She turns when I step into the room, smiling and beckoning me to sit. I do. Snot peers at me happily from her lap.

"You wanted to see me?" I ask as I sink to the ground, hugging my knees.

Amaelia watches me, tilting her head as I settle into a cross legged position. ֿHer smile never leaves her lips. From afar she seemed young, almost childlike, but up close I can see the fine lines that crease her face.

"I am so pleased to meet you," She gushes with a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes.

I glance to the mirrored wall. "I apologize for this. And for Eko."

She follows my gaze. "Yes, well, not all circumstances are ideal."

I nod. "Maybe we can still make the most out of this. What would it take for you to help us and for me to get my cat back?"

"You may have your cat back whenever she chooses. She is her own master. I could not keep her here even if I desired it."

She takes her hands off Snot to prove her point and Snot doesn't move. She just stares at me with her big, black orbs, purring.

I inch closer to her, trying to lure her to me. "Psst, psst, psst, here kitty."

She yawns and licks at the pads of her paws.

"She seems quite content where she is," Amaelia muses.

"Snot," I coo. "Come here."

"Perhaps it would help if I-"

Amaelia scoops Snot's relaxed body from her lap and deposits her right in front of the salt ring of the circle.

I hesitate before I reach in, Vimmy's warning giving me pause. Ultimately, though, Snot is more important. My hands are quick as they dart inside the circle to grab the small cat shaped figure. Amaelia is quicker.

She laughs as her fingers wrap around my wrist. I jerk back but she holds fast. I can't break free. Her dirty nails rake against my skin, drawing bright red lines of blood. I cry out and thrash against her. She's far too strong though and she traces lazy, bloody circles on my arm before finally releasing me.

I scramble backwards until I touch the wall, never taking my eyes off Amaelia. As I watch, she raises her blood soaked fingertips to her lips. Her tongue darts out. Her eyes close in rapture.

The whole time Snot sits, watching me from inside the salt circle, her tail swishing.

"What the- Why would you- My cat," I say weakly.

"Oh hush," Amaelia chides, sucking on her finger tips. "She's fine. And so are you. It was barely a scratch. And look at that, already healed. Interesting."

I glance down at my arm to see the wounds have closed and not even a scratch remains.

"But how could you-?"

I look to the mirror again.

A crackling voice, Vimmy's voice, comes over the speaker. "I think it's time to come out and regroup, Lexi."

"Lexi," Amaelia smiles as though nothing has happened. "What a beautiful name for a beautiful girl."

The door buzzes, letting me know it's open. I ignore it. Snot is still sitting, just out of reach, waiting for me.

"What do you want?" I demand, eyes focused on the cat. "Why did you ask me to come in here? Just to hurt me?"

Amaelia leans forward, hands reaching out to stroke Snot's exposed back. The touch is soft, almost loving.

"Hurt you? I don't hurt, I kill. No, I want to know what someone like you, a non-witch, is doing with a familiar like her," she says.

I crawl forwards, getting as close as I can without crossing the salt boundary.

"You're not the first to mistake her for a familiar," I say, "but she's just a cat."

Amaelia laughs. Her tight curls bounce around her.

"Yes," she giggles. "And I'm a turnip!"

Snot, as though to emphasize my point, lifts her leg high in the air and starts grooming herself.

"She's not a part of this," I tell Amaelia.

Strong hands grab me from behind.

"It's time to go," Vimmy says in my ear.

"Get off me," I say, struggling against him.

Amaelia scoops Snot back into her arms and hooks a finger under her collar. I struggle harder.

"Sometimes seeing truly is believing."

She yanks the collar off and flings it across the room with a whoop of glee. There's a loud crack as the red spinel stone breaks in two. I scream.

"Snot!" I yell. "Snot, no!"

I flail against Vimmy and, when I can't break his grip I steal his magic instead. I rip it from his body without a second though and, as it rushes through me, I jerk my head back and break his nose with a sickening crunch. He grunts and drops me.

Amaelia's eyes go wide as I charge. I don't care about her, though. Just the tiny fur ball in her hands. I snatch Snot away from her and backhand her across the face, sending her flying. I sink to the ground, cradling Snot and barely noticing that I'm inside the circle.

I'm not sure what to expect. This is the first time she's been without her collar since I wove the first lifeforce extension spell all those years ago. I inspect her tiny frame, waiting for her to dissolve into a pile of dust or wither in my arms. Nothing happens.

"I told you," Amaelia says, her face red, her lip split, and her blood covered teeth exposed in a grin. "She does not need such spells. As your familiar her lifeforce is tied to yours."

"You bitch," I growl, Ogre rage bubbling up inside of me.

One hand holding a yowling Snot and the other balled into a fist, I stalk towards her. She stares up at me with her big blue eyes, anticipation on her face. She doesn't look scared, though.

"You won't hurt me," she says.

"And what makes you so sure?"

I could kill her with one hand. Her neck is so thin I could crush her windpipe without letting Snot go.

"Because I've seen your hand. I know the prince has lured you into making a blood pact with him. If he needs me then so do you."

