Page 181 of Infernal Bonds

Cornaith, Caendra, and Rhistel were the ones responsible for what happened after the Divine Fortune Ball? They’d nearly cost both Cyn and Zeke their lives when they were taken along with me.

“How do you know it was them?”

“Cornaith let it slip while giving me instructions.” She shrugged as if she were discussing the weather, then smirked. “I don’t think he meant for me to hear that part.”

I didn’t know this woman well enough to trust her, but I wouldn’t put it past those three to take extreme measures to get rid of me—especially since they didn’t seem to care about Ash. He’d be the one to pay the biggest price if I died because we were the only two bonded.

“They don’t know what you are—really. They think you’re something that belongs in Moicae, or something much worse from the lands beyond its misty borders, where we’ve never ventured. Of course they’d want to be rid of you before you could destroy everything.”

“Mom,” Rinlora said, her voice cracking as she spoke for the first time since her mother joined us. “She’s not dangerous.”

“How do you know that? A Void isn’t dangerous until their power is unleashed. Maybe she is the same. This is why I want to test that.”

“Cornaith already wants to do that.”

“Yes, but his vallants are useless. I use ingredients they’d never dare touch. Ingredients straight from the cursed forests of Feranzis.”

Oh hell no.

I’d seen firsthand what kind of things grew in Feranzis. Other than those berries and branches, I wasn’t consuming anything from there.

“As much as I appreciate your willingness to help solve the mystery, I think I’ll pass and follow his tests for now.” I put my hands on the table, ready to push back the chair and stand. “Rinlora, can you take me back to the palace?”

Rinlora looked at her mother and then back at me. “I don’t think you’re dangerous, but Mom can help us figure this out.”

“Feranzis is dangerous, and I don’t trust a damn thing outta there.”

“I need to protect my family,” Rinlora mumbled, looking down at the table.

Did that mean she actually thought I was dangerous? Or was she so unsure of what I was that she wouldn’t risk me being around the palace either?

The woman sighed as Rinlora got up and circled the table, heading toward the kitchen. “I wanted you to choose to work with me, but it seems you’re as stubborn as anticipated.” She looked up at me. “You don’t get to choose no.”

“Excuse you?”

“We’ll get to the bottom of the mystery, and then they’ll decide what to do with you while keeping the heirs safe.”

“I’m not going to—” I hissed as a needle pierced the side of my neck. I tilted my head back to meet Rinlora’s uncomfortable gaze. She’d injected me with something, and now I was rapidly losing consciousness. “Why?”

“I don’t believe you want to hurt anyone, but you might not be able to control yourself.”

I never got the chance to respond.

47

THE TRADE

RAE

Pushing up on shaky arms, I let my eyes sweep the dim room, hoping it’d all been a dream and I wasn’t a captive after trying so hard to stay free.

“Not a dream,” I whispered in the quiet. Only a tiny bed, a chest of drawers, and a heavy trunk against the far wall were there to hear me.

I rubbed my temples, willing the static in my head to fade.

Other than whatever Rinlora injected me with, the woman hadn’t used any of her potions or other magic on me during the week I’d been forced to remain in the basement apartment. I’d thought it was a studio, but a tiny bedroom and bathroom were off the kitchen.

I didn’t understand at first why I felt like death warmed over if she hadn’t used any potions, magic, or other weird Elyrdin oddities on me. But then I recalled how I felt in Cholian. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that being separated from the guys was why I felt so terrible.