Which was way too small to have Merc acting like he was right now. “This isn’t usual, is it?”
“No.” He stared at her now, his eyes dark and direct, a shadow in their depths. “He used a rare version. I have to put the Spellbook in his hand. If I don’t, I die.”
His words washed over her, pulling and twisting at things deep inside her. Her hands skimmed the tattoos on his arms. “I thought you were protected. Didn’t you say you were immune to most magic?”
He caught her hand, linked her fingers with his. “I should have been protected. I don’t know what happened. Hadrien isn’t that powerful, but it happened. If I don’t follow the terms of the spell, I will die.”
“And it has to be you? It’s not enough for him to get the Spellbook?”
“It has to be me. And I have to give it to him at an exact time, no earlier and no later.” His laugh was short and brittle, his gaze leaving hers. “I am well and truly screwed.”
So much made sense now, things that seemed off. Why Merc didn’t go underground and tell Hadrien to fuck himself when things started to unravel – or even give the Guild the Spellbook from moment one and save himself all the trouble. It had always seemed too big for him to keep going because of a job, because of a reputation. “Does the Guild know?”
He gave a little huff, an irritated puff of breath. “It’s a well-known spell, something wizards and mages would be able to place if they were strong enough to feel it.”
She followed his train of thought. “The day you grabbed me Laire was there. I don’t know how powerful a magic user she is.”
“She’s Guild, therefore she’s powerful,” he cut in. “I had hoped I took her out quick enough that she wouldn’t have noticed, but as soon as the Guild put out the call to grab Hadrien, that hope was dashed.”
“So they wanted to grab Hadrien why? Because you’d be forced to go to them with the book?”
“Yeah, and they were right, I would have walked wherever they directed me and hoped for the best. I’m pretty sure they’d let me get rid of the bound, though Fallon would probably make me pay in some way for everything that’s happened so far.”
She didn’t want to ask, didn’t want to make his eyes go sadder or his expression more hopeless, but she needed to know the full extent of what was going on. “And where is Hadrien now?”
“Hadrien.” A humorless slash of lips and teeth painted his face and broke her heart. “Hadrien has very likely been kidnapped by a group called the Blackguard. Their leader is very smart, and connects dots no one else sees, and he doesn’t like me. The fact that the Blackguard have him and haven’t given him over to the Guild tells me that they have figured out there is a very good chance I have a mortal bound on me, and they want to use it to cause my death.”
She grabbed his shoulders and gave a small shake, trying to force that hopeless look from his face. “It could still be the Guild that has him. You don’t know.”
“If the Guild had Hadrien right now, they’d be broadcasting it to all my known acquaintances and over any site I’ve been known to frequent. I don’t know if the Guild knows who has Hadrien, but I’m certain they don’t.”
Only now did Amana see how hewn in they were, strapped on all sides with the bands growing tighter by the second. “What now?”
“I can only go one step at a time. First I need to get the Spellbook back.”
“From necromancers? That’s impossible. You’ll never survive.”
“I’m not chasing after Reign. He didn’t get the book for himself. Somehow the Guild made a good enough offer to get him to help.”
“Going after the Guild isn’t any better than going after Reign.”
“I’m not going to live if I stand around either.” Frustration poured from him in waves, all the negative energy he’d been able to hold back while talking to her bursting free. “I only have a little while left before the bound kills me. What would you have me do? Throw up my hands and go oh well? If I’m going down, I’m going down fighting.”
“I don’t want you to go down at all. Maybe I can do something in dreams to find the book.”
He began shaking his head. “You can’t go against the Guild. You don’t know what will happen.”
“I know what will happen if I don’t.” She grabbed his face between her hands, forcing him to look at her. “I won’t lie. The thought of opening myself up scares me. That doesn’t change the fact that I want you alive. As long as you’re alive, we can figure out how to deal with whatever comes next. We’ll get the book, we’ll get rid of the bound, and we’ll get Nakoa free. Do you understand? We can do all of that together.”