what cost had he paid to achieve those dreams?

I saw bargain marks on his back last night, and ones decorating his legs, too. Whether he’d entirely lost his eye, I didn’t know, but something horrific had happened to him there, and to his hand in a lesser degree.

They reeked of magical mishaps to me, but maybe that was the fearful, Odessan part of my mind speaking.

“Enora.”

I glanced back at the bed.

Jasper hadn’t moved an inch, and I might’ve been more tired than I thought still. Either I’d heard my name or a gust of wind, but neither seemed likely in Jasper’s dark, silent, sealed-up bedroom.

“…she will come as I go…”

Tension prickled up my spine, and I stood, putting my back to the wall of bookshelves.

Across the room, a flicker of light, skewed more vibrant green-blue than the lanterns, poured out from under a shut door. It was smaller than the others, and its surface was painted with runes I couldn’t see well in the dim light—not that I stood a chance of understanding them, anyway.

The part of my mind that was more than a little freaked out desperately hoped they said, ‘No Girls Allowed’, even though I had a distinct feeling that was not the case.

Still, I couldn’t help but take careful steps across the room.

“…a bride bathed in fire…”

Just a few steps from the door, the air grew thick. Not with moisture, but an ashy taste that filled my lungs in the worst way.

My breath came in a shaky burst, and gooseflesh rippled across my arms and legs. The green-blue light seeping out from beneath the door flickered, interrupted by shadows that looked an awful lot like pacing footsteps.

“…to bear a bloody crown…”

I lifted my splayed hand and pressed it to the door.

A set of runes crackled, and a bite seared through my skin like the touch of a red-hot branding iron. I stumbled backwards with a sharp breath, clutching my hand to my chest.

Bitter ash cleared from the air, and the light beneath the door died out.

Still, I stared at it.

“Nor?” came a hoarse drawl that had my attention snapping back.

Jasper was sitting up in bed, head tipped.

“Sorry.” I forced a smile. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

There was no point in telling him to go back to sleep, because he was already pulling on his pants and padding over to me.

Goddess, he was bedraggled in the best way.

Sheet creases lined one half of his chest, a few even trailing up his face, and his snow-white strands were strewn in all directions.

He fixed me with a lazy smile before he turned me around, wrapping his arms around my middle and pulling my back firmly against his chest.

“Good morning,” he murmured, with a kiss pressed to my shoulder that made me wobble in place. “Were you snooping through my things while I was asleep?”

I tsked. “Never. Just…appreciating.”

He let out a chuckle. “Like you used to appreciate things from your father’s office, right? And the council chamber?”

Well, there was no point in arguing that.