The words almost don't register in time, my hand is already reaching for her. When it sinks in I have to muster every ounce of my self control to restrain myself. I blow a frustrated puff of air out my nose, pick up the two halves of the broken spinel, turn on my heels and leave the room. I walk past a bloody Vimmy who's still clutching his nose and a wide eyed Eko who's been watching through the open door from the hallway.

"Can I-" he gestures to Snot and I slap his hands away.

"Take my cat from me again and I'll snap your neck."

When Snot and I are far enough away that I'm sure they can't overhear I lift her to my face. "Are you okay? Did she hurt you?"

I almost expect her to respond but, of course, she doesn't.

I carry her to the kitchen and hunt through the drawers until I find a spool of kitchen twine. I pick the larger piece of spinel and wrap it in the twine, fashioning a new collar for Snot. Since the stone is broken so is the spell so I have to re-weave it. It takes several minutes and almost all of my magic but it'll last several months before I have to find her a replacement.

"All she proved was that you won't die right away if I take off your collar," I whisper to Snot. "You're not a familiar. You're just a sweet, stinky little baby. I would know if you were magical."

She purrs and rubs her face against mine. I would know, wouldn't I? I would taste it.

"Is she okay?" Eko asks from the kitchen doorway.

I glance at him. "No thanks to you."

There's enough chill in my voice to cause an ice age.

"Perhaps I did not handle the situation as well as I could have."

"No way, which part? The part where you ran off in the middle of the night and kidnapped the woman we need as a willing ally? Or the part where you burst in and almost got my cat killed because of your temper?"

"Both were... regretful."

"That's about as close as you're going to get to an apology from him," Vimmy says, coming in, still clutching his nose.

He grabs a kitchen towel and some ice from the freezer and presses it to his face.

"You broke my nose, by the way. And I'm pretty sure some of the spray made it inside the salt circle so now she's tasted both our bloods."

"So?" I demand.

Vimmy glances at Eko. "Care to explain to her why that's a bad thing?"

Eko's eyebrows knit together in a frown and he looks everywhere but at me. "Amaelia is a blood witch. She made a deal with a prince of hell in exchange for her powers."

"Great," I say sarcastically. "Just great. So what does it mean for Vimmy and I that she's tasted our blood?"

"Among other things she can curse you from anywhere in the world. Nowhere will ever be safe from her."

"And no one thought it would be a good idea to warn me about that before I stepped into an enclosed space with her?"

"I did warn you not to go into the salt circle," Vimmy says.

"Don't go into the salt circle and don't let the blood witch taste your blood are two totally different things!"

I stalk to the fridge and begin pulling ingredients out. Out of spite I decided to make a spinach and goat cheese frittata. I find a mixing bowl and start cracking eggs into it one by one.

"Didn't you just eat?" Vimmy asks. "Like, in more ways than one?"

"She broke Snot's charm," I snap. "I had to waste most of the magic I ate to weave her a new one. The stuff I have left is all Ogre and it's making me so angry."

I crack an egg a little too hard and it splatters all over the counter. I cry out in frustration. There's several eggshells in the bowl now and, instead of picking them out, I throw it in the trash, bowl and all.

"How are you not breaking things all the time?" I ask Vimmy. "I want to break both of your faces right now just for looking at me."

Vimmy laughs. "Only young Ogres feel like that. They either die in battle or learn to control it. It helps to fight. If you like I can take you to the sparring ring."

"You will not lay a hand on her," Eko growls.

"I don't think that's for you to decide, fairy."

"Enough!" I cry. "Both of you need to get out of my sight for the next thirty minutes or I really am going to break your faces. You," I point at Eko, "take care of Snot. She needs to be fed. And you," I turn to Vimmy, "we need to convince our prisoner not to kill us. Let's start by making her feel less like a prisoner. Get her some clean clothes, bedding, food, the works."

It feels good to order them around and doing it takes the edge off my anger a bit.

"Ay ay, captain," Vimmy salutes me. "But before you run off, maybe you should feed? I can offer myself, if you like. My bedroom is just around the corner."

Never mind, the anger is back.

"If you don't get out of my sight in the next five seconds you're going to be eating your meals through a straw."

He jogs out of the kitchen, laughing.

Eko gives me a small nod before picking up Snot and going in search of food for her.

I fully intend to go back to my room to do some meditation and cool down but my feet seem to have a mind of their own and carry me back to the gray wing of the house instead. I buzz myself into Amaelia's iron cell and drag in the two metal chairs from the observation room. I deposit one inside the salt circle and take a seat on the other, positioning it so my toes are almost touching the ring.

"I'm surprised to see you so soon," She says as she drags her chair around and sits.

"We have thirty minutes of idiot free time. No threats, no tricks. Just two girls talking."

"And what would you like to talk about?"

There's something not quite right about the way she's watching me. Her head is tilted a little too far, her eyes are a little too bright. It sends a shiver down my spine.

"Let's talk about Eko."

"The prince of shadows. What about him?"

"He brought you here because he needs your help."

