Shara

I couldn’t think. I couldn’t see a way out. My mind felt like a delicate, hand-blown vase that had been dropped from the hundredth floor to shatter into dust on the asphalt far below.

“The blood circle is hers,” Keisha continued. “I can’t get him out for you. Only you have that power. You can exchange yourself for him and heal her.”

“No,” Rik retorted, locking me against his side. “There’s no way you’re stepping one foot into that circle.”

:Can I break it?:

I knew what the answer was. They’d told me the same thing when we’d gone to Zaniyah’s nest. A blood circle could not be broken, unless it was broken from within.

From within.

:No.:

Despite his adamant answer, an idea started to tickle in the back of my mind. I felt again for Ezra’s bond, drawing on my power until my heartbeat pounded in my skull. I could barely feel a thread where he should be. He was there, but extremely distant, as if someone had shot him on a rocket to Pluto. I tried to draw on our bond, but the tiny thread dissolved.

He didn’t have enough of my blood for what I wanted to try.

Rik’s bond weighed like a massive boulder in my mind. :Tell me.:

I didn’t want to tell him, because I knew what his answer would be. We’d already talked about something like this, and I refused to risk his life.

Keisha was right in one regard. Men could be absolutely ridiculous in what they would do in the name of love and honor. I tried to think of any other way. I knew exactly how I wanted to finish Keisha. I’d already played it out in my head, how I would pull the Skye blood from my Blood and give it back to her. So easy. So clean. The Triune wouldn’t be able to come after me, and my debt to her would be satisfied.

Then I’d fucking kill her.

But she’d never be satisfied unless I saved her daughter, who looked back at me with the glittering obsidian eyes of a demon.

Ra might be the god of light, but he’d managed to conjure something into Tanza that wasn’t of this earth or any realm in our goddesses’ dominion.

:Shara. Tell me.:

:Our bond is stronger than mine with Ezra. I can’t reach him through the blood circle.:

:But you could reach me.:

I swallowed hard, my stomach fluttering with anxiety. :I think so. The circle has to be broken from inside. If I can reach you through the circle, then I can break it.:

:We make the trade. I take his place. You get her to publicly acknowledge the debt is satisfied. Then you use our bond to break the circle and we kill them all.:

My heart was trying to strangle me. He sounded so calm. So assured. So confident without a single doubt in my ability to save him. To save us all.

:You’ll have to sell it to her, or she’ll suspect that you have something planned. Be furious. Be sad. But don’t let on like we know a way to beat her.:

Then he stepped forward and shoved me behind him. “Take me instead.”

Keisha arched an eyebrow. “Oh? You’re volunteering?”

“No, Rik!” I grabbed at his arm, tugging on him uselessly. My alpha could never be moved when he didn’t want to be. “Please, don’t do this!”

“I’m not letting my queen in that fucking circle until she does some research and figures out a way to break whatever curse Ra has put on your daughter. Let Ezra out, and I’ll take his place. Tanza can feed on me while we figure out the best plan.”

“No!” I was crying. I was fucking pissed. It wasn’t an act. But it certainly helped sell our plan. “Rik, I won’t let you do this. There has to be another way.”

“I’ll do it,” he retorted, ignoring me. “But you have to swear before our consiliari here and now as witnesses that you’ll immediately declare that House Isador’s debt has been paid in front of all your sibs. The rest of Shara’s Blood are free to go. She loves me too much to leave me here, so you’ll get what you want. But I want to be sure her house is secure and safe first.”

Keisha looked at me and I felt her power on the air like a massive static electricity charge. I didn’t try to hold back my sobs. The thought of Rik being hurt in any way fucking tore my heart out and shredded it to ribbons. How quickly would Tanza start to hurt him? How long would it take for us to get Keisha to live up to her promise, assuming she’d even accept Rik’s deal?

I squeezed my eyes shut. Goddess, Isis, please tell me this is the right thing to do. If anything happens to Rik…

I gulped back another sob. I’d use the fucking red serpent. I would. I would do anything to save him. Even if someone else had to die. I couldn’t live without Rik.

“Agreed,” Keisha finally said. “I, Keisha Skye, Queen of Scathach, agree to publicly declare the blood debt with House Isador satisfied.”

“Immediately.” Rik’s voice vibrated with intensity. “As soon as you go upstairs. You’ll make the announcement.”

“Yes. Now I want to hear Shara’s oath that she’ll return here to heal Tanza.”

Each word tore from my throat. “I, Shara Isador, the Great One’s last daughter, will return to my alpha as soon as the blood debt is satisfied.”

“Not good enough,” Keisha retorted.

“I’ll free Tanza from her suffering as soon as I figure out how.”

Keisha nodded. “Yes. Agreed.”

“Duly noted,” Madeline said. “Gina, are you satisfied with the clarity of these terms?”

Gina was crying too, but she squared her shoulders despite the tears tracking down her cheeks. “I support my queen one hundred percent.”

Keisha looked at her daughter. “Okay, babydoll, let’s make a trade. You let the bear go, and you can play with this alpha.”

Tanza clapped her hands and nodded. “My alpha. Hungry.”

“Make him last,” Keisha said. “We’re going to work some magic and get you all better, okay?”

“Okay, Mama.” Tanza reached toward Ezra. He flinched away, but she grabbed his arm and pushed him toward us. He stumbled and fell out of the circle on his knees. Panting, head down, he shuffled closer to me, crying as hard as I was. “Come play, alpha.”

I clung to Rik’s arm, but he shook me off gently. Without hesitation, he stepped into the blood circle with the demon.

Like the fucking prime alpha he was.