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So I’m last choice? Hurt lashes at my back, but I quickly shake my head. What is wrong with me? I don’t like him. I want nothing to do with him or his bond.

“Every time I touch someone, lightning tickles their skin. Can you feel it?” He brushes his thumb over my cheek.

“No, but your affinity isn’t stormcraft.”

He nods. “I know.”

A hard line embeds itself into my forehead. “Then how?”

“I don’t know when she did it, but she cast some spell to keep me from touching anyone else.”

That fucking bitch would do something like that. “But you’re touching me.”

“I know.” He nods, imploring me to understand. “For whatever reason, her spell doesn’t respond to you the same way. I touch you, and it barely reacts. If I drank from anyone else, her spell would activate and her lightning magic would burn them from the inside out.”

Effectively killing anyone who dared to touch what’s hers.

So, when he touched me at the bash, asked if it hurt, the whole strange interaction . . . that whole time, he could have killed me? “Did you know when you drank my blood?”

He grimaces. “Yes, but you couldn’t feel it. The magic didn’t react to you. You were safe.”

“You don’t know that!” I shout, pushing at his chest. “You could have killed me with your little experiment."

He looks away. “You’re right, and I’m sorry for that. I should have explained sooner, but I was too wrapped up in figuring out if I found a loophole.”

Anger still simmers in my chest, but it’s hard to hold on to it when he’s taking accountability. “So, you really can’t touch anyone else?”

“No. She’s trying to control me.”

There’s no way Melody is that unhinged. That’s some next-level possessiveness. I’m not even sure it’s legal, but Foundations like her can get away with almost anything.

“I mean, that sucks, but I don’t see how that’s my problem.” Even still, part of me rages at the thought of her shackling him. That, despite his clear disinterest, she’ll go as far as to kill anyone he tries to hook up with. It’s not quite the same as the mage bargain I have with Mr. Peters, but the premise is the same. It forces me to bend to his will, the same way Melody’s little spell forces Bellamy to only be intimate with her, to only drink her blood.

“Please, Raina. I’ll do whatever you want. Give you anything. Just help me.” His thumb smooths over my cheek, the snaps and pops of Melody’s stormcraft tickling over my skin.

There’s almost nothing he can offer me, but maybe . . . He’s a Foundation, and a strong one at that. There’s a chance he’s been at the same social events as the ruling council. “Do you know the chief justice?”

Bellamy’s hands fall away, emotions shuttering. “I do.”

I arch an eyebrow. “How well?”

“Well enough.”

“I need information. Good information, not the stuff I can look up on the internet.”

He tips his head. “And if I agree, will you help me?”

I might live to regret it, but I exhale softly and relent. I’ll do just about anything to find Addy. “Yeah, I’ll help you, but only if you actually have good intel.”

“I can tell you everything you need to know.”

“How?”

“First, a blood bargain.”

I eye his outstretched hand. A blood bargain—a vampire’s version of a mage bargain—is binding and sealed with blood. It would tie me to Bellamy until we both fulfill our parts. I’m not sure I’m comfortable with that, but then again, I already have one binding agreement, what’s one more? “Fine. I’ll help you, and you tell me about the Chief Justice.” I place my hand in his.

Bellamy nods. “You help me make everyone believe you’re our tether, and I’ll tell you anything you want to know.” He lifts my wrist to his mouth, gaze set intently on mine, and bites me.