“All right. Fine. Do it,” I agreed reluctantly, painfully aware that time was not, in fact, elastic, and I still had to deal with the castellan later. What was his payment again? Enchanting a skeleton? Hardly a challenge. I’d managed it once. I could manage it again.

  “Hold on,” Drake said mildly. “What about a magical oath? I help you, you help me. Fair exchange.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him.

  “You’re joking,” I muttered. “Fine. What do I have to do?”

  He smiled — not wide, not friendly. The kind of smile that suggested he’d already won five minutes ago and was just being polite about it.

  “Just repeat after me,” he said. His voice shifted, slipping into something solemn and deliberate.

  “I swear to fulfil the service requested by this mage in exchange for the removal of my curse.”

  I rolled my eyes but repeated obediently,

  “I swear to fulfil the service requested by this mage in exchange for the removal of my curse.”

  Drake straightened and turned his palm towards me. A faint blue glow gathered at its centre. He took my hand.

  Not roughly. Not gently either. Just… confidently. Like he assumed I wouldn’t pull away — and was right.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  I had to suppress a shiver. Not fear. More the unpleasant awareness that something irreversible was happening, and that he was perfectly comfortable with that.

  The light in his palm began to swirl and intertwine with darkness, forming a thin magical thread that stretched towards my fingers and wrapped around them. I felt a slight tingling sensation, then the thread dissolved, leaving behind a strange heaviness on my skin.

  “There,” Drake said, withdrawing his hand. “The deal is now bound by magic. Break the oath, and you won’t enjoy the consequences.”

  I frowned, examining my fingers as the last traces of magic disappeared.

  “So what happens if I don’t do it? Do I turn into a pumpkin? Or something equally seasonal?”

  “Not a pumpkin,” he smirked. “But the consequences will be… deeply unpleasant.”

  He paused, just long enough to enjoy it.

  “Oh, and I should mention — you’ll need to enchant the skeletons and the ghost guard in Dean Grey’s reception area.”

  “And you’re only mentioning this now?” I exclaimed, shaking my head so violently I nearly dislocated my neck. “That’s insane. Has all this magic finally fried your brain?”

  Drake’s grin only widened. Tiny sparks of delight danced in his eyes. He was clearly enjoying my panic.

  I opened my mouth to object.

  “Too late,” he said cheerfully, leaning back and lacing his fingers behind his head like a man settling onto an invisible throne. “You agreed. Magical oaths are serious business. Start planning your weekend with me. We’re going on a little expedition.”

  This had to be some kind of elaborate joke. I’d assumed I’d be doing something harmless. Not breaking into the dean’s office. I had not sworn a magical oath to become his accomplice in the heist of the century.