Curse of the Wolf King - Tessonja Odette Page 0,33

While I no longer count anyone as a close friend these days, I can still imagine facing the choice. For someone I loved, would I sacrifice that which I treasure most? I consider my great treasures, drawing a blank. Then it comes to me. My greatest treasure is that which I do not have—freedom, independence, a life of my own. There’s no one I’d be willing to sacrifice that for, no matter how dire their circumstance. For where would such a sacrifice leave me? If I am to assume the opposite would then manifest, I’d be…

Trapped. Captive. Controlled.

The thought alone drains the blood from my face.

“I suppose you’re right,” I admit. “Not even friendship would make such a sacrifice easy. You need something stronger.”

He nods. “Which is why I invoke an element of fear, something to set one’s mind at unease, make one more apt toward impulsive decisions beneath the weight of their gratitude.”

“But that isn’t working either,” I say. “You need something else. Something that makes someone stupider than fear, but more invested than friendship.”

“Well, if you have any bright ideas,” he says, voice heavy with sarcasm, “I’m all ears.”

I freeze as an epiphany strikes me.

I tally up everything he’s told me. His assets. His liabilities. I see his needs, his hurdles, his struggles.

And right there in the middle is an opportunity. Not just for him. For me.

I turn away, a plan forming in my mind. I go over it again and again, checking it for weaknesses. Then finally, I say, “I have an idea.”

His voice comes out heavy with suspicion. “About what?”

I turn to face him, a smile tugging my lips. “We’re going to make a bargain.”

12

When we moved to Faerwyvae, I may not have been given a complete education regarding the fae, but I was told the same rule by pretty much every human who welcomed us to Vernon: never bargain with the fae.

I had every intention of keeping to this rule. Additionally, when I began my conversation with the king, I had absolutely zero intentions of actually allying with him.

The thing is, when people mention fae bargains, they describe terrible bonds, blood-curdling curses, and deadly punishments. No one ever mentions a bargain that benefits the human involved, perhaps more so than the fae.

And that’s exactly what I’ve crafted in my mind.

Excitement bubbles in my chest at the possibilities, but I do my best to maintain my composure, keeping a straight face before the king.

“What kind of bargain?” he says, taking a hesitant step back.

I clasp my hands at my waist, standing at my full height. “Like I said, to get a human to break your curse, you’ll need something that makes them stupider than fear, but more invested than friendship.”

He narrows his eyes. “Go on.”

“And if the person must sacrifice that which they treasure most to break the curse, then you need to find someone who has only trivial treasures. Material things. For that, you need to know the right person.”

Quirking a brow, he says, “And you happen to know the right person?”

I can’t fight the smile that stretches my lips, and it’s all I can do to suppress the devious laughter that begs to erupt from inside me. “I do. Her name is Imogen Coleman.”

“All right,” he says slowly. “How do propose to get this Imogen Coleman to break the curse? The sacrifice must be made of their own free—”

“Their own free will and volition, I get it. Trust me, subtlety is not your strong suit.” I take a few steps closer to where he stands. “That is where my phase two comes in. Where you make her both stupid and invested.”

“You say it like it’s simple.”

“It is. Because you’re going to make her fall in love with you.”

“Love!” He scoffs, lips pulling into a grimace. “I’m going to make a human fall in love with me?”

I purse my lips to keep my grin from spreading wider. “Precisely. Love is that which makes humans absolute fools while making them equally and irrationally attached to another person. You were right when you said you needed to entice the sacrifice during feelings of great impulse. That’s exactly what love does. It turns people into reckless idiots, both blind to reason and ignorant of their own folly, even as it stares them in the eyes.”

“You sound like someone with personal experience.”

That wipes the grin clear off my face, but I don’t let it hold me back. “I do have experience in this department, which makes me the perfect