and soft. I could feel her testing my powers.
Her brow wrinkled. “Yes, if you add it to the amplification charm that you made.”
“You can tell I made it?” I asked.
“The magic feels the same.”
I nodded, then looked at Tarron. “Among other things, I’m an amplifier. I can make your bomb stronger if I go with you when you deploy it.”
He frowned at me. “I may not make it out alive.”
I looked around the group of crimson-robed guards, then out the window. The sound of revelry still drifted from outside. These people deserved to live. Not only that, if the dark magic devoured this realm, it would move to earth next.
There was really no choice.
Decided, I met Tarron’s gaze. “On three conditions.”
“Two?” He raised a brow.
“I’d literally be saving your kingdom. I don’t think three is too much to ask.”
“You will have your three conditions.”
“You don’t need to know what they are first?”
“As you said, without you, I will have no kingdom. And we will all be dead. Or refugees to earth. So no, I do not need to know what they are.”
“You will begin your attack tomorrow morning,” Arrowen said. “The Unseelie Fae are weakest then.”
There was a bit more planning for logistics, then everyone departed. I turned to face Tarron.
He waited for me by the window.
Memories of our kisses flashed in my mind’s eye. There was so much attraction and mistrust here that it tangled up my feelings. The fact that I was his Mograh didn’t help matters. But until we fixed what was wrong here, none of that mattered.
His gaze met mine. “I suppose you’ll tell me your conditions now?”
“I bet you can guess at least one of them.”
“You don’t want me to reveal your true nature to anyone.”
“A blood oath on it, yes.” I approached him and stopped a few feet away. Moonlight gleamed on his face, setting it in shadows that made him look even more mysterious. “How did you figure out what I was, anyway? Is that a Fae talent?”
“Not all Fae. And I wasn’t prying. Not intentionally. Dragon Blood is very easy to detect.”
The memory of him licking the blood from his fang flared in my mind, and my heart beat a little faster.
No. Stupid. I couldn’t become infatuated again. Two kisses was two too many, especially with ruthless Fae royalty that I didn’t trust. “Have you ever met another of my kind?”
“Once. They’re dead now.”
“Because you told the world what they were?”
His expression turned dark. “No. I wouldn’t.”
“Then swear on it.” I called a silver blade from the ether and handed it to him.
He took the blade without hesitation. “What must I do?”
“Slice your finger. Then I will slice mine. We will grip arms, and when our forearms touch, our blood will mingle. I will create a spell that will rot your tongue if you ever speak of what I am or say anything that would harm me. Or my sister.”
His brows rose. “Effective.”
“Very. But it requires consent.”
“You only practice blood magic with consent.”
“I may live in Darklane, but I’m not a dark magic practitioner. Not in that way, at least.”
He nodded and sliced his finger. Red blood welled. I pulled up my sleeve, then I sliced by own finger with my thumbnail. We reached out and gripped forearms, and I tried to ignore the strength of his muscles beneath my grip. The heat of his touch.
His warm blood smeared my skin, and mine slicked his. I met his gaze and began the chant, feeding my magic into his body through the touch of my blood. Tension sparked between us, heat and fire. It had nothing to do with the spell, and I had to force my mind away from it.
I drew in a breath, and began the spell. “Speak of me, regret will be. Upon your life with blood intact, you will never speak of me nor break this pact.”
Magic sparked on the air, flowing through the two of us, then faded. I let go of his arm, my own skin chilling. “And that’s that.”
He nodded. “Your secret is safe.” He met my gaze. “Though it was safe before.”
“Good.” It would be a nice world if I could have trusted him. But I didn’t live in that world. I never had. “The next one is simple. I want my sister at the battle tomorrow. Someone to have my back. And frankly, you could use her. She’s immensely powerful.”
He nodded. “Fine.”
“That was easy.”
“What was your other condition?”
“Tell me about your brother.”
Dark shadows crossed