I sprinted past the Book, trying not to think about the implications of this decision, or about how the bargain between Evren and I was now permanent, how I had relinquished the magic that made me immune to his glamours. The very same protections my father had likely gone to such pains to secure for me. His legacy, all his efforts, amounted to a waste.
There was Casimir, still bound in ropes, his eyes hooded and his face as bloodless as a corpse.Why wasn’t the antidote reversing the symptoms of the venom?
His skin was cold to the touch and his pulse was weak. At my touch, his eyes fluttered closed.
I roused him with a hard shake. “Casimir, wake up. We need to get out of here.”
He gave a weak groan, but his eyes stayed shut.
Tremors wracked every inch of my body—the aftermath of fear and adrenaline. At a loss for what else to do, I grabbed my dagger and began hacking at the ropes that held him to the pew.I should’ve demanded Evren remove these fucking bindings, I thought, but too late. No matter how hard I sawed, the ropes did not yield. I cursed under my breath. They must be enchanted to resist tampering. Abandoning my attempts, I rushed back down the aisle, ignoring the writhing, retching Daemons and clambering onto the dais to find?—
The Umbra Noctis. Evren must have dropped it. Ensuring the Bloodweaver was still subdued, I snatched the weapon from the dais, dodging several pairs of grasping hands on my frantic run back to Casimir.
Please let this work.
I knelt on the stone and, with a shuddering breath, brought the edge of the blade against the rope and—yes! The obsidian blade sliced clean through. I made quick work of the rest of the bindings until Casimir was free, though he was still motionless and gray.
“Casimir,please. You need to get up!”
We were running out of time.
I pressed my head against his temple and closed my eyes, willing him to wake. “Please, don’t die.” I repeated the words like alitany, as though my desperate prayers might be heard, as if they might keep him from slipping away. “You owe me, Wrayburn,” I growled in his ear. “You’re not allowed to die?—”
My breath hitched in my throat, and I sat up abruptly.Of course.
O Heir, thine own blood bestows deliverance.
The blood of the Heir—my blood—could it actually heal him?
There was no time to balk at the idea. If it didn’t work, Casimir would be no worse off than he already was. Strapping the obsidian blade to my thigh, I lifted my father’s silver dagger, dragging it over my palm. I stifled a gasp of pain as the blade parted flesh. Prying Casimir’s lips apart, I allowed my blood to drip into his mouth. He choked, and I massaged his throat, forcing the muscles to swallow. When I drew away, his pale lips were stained dark red.
“Please, please, work,” I begged. This had to work. I could not—would not—consider the alternative.
Several agonizing minutes passed before Casimir’s eyelids fluttered open. I gasped in shock and relief. His gold-flecked eyes were bloodshot as he squinted at me.
“Farrow?” he said weakly.
I hardly cared that he saw the trail of hot, salty tears as they streamed down my cheeks. “Thank the gods.” I collapsed against his chest.
Casimir peered at me through a haze of confusion. “What happened?”
“I’ll explain later,” I muttered, wiping away my tears and glancing back at the Daemons. Several were already showing signs of recovery from their ritual-induced illness. “We have to get out of here. Can you walk?”
He nodded, though his face went white as I lifted him to his feet. “I’m too weak to use glamours,” he rasped.
“It’s fine,” I said, breathless. “You don’t need magic. I can protect us.”
He nodded, his eyes dropping to the obsidian fisted in my palm. “What about Gwen?”
My stomach twisted, but I reassured him as well as myself that Veronika had promised to get her out.
Casimir still made no move toward the door. “And what about August? And Neha?”
My heart fractured in my chest. “Neha is dead,” I whispered. My throat felt tight. I tried to breathe. “I don’t know?—”
“Your blood,” he murmured. “Give me your blood.”
My eyes automatically darted to his bloodstained lips. “What?”