Crimson Contracts

the moment he

Veren

t because of the way he stood there like he owned time. As if t

shimmer beneath the low candlelight. He was carved from aristocracy and ru

idn't

t bre

't d

brooding, bloodthirsty royal. No sha

was

d about war camp

centuries ago the last known wiel

s very mu

," Lyra said,

slowly between his fingers. I

s for someone

. It.

calm, head tilted as if studyin

nched. "

de. She screamed when it marked her

ere to ent

"But you will. On

dagger toward

hesit

n't tru

in that pull. That heat. That hunger. The dagger melted into her p

watched he

y bonded. It c

t ask fo

reached his eyes. "The Pact is not a pet

her grip. "Wh

acing toward her

r you a

ke deals wi

d over hi

one now, li

fr

eal. You've touched magic that predates king

surv

ove rot in dungeons or worse because they know you. And then, when the dagge

hands t

Do you

d see the silver veins pulsing under his por

it fo

art st

ha

thout losing your mind. The wolves want it destroyed. The humans want

do you wan

ped to her m

ecome what you w

n't ans

ep that ni

sion, like it knew somethi

hadn't thr

n't ne

hing more danger

he was. Now, for the first time, someone looked at her and saw

he'd made

eded a

enthas

d been abandoned for

ories. No one went near it unless they wanted to vanish. But when Lyra

pened before sh

in a hall of broken mi

dn't

said, "Y

forward. "I

ce like velvet. "Y

lood-binding. No soul-

ce, amused.

, the pact between them

it," she said, voice firm. "

you give me loyalty. No

ed. "What do

es, you must decide who bleeds

Pact stir i

gger p

ark a

thing that frightened her mo

loyalty. You just ha

hed out

ea

fingers clos

ropped. The dagge

was sealed

wi

esson nearl

tain. There were no walls only jagged cliffs and a void that st

gger's memor

wned. "I

't store spells. It stores moments. Pa

f the night h

y, cold and still b

by the people sh

screamed

oor cr

thas

oo

es twisted into forms. A boy she once stole bread from. A sol

att

d to fight

memory and a vampire lord wat

, bleeding from the lip,

knelt be

longer tha

at him. "Was th

chin up. "That was

Lyra sat alone with the dagger in her lap. It no

oming a pa

on her wrist. It h

r

ing inside

asn't done

ither