Kai grabbed a chunk of grass in frustration.
“Surely they have to have a get-out-of-jail clause,” I said. “What happens if they change their mind about who they choose to be their candidate? That part doesn’t seem to be binding?”
She looked at me sideways then. Her violet eyes narrowed. I wasn’t going to like what she had to say. “There is one way whoever Malachi chooses would prove their claim to the bond,” she said. I bit the inside of my cheek while I waited. “You can produce an heir with Raphael’s healing ability.”
I coughed so hard I thought my chest was going to explode. “Pardon?”
She imitated rocking a baby in her arms.
“No bloody way!”
I looked up at Kai and made my voice even. “There is no way I’m going to get pregnant and have a baby at this age.”
He exhaled heavily. “Of course not. I’m not asking you to.”
“Why not?” Purple nymph said. I couldn’t even go into all the practical reasons why not. All I could do was sputter.
“Because I don’t want to is why not!”
My pulse was pounding again. The purple nymph gave me a disturbing smile. “We can always kill her.”
“No,” Kai and I said at the same time.
Kai snatched the parchment back and rolled in into a scroll. He produced a red ribbon and tied it neatly around the paper. It looked exactly like the one Chanelle showed me on the bridge. I huffed.
The nymphs were doing a strange communal dance over our heads. “No!” Kai roared at them. They scattered in a frenzy of giggling. For someone who was against killing Chanelle, his expression was murderous.
“What now?” I asked. He sat there for a minute, his whole body tense. I knew for a fact he would spring into action if something threatened us, but the look in his eyes said his thoughts were a million miles away. With the Ley filter still in place, I noticed for the first time that his heartbeat was erratic. It sounded just like it would if he were in battle. In a way he was, only this time it was with an enemy he couldn’t hurt. He seemed caught up in the same fight with himself.
“What exactly does the vow specify if you refuse to bond with Chan – her?” I asked.
It seemed like he would ignore me. Then he turned his head and looked me right in the eye. The lines of his jaw were hard. “I’ll be compelled to bond with Chanelle against my will.”
I bit my bottom lip. “What if we’re still together?”
His silence said it all. Whether he was with me or somebody else he actually had feelings for, because of the vow, he would betray us for the sake of continuing Raphael’s bloodline.
My hands were shaking when I lowered my head to peer at them. Mostly because I could no longer stand the pained look on his face. I knew myself too well to pretend it wouldn’t break me if he was with someone else. Against his will or not. Maybe I really should have been born a shifter. Maybe I was just possessive by nature. I’d seen too much of the pain that kind of betrayal created. What kind of sick people cornered a child and forced them into something like that?
“I can’t do it,” I said.
“Blue.” He reached out for my hand. I shook my head even though I didn’t fight him when he wrapped his arms around me. My limbs suddenly felt heavy. I sat there like a stone.
“Alessia,” he tried to coax.
When I didn’t respond, he held me at arm’s length. He turned me so I was facing him. “I won’t let my mistake affect you,” he said. He pierced me with his eyes. “Just...I need you to make a decision.”
“We’re too young for this kind of pressure,” I said. Anger brought life back into me. “Anything I say in this moment could change so quickly. It’s too much to ask.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“I’ll help you to break the vow,” I said. “But I can’t promise you anything else.”
He tipped my chin up. His eyes were a sparkling green. “You’d do this even if we don’t end up together?” His jaw twitched as he said the words.
I nodded. “You might be a jackass, but you should be allowed to make this one choice.”
He smiled sadly. “I’m Malachi Pendragon,” he said. “This is the one choice I might not get to make.”
In my heart, I knew it was true. He was privileged but he had been raised for duty. His biggest duty was to continue his line. Whether that was with me or without me remained to be seen.
7
At Kai’s request, the Council convened the next day. Jacqueline and Astrid escorted me to Seraphina. We were the first to arrive in the Council chambers. Walter and Megan appeared a second later, after we stepped through the doors.
Honestly, how had my life come to this?
“You’ve made your choice then,” Walter asked. Neither he nor Megan had sat down at the conference table when they arrived. I wasn’t sure if it was because Jacqueline had chosen to lean back against it rather than sit down herself. The power play between these supernaturals gave me a headache.
“I made my choice a long time ago,” Kai said.
“This is going to be a difficult fight, Malachi,” Megan said. “The Elders won’t be easily swayed.”
“They won’t be in charge forever,” he said. “In fact, some of them have been stewing in their comfortable seats for too long.”
I tugged at the hem of his T-shirt. He bent down from where he stood beside me. “I thought you said no killing,” I whispered in his ear.
The dark look on his face stopped my breath. I wasn’t sure why I was surprised. He reacted just as poorly to being threatened as the shifters.
