“Caspen,” Tem pushed his hand away. “Adelaide said our engagement was bound by blood. What does that mean?” Caspen’s eyes went to the golden claw around her neck. He touched it. “It means that when I gave you this, my blood bound our lives together,” he said. “It is an ancient magic, and it is irreversible.” Tem absorbed this information in shock. “So if I die…?” Caspen finished quietly: “I die.”
