The urge to hurl the glass across the ballroom was strong, but the bloodbargain overpowered any desire to sabotage his plan. Any attempts to disobey the magic were immediately answered with pain—a thousand needles pricking at my skin.
Make him drink it, the magic ordered.There will be consequences if you fail.
Casimir frowned as I approached, an unsteady smile plastered on my lips. “I don’t really like champagne,” he murmured.
I rolled my eyes. “Just drink it.”
Knock it out of his hand. Scream. Do something! It was the scene in the Tusk playing out all over again, but this time, Devereux wasn’t forcing me to drink Daemon wine. No, in this version, I was the villain dosing Casimir with some unknown substance. And there was no one to stop the glass from reaching his lips. Fulfilling the favor was all that mattered. The bloodbargain held me still as I watched Casimir toss back the poisoned drink. At once, the feeling of compulsion dissipated, and I slumped in relief. I had completed my side of the bargain.
“Are you feeling alright?” I asked, terrified to hear the answer.What had I done?
Casimir shrugged. “Yes, why?”
“No reason.”
Because I poisoned you. Because I’m a liar.
Dread laced through my veins, but… maybe the potion was harmless. Perhaps this was just Evren’s way of tormenting me by allowing me tothinkI’d poisoned Casimir. I sighed. “I suppose now we can finally talk about why you lied to me.”
His expression turned darkly serious. “I didn’t know you were the Heir, Arden.”
I frowned. “You said I was the last person who should go anywhere near the Bloodthorn Order. Or are you denying that now, too?”
“I…” He hesitated, taking in my mutinous expression. “I admit that I wondered if you could be the Heir, at first. But even so, I never imagined that you’d ever be able to conceal something like that from me. I never thought the Heir would be—” His voice broke off.
Ignorant. Naïve. Lied to, I thought.
“Completely in the dark?” I offered bitterly.
“Yes,” he said, more softly now. “I believed that the true Heir would have known about the Order, about the Daemons.”
“Why not share your suspicions with me?”
Casimir winced. “I didn’t want to scare you. I figured it was a long shot.”
My face grew hot, my skin prickling with panic. I bit into my cheek to release some of the tension I felt.
He knew, he knew, he knew.
“You have to believe me, Arden.”
I ignored his imploring. “Did you give me the necklace as some sort of test?” I asked, fisting the silver clasp in my fingers. After all, theBook of Erebos’shint was clear about one thing: the Heir possessed certain serpentine qualities.
“Arden…” He almost laughed. “You can’t think me so diabolical as to make you wear something that would expose you?”
I searched his face with narrowed eyes, and then, all at once, my suspicion vanished and was replaced with shame. This was Casimir. How many times had he shown that he cared for me? And how had I repaid him? By lying about my bloodbargain with Evren. By swapping theBook of Erebosfor a counterfeit, right under his nose. By spiking his drink with an unknown substance. Bitterly, I wondered if he hadn’t been right. Maybe I was the worst thing to ever happen to him.
Casimir’s jaw was tense as he gazed down at me. “I wish we had known sooner,” he confessed.
We had failed; there was no other way to spin it.
“Our one consolation is that the Order has no idea who you really are,” he whispered.
“They might find out,” I contested in a small voice. It wouldn’t be difficult to learn about my parentage. “Malcolm’s name must be in the university records?—”
His smile faltered. “I know, but aside from destroying every trace of his existence…” His voice trailed off, and he shook his head, dismissing the thought. “They have no reason to suspect you’re anyone but Arden Farrow. Evren bought your… performance tonight, right?”
I nodded, avoiding meeting his eye. “I just don’t understand how my father got involved with any of this in the first place,” I said. “Or how he managed to hide it for all those years.”