Page 200 of Commanding Blood And Bonds
Recognition flickered in her features, but she didn’t back down. Her gaze flicked around, scanning the room, correctly concluding I was alone.
“Scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. A buddy system. But instead of friendship, we’re bound through trauma.”
I snorted. She’d lost her mind. Cute, pint-sized, and overly optimistic. “Highly doubt that.”
“What if I told you I know where the Obsidian Crown is?”
Every muscle in my body froze. Even the shadows inside me recoiled. Charles’ screams echoed in my skull.
My voice was barely a breath. “How do you know about that?”
“What if I told you I can get it for you?”
I was too numb to be angry.
Boots pounded down the hall. Nix and Carr’s voices filtered through the door.
“What kind of demon are you?”
“The kind that will do anything to secure victory,” she said with a wicked smile.
“Cyrus!” Nix’s voice trailed in—panicked?
Freya didn’t glance back. Her stance stayed ready, like she expected to be attacked.
“Tick-tock, Stuart.”
“You’re bluffing,” I snapped.
“Why do you think your mother is on Lonan’s leash? You’re not the first Stuart to try and fail.”
“Bullshit.” Mom always said it was a prison. A warning.
Freya laughed—low, feminine, chilling.
“One time offer, Prince. If I leave, that’s it.”
“You walk out there, the Wings will be on you.”
“You have a balcony,” she deadpanned, tone dry.
“You can’t jump or fly, so how’s that help you?”
“You don’t have to see. Just believe. Based on what you’ve read, do you really think I don’t have more tricks up my sleeve. Now. Are you in, or am I out?”
The Crown. The Keeper of the Veil. Of course, she knew how to get it. Years of obsession had consumed our childhood. A vow to find it. Charles...
Dad’s words echoed: Valora conquered the Trial of The Shadowed Path…brought it home. A relic from a cursed crypt.
Expose corruption.
Restore balance.
She’d already started. Already out-smarted the magic.
Reclamation.
“The crypt,” I breathed.
