第4章

"Ahhh!"

Vivian screamed.

"It hurts! Jason, help! This thing is biting me!"

Jason panicked completely. He grabbed at the bracelet, but its razor edge sliced his fingers open.

Vivian abandoned all pretense and clawed desperately at the clasp.

Her nails snapped. Blood streamed freely.

She finally pried the clasp loose.

She flung the blood-streaked bracelet to the ground as if hurling a venomous snake.

"Get it away! Get this thing away from me!"

I fought through the searing pain in my chest and walked over, one step at a time.

I bent down and picked up the Silver Leaf bracelet.

The moment it returned to my palm, its cool touch eased the tide of agony roiling inside me.

Jason rose from the floor and stared at me, fury blazing in his eyes.

He looked at Vivian's mangled ankle, then charged toward me.

Crack!

His palm struck my face in a vicious slap.

"Aria."

Jason loomed over me, his voice heavy with judgment and disappointment.

"How did I never see this side of you, all these sleazy little tricks?

"Get on your knees and apologize to Vivian!"

He was certain I'd rigged the bracelet to hurt her on purpose.

I slowly turned my head back to face him.

He reached for me, about to grab me and force me to my knees.

A drop of blood fell from his nostril without warning.

Jason froze, his hand suspended in midair.

He wiped his nose absently, looked at the smear of red across his fingers, and frowned.

He didn't know he'd once suffered from a fatal blood-wasting syndrome that should have killed him before twenty-five.

It was my life force alone that had kept him alive all this time.

Now I had reclaimed the artifact and severed the bond.

Without the protection of Elven power, his failing body had already begun to crumble.

But he knew none of this.

He pulled a handkerchief from his suit pocket, wiped the blood away, and kept his expression cold and arrogant.

"You owe Vivian an explanation for today."

Just then, the banquet hall doors swung open again.

Several tall men with severe expressions walked in.

The man in the lead wore a silver sigil on his chest, the emblem of the Elven Council.

Ignoring the chaos around him, he walked straight to me.

Under the stunned gazes of every person present, he placed one hand over his heart and bowed his head in deference.

"Lady Aria, your car is waiting outside.

"The High Elder says it is time to come home."

I nodded.

Without another glance at Vivian on the floor or the bewilderment on Jason's face, I turned and walked out.

Jason watched the dark-clad strangers, his face shifting before settling back into composure.

"Aria, that's enough.

"You think hiring a few actors to put on a show will make me come begging?

"If you'll just back down right now and apologize to Vivian, I might still put in a good word for you with my mother."

When my steps didn't slow, his tone turned even more arrogant.

"I'm giving you one last chance.

"Walk out that door, and I won't forgive you as easily as I have before."

I didn't even pause. I walked straight through the hotel doors.

Outside, a car waited in the darkness.

An attendant opened the door, and I ducked into the car.

In the last second before the door closed, I heard screaming from the banquet hall.

The gap in the car window was narrowing.

Through it, I saw Jason, who just moments ago had been towering over me with his ultimatums.

He coughed up a spray of blood and collapsed to the floor.

"Drive. Don't concern yourself with him."

The car sped away into the night.