She waves her hands dismissively. "Yes, the box around his Vastura. Personally, I'm a little insulted that they put one in him and not in me."

"How do you know about that?" I ask. "Did they tell you that in The Arc facility?"

She pulls her knees up to her chest and hugs them. "Those monsters didn't tell me anything. Just ran experiment after experiment on me and stole my magic to power their machines. No, it was your familiar who told me. What did you call her? Snot? What a ridiculous name."

She's lying, obviously, but I decide to ignore it. It's a difficult feat thanks to the wild Ogre magic pounding in my veins but I manage.

"So could you get it out? If you wanted to, that is."

"With the right tools and the right timing I could kill the moon goddess herself if I wanted to."

She lets out a wild, unstable laugh.

"Because you made a deal with a prince of hell?"

"Now that was a true blood pact," she murmurs softly, licking her lips. "He loves blood. So do I. I liked the taste of your blood. It was rich and smooth. Like aged wine."

"They told me you could hurt me now that you've tasted my blood," I lean in. "That you could curse me from anywhere and there's nothing I could do to stop you."

She brings her fingers to her lips like she's tasting my blood again. "Would you like to know a secret?"

I nod.

"I don't need your blood to do those things. I don't need your blood or your name or your toenail clippings or anything else. I can curse anyone, anytime, anywhere, for no reason at all other than that I want to."

"So what's stopping you from cursing the whole world?"

"Who's to say I haven't?" She shrugs.

"So then why would I ever let you go? Why wouldn't I just let you rot in this circle? Or kill you."

She laughs. "I've talked to your familiar and I've tasted your blood. I know you don't have it in you to let someone rot in a prison. If you did then you wouldn't have that scar on your palm."

I look down at the smooth white line.

"I have one too," she says, showing me a matching line on her own palm. "He promised that we would be free of the seal one day and I promised that, when we were, I would never harm him. We were lovers and tt seemed so romantic at the time. Now it just seems foolish. What did he promise you?"

I tell her. Saying it out loud for the first time since we made the blood pact I realize what a terrible bargain it turned out to be.

"Two fools sitting in a room," Amaelia licks her lips. "Two silly cats pining over a wolf."

My cheeks heat. "I'm not pining over him."

"Of course not," she agrees sarcastically. "I'm certain you don't spend every free moment you have wondering if he thinks of you. No, not you. You're too strong, no?"

"I don't care what he thinks of me," I lie. "As soon as we get that thing out of him and he recovers his magic, my part of the blood pact will be fulfilled and I'll never have to see him again. Good riddance."

"Is that so," She says thoughtfully. "Well, perhaps I'd be willing to help you after all. Perhaps another blood pact is exactly what each of us needs."

My ice runs cold but, before I have a chance to speak, there's a crackling sound as the speakers turn on.

"Lexi," Vimmy's voice hisses from somewhere above. "Can you come over here please."

I stand so fast I knock the chair over. I thought we had at least ten more minutes before either of them came looking for me.

"I have to-" I wave my hand around and trail off, backing out of the room.

The door buzzes to let me through and I dash out.

Vimmy isn't the only one waiting for me in the observation room and my face goes so red it must be glowing at the sight of Eko standing there with his arms crossed.

"Hey guys."

Vimmy doesn't look me in the eye and Eko's gaze is so intense my body feels like it's on fire.

"Care to explain yourself?"

I force myself to turn my embarrassment into anger.

"I'm making a deal with the only person who can help us," I tell him. "I'm getting that thing out of you."

"You are making a mistake," Eko growls, stepping towards me.

"No, you made a mistake and I'm fixing it."

He takes another step and another until and we're so close that we're almost touching. He gazes down at me and, as he does, his face softens.

"She is dangerous," he whispers, brushing a stray strand of hair away from my face. "She is trickier than even the Fae. Her deals are not to be taken lightly."

I unconsciously lean into his touch. "You made one with her."

"And it almost got me killed. I do not wish to see you put in harm's way. We will find another way."

"There isn't another way," I shake my head, pulling back. "We can't wait around for some other perfect solution to fall into our laps. We're safe here for now but sooner or later The Arc will find us and when they do it'll be windowless rooms and iron stakes for both of us." I glance at Vimmy and Amaelia. "All four of us."

"It's a moot point anyway," Vimmy interrupts. "We have nothing to offer her that would satisfy the conditions of a blood pact."

"What about her freedom?"

Vimmy shakes his head. "Won't work. It's not a sacrifice. What you're asking for requires something big in exchange."

"Well what would she want?" I ask.

"The only thing I have ever heard her say she desired was her cottage by the sea," Eko says. "Perhaps we could track it down for her."

Vimmy snorts. "That was over three thousand years ago. There's no way in hell that place is still standing. There's probably a hotel or something there now. Besides, we don't even know where it was and the coastline of France is way too big to search."

"What if we could offer her something similar?" I muse. "A cottage by the water where she could have a garden and chickens and whatever else she wanted."

"Again," Vimmy says. "Buying her some property somewhere isn't really a big sacrifice."

I let out a big sigh, hating what I'm about to do. "I have something else in mind."