Orange’s voice followed me along passageway. “Two things are going to happen, Jessa. Firstly, Mischa will never stop bleeding without us. The knife was coated in silver, and a spell which cannot be reversed by any but us.” No matter how far I walked, her voice continued to follow. “Second … every guard you have to go through to escape from Krakov is going to bring you back to us. We control the male mind, you have no chance.”

Shit. She was right. I could not get out of this place on my own. It was too narrow for my dragon, and in animal form I couldn’t carry Mischa. My sister was now slipping in and out of consciousness, and considering her blood was starting to soak the floor beneath us, I knew they were right about the wound healing.

I growled as Orange spoke again. “Help us and we will make sure your sister is healed, and we’ll give you the weapon. You can have it. The dragon king will not rise for two more days, so you will have time to try and hide it from us.”

It wasn’t as if I had much of a choice.

I exhaled deeply before turning back to the direction I’d just come from. The twins were a long way from me now, still standing on either side of the compass mark. Knowing I couldn’t run from this, I stomped along, my arms barely registering the strain of holding Mischa. It took me no time to reach them.

“What do I have to do?”

I spoke each word slowly, trying to figure out how to kill them with jagged words and angry looks.

“Blood,” Lemon said, “we just need a little of your blood.”

I took a step back, before gently lowering my sister to the floor. Straightening again I made my way across to the twins. They must have sensed my compliance, because they turned their backs on me and faced the compass. Knowing this could be my best chance, I slipped my hand beneath my shirt, my hand slick with Mischa’s blood. I could feel the spell on my skin. Laying my palm across it, I called for Braxton. Out loud and mentally. Just in case it required one or the other. Orange flipped her head around, looking first at me and then down the hall.

“Your friends can’t save you. Just give us what we want and no one else needs to get hurt.”