I shook my head, though remorse pierced my heart at his words. “You shouldn’t have done that, Oliver. I could’ve handled myself.”
“Desi, I found you splayed in his torture chamber as he drank your blood. That was just him toying with you. If he’d wanted to kill you, he easily could have.”
I crossed my arms. “That was still a stupid move! I was just a stranger to you! Why would you risk your coven like that?”
“He didn’t give me a choice, Desi!” Oliver shouted.
“There’s always a choice!”
Oliver slid his fingers through his hair and turned from me, pacing the length of the pub in agitation. “You don’t understand. I—I thought I could turn on him. Maybe provide secrets for the coven that would help bring him down. And it was my fault you got caught. If I’d just been a man and let you escape first . . . But no. You took the fall, and I was responsible. I had to do something, Desi!”
“Why didn’t you just tell me all this?”
“I couldn’t,” Oliver said quietly, his eyes burning with heat and regret. “I tried, but I couldn’t—”
“You couldn’t?” I gritted my teeth. “At the expense of your coven and my life, you made this bargain and didn’t tell anyone. You betrayed all of us!”
Oliver’s cheeks reddened. “No, Desi, it’s not—”
“I opened up to you, Oliver. I shared everything with you. I told you about my parents, José, my fears . . . I kissed you. You’ve proclaimed yourself as an advocate for light magic, protecting your coven, but you’re working for a demon lord!”
“You think I’m proud of it?” Oliver said, his eyebrows lowering over wide, angry eyes. “It makes me sick. I didn’t realize the—the hold he has over me, the things he’s capable of forcing me to do...” His lips twisted in distaste as if he were about to puke.
I raised a hand to my forehead as a flood of agony rose up in my throat, threatening to suffocate me. I swallowed, but it burned and only agitated the ache. My vision swam, and I impatiently blinked until it cleared. “Oliver, I-I just can’t look at you right now. It’s like I don’t even know you anymore.”
“I’m still the same person!” Oliver yelled. “You knew I was on the Council. You knew I supported light and dark magic!”
I jabbed a finger at him. “No, this is different and you know it. Your mother would be ashamed of you.”
Oliver’s jaw hardened, and his enraged eyes drilled into me. His clenched fists shook, and his nostrils flared. Fury emanated from his stiff form.
Without saying a word, he turned and exited the pub. Light filtered in when the door opened and then disappeared as it slammed shut, plunging me into darkness once more.
Chapter 30
A FEW MINUTES AFTER Oliver left, Kismet appeared, her black cloak billowing behind her. She glanced around the pub. “Where’s Oliver?”
I waved a limp hand towards the door. “He left.”
Kismet’s wide blue eyes darted to the door and back to me. “What? Where did he go?”
I frowned at her. “Why do you care?”
“He’s bound by blood. Just like I am.”
I cocked my head at her, squinting in confusion. “What does that mean?”
“I’m bound to serve my master until the day I die. I am connected to him through blood magic.”
I shook my head, still confused.
“There are two kinds of blood magic,” Kismet said in a low voice. “A blood oath, which is a tie to someone else that strengthens both of you equally. And a blood bond, which binds you to someone as their servant.”
My blood ran cold as I looked at Kismet. Her broken and empty eyes told me which one she used with El Diablo. “Why would you do that?” I whispered.
“He promised he could bring my husband back from the dead.”
I stiffened in shock as a chill raced up my spine. Her husband? Dead? I stared at her blankly. She couldn’t be much older than me—maybe nineteen or twenty at the most.
“I—I’m so sorry,” I whispered, my throat dry. “Did it work?” I didn’t dare to hope, but my parents’ faces swam in my head, taunting me, beckoning me . . .
“What do you think?” Kismet asked, her expression darkening. “It did work, but he returned as some kind of possessed revenant. A member of the undead only he could control.” Her mouth twisted into a foul grimace. “It was the single most horrifying moment of my life. More terrible than the day I lost him the first time.”
She blinked, her eyes moist, and my heart ached in sympathy for her. I had no idea. I hated myself for never asking her about her past. She’d carried this weight with her for so many years. Perhaps if I’d offered to listen, it would’ve lessened her suffering somehow.
“What does this have to do with Oliver?” I asked, though dread coiled in my stomach. I already knew the answer.
“I recognize the signs,” Kismet said, her voice almost a whisper. “He’s bound by blood, too. They share a blood bond.”
My heart dropped to my stomach as I remembered Oliver’s words. I didn’t realize the hold he has over me, the things he’s capable of forcing me to do . . .
And he’d done it for me. To save me.
Bile rose in my throat, and I hunched over as panicked breaths tore through my chest. “No,” I moaned, closing my eyes and shaking my head. “No . . .”
“I’m so sorry,” Kismet whispered, touching my shoulder.
“Is—is there any way to break the blood bond?” I asked as despair settled within my stomach.
“Only two ways. The first is if one member of the bond
