“That won’t be possible.” He took a thin knife from his pocket and slashed open his palm. Dipping his fingers in the red liquid, he wrote a few symbols that ignited in his palm. “This is a binding oath, a vow that I will give you that which you seek, but to ensure the quality of the sample and your cooperation, I must ask that your end of the deal be met first.”

Having little experience with witches, I wasn’t sure what I had just witnessed. “Dell?”

“It’s legit,” she confirmed. “He’s sealed deals with Cord this way. I recognize the symbols.”

“Okay.” A thrill of hope zinging through me, I followed Miguel. “Let’s do this.”

Still unsure which of us had made the better deal, I consoled myself with the simple truth that I had already promised him blood and exacted an oath as to the limits of how he could use it. What harm had I done by giving him more blood? Magic-imbued blood? I wasn’t sure. But if it helped his wife and got me to Harlow, I wasn’t sure I cared about the ramifications.

I had never been a worry-about-tomorrow-when-it-comes type person, but desperation makes fools of us all.

The three of us followed Miguel down into his basement lab, which resembled a cross between a five-star kitchen and a morgue. He offered me a stool, and I used it to climb onto the stainless-steel table. He urged me to lie down, but I politely declined with a growl in my voice.

The procedures themselves were clinical. I was given a half hour to shift back into my own skin before he drew his control sample. Then, although I didn’t need it, I accepted a drop of blood from Dell to magic-up my veins before he drew his last vial.

The fact Enzo arrived with a glass of orange juice and a small plate with two chocolate chip cookies they forced down me made me wonder how often they did this very thing. Then I decided I probably didn’t want to know.

“Do you need anything else?” I hopped to the floor and rubbed my arms, adrenaline giving me hot-and-cold flashes. “How long will it take you to cast?”

Busy securing his treasures, it took Miguel a minute to answer. “I already have.”

I whirled on him. “What?”

“I did that upstairs.” He tossed me the bracelet without a backward glance. “I had to be sure I could hold up my end of the deal before we finalized the transaction.”

“You’ve known all this time?” I fumed. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

After locking the vials in a metal case and tucking that inside a massive refrigeration unit he also locked, Miguel faced me. “I had to be certain you would honor your side of the bargain too.”

“Are you implying I’m not trustworthy?” I bristled.