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“He’s not gone.” I can’t give up on him. I’m not ready to. Not yet. There is still some sliver of hope left in me yet.
Oliver frowns and parts his lips to protest. But I don’t give him the opportunity.
“Thank you, but I can’t leave,” I say, taking half a step back, separating us. “There are still some things I need to do.”
Oliver’s brow furrows. He grabs my hands, trapping them in his grip to keep me from walking away.
“Nothing good will come from remaining there. You can only stand by and watch him slowly wither away day by day. If he could get away, her influence would wane, but in the end, the curse would still kill him.”
I give him a wan smile and manage to free one of my hands. “There is one thing I can do.”
Oliver’s fingers loosen as I turn, only to tighten painfully, squeezing my fingers against the ring I wear. He yanks me back to him, holding my hand up between us. The band shines like liquid moonlight.
“Where did you get this?”
“It was a gift,” I say. It’s at least partially true. Varin did give it to me.
“This is no mere trinket of affection, Clara.”
“I didn’t steal it, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
His lip curls, and though nothing about him physically changes, I feel the truth of what he is for the first time. It roots me to where I stand. Amber flashes in his eyes. The force of his power increases, making it harder to keep eye contact.
I let out a gasping breath as it relinquishes its hold over me.
“I have never called you a thief. Now answer the question.” His demeanor shifts. Eases. “Please. The last thing I want is to see you needlessly risk your life. Tell me what you’ve gotten yourself into—I might be able to help.”
I have had more help in the last few months than ever before in my life. Friendships given freely, without the demand of payment to earn it first. Cassius, Della, and Lawrence have risked their lives once already, and now this man is asking for the knowledge to do the same.
But I have yet to form a plan beyond the deal with a demon, and until I figure out the best course of action, there’s no point in getting anyone else involved.
“It will be fine,” I say soothingly. “There is nothing I can ask of you. Unless you know how I can break the curse?”
He shakes his head. “No one has ever survived it, and those she has inflicted, are taken faster than what you have previously witnessed.” Oliver lowers my hand but does not release me.
He is no fool. If he hasn’t fully guessed the meaning of the ring, he understands enough that I am tangled up in something dangerous. It was pure luck that Lawrence hadn’t noticed it when he grabbed my hand after realizing Alaric and I were oath bound to each other.
“There has to be a way to save him…” I am desperate and so terrified I will fail.
The corner of Oliver’s mouth twitches. “I will find out what I can. But promise me that you will undo whatever you agreed to,” he says pointedly, squeezing the finger wearing the ring. “You are playing with demons, Clara. It won’t end how you think it will.”
I swallow thickly. He will help me regardless of my answer, but I feel the need to offer him something other than a lie in return. So, I exhale and decide on an honest compromise.
“It’s too late to go back on the deal I made. And as of this moment, it’s my only option, and I must make sure I’m ready. Will you accept my word that I will not do anything more until or unless there is no other choice?” Each word is careful and deliberate—honest and clear, but not so obvious that anyone passing by might understand.
Oliver accepts with a sharp nod, then says, “There is one other thing. If you should find your sanity and decide to take me up on my offer….”
I give him a warning look.
His familiar teasing smile slides back into place. “There is a forest to the west of Nightwich, beyond the mountains—I will be there,” he says with a wink.
“You would do well to make offers to those who aren’t oath bound to another man,” Della snaps. She wrenches Oliver’s wrist, forcing him to let go.
Panic rises, flooding my senses. All thoughts are momentarily drowned out by the rush of adrenaline. It takes me several seconds to realize she misunderstood his words. Which means she hadn’t overheard anything except his teasing.
“He didn’t mean it like that.” I try to put myself between the two of them, but they are too focused on each other.
Oliver is a head and a half taller than Della, but one would think neither noticed with the way they face each other down. Each baring their teeth. Him growling, and her snarling.
