"No. I'm not scratching you anymore. It's been an hour!" Isaac shouted.

Zagreus flipped around and gently bit his nose with all three heads. The rogue brushed him off but the thumping tail slowly won him over.

My familiar leaned into the scratches while Sereza cooed.

"He's adorable," she sighed. "You're a lucky bastard, Cyrus. I wish I had a familiar skill."

"I know he's cute and all. But you don't treat my other familiars like this."

"I do too!"

"Oh yeah? Zharia, you never scratch her. Same with Sturmrorex or Erebus."

"Zharia would burn me if it wasn't you petting her. Erebus is a death spider who only wants bones. And Sturmrorex... he reminds me of Fuldro when we were kids."

"Fuldro?"

"Big brute you met at the party? Pridekin."

"Oh," I said. "How does that prevent you from gushing over him? I'd say Sturmrorex is pretty cute."

She barked a laugh and shook her head. "He reminds me more like a cocky little brother. Not an adorable good boy who wants scratches."

"Áine and Magnus? Galarion too."

"Áine is cute, and I appreciate the nose boops. Magnus is also adorable but a little sleepyhead. Galarion..."

I glared.

"...Is an absolute cutie. Just that he’s hard to find cute sometimes when he wants to devour your memories."

"Fair enough," I snorted. "Well, hopefully, they stay adorable as they evolve."

"Somehow, I doubt that."

I glared, but it was half hearted at best. Sereza grinned and rested her head on my shoulder.

For a while, we relaxed . I had calmed down after Zagreus got hurt and the other's were content to do their own thing. Celenae of course, was still testing her new perk. And she would occasionally rope the others in to help.

"So when are we doing the ritual?"

"Huh?"

She sat up and stared. "You know what I mean."

"Hmmm. Not sure. Was there a ritual? Probably shouldn't partake in that kind of stuff. Pretty bad for your health."

"Not cool," she whispered.

Shit.

"Whenever you want, really." I turned and addressed the others. "That goes for all of you. If you want to use me for some extra mana regeneration that fine by me."

All of Broken Tower except Celenae stopped and crowded near me.

I pushed them back and held up my arms, defensively. "Woah, what the fuck?"

"We were being polite and didn't want to presume," Teddy explained.

"I was bullied into not asking!" Isaac quipped.

Teddy groaned while Isaac had a shit-eating grin.

"You know what? I do have a requirement."

"Hey!"

"I require!" I stated. "A day where we all go and celebrate. I don't care where, just that we sit down and have fun for a full day. And no complaints!"

They smiled; except for Isaac who grumbled something about 'damn mushy demon.'

"That sounds perfect," Teddy said.

"Good. Now who's first?"

There was some arguing, but it was decided that Sereza would go first, followed by Isaac, Eodyne, and Teddy. Igas would go last since he mainly required heavy stamina use and not mana for most of his skills.

Just in case there was a secret cap to my perk, and not everyone would be able to acquire it, at least the ones who needed it the most would get it.

"So what do I do? We cut our hands, exchange blood and I swear an oath?" Sereza asked.

"You watched Celenae do it, why are you asking me?"

"To be sure."

"I don't know if we actually have to cut ourselves as badly as we did but I guess it doesn't hurt."

I sat on my knees directly across from Sereza. She extended her hands and ran her dagger across her palms. Blood welled and she cupped it before it dripped onto the dungeon floor. One hand was held above, the other below.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

I mirrored her actions and summoned my athame. The blade sliced the air, piercing my skin only when I clenched my hand, coaxing the blood to surface. As it gathered in my palms, I locked gazes with Sereza, channeling knowledge that implanted itself into my mind.

"From my life's essence to thine, may strength converge. I, Cyrus, forge this pact of blood. What is thy answer?"

Sereza echoed the solemn cadence. "From my life's essence to thine, a bond of loyalty is sealed. I, Sereza, pledge to this blood pact.

She flipped her hand over and our blood mixed as I did the same with the opposite and watched the transparent pink pour into the puddle of green.

A spark burst into existence that tingled across my fingers. It shot into my chest and through my soulspace, settling on the outskirts as a tiny weight attached.

There was a brief moment where Sereza's eyes flashed crimson before it settled and she leaned forward.

I channeled mana into Verdant Healer and directed Áine into healing the cuts. As the skin sealed over, she booped Sereza's nose and landed on my shoulder before sitting and kicking her legs.

Zagreus padded over and sniffed. He lapped up a drop of spilled blood and then honed in when he licked Sereza's.

"Zagre-" she was bowled over and aggressively assaulted by the trio of demanding heads. "Aah! What did I do?"

"Zagreus!"

When he didn't listen Áine flew over and hovered above one head. He tried to push her out of the way but she held extended tiny fist and rocked him in the snout.

Zagreus whimpered and retreated into my lap but I crossed my arms and shook my head.

"But delicious!" he whined.

"Listen to Master."

Igas whistled. "That's a mean punch."

Áine twirled and slowly flew over, causing Zagreus to flatten in an attempt to hide.

On one hand I wanted to laugh. The little guy wasn't hurt, I watched him tank a spike trap and demand scratches a second later, but it was a firm reprimand from what was essentially his big sister.

"Maybe don't punch him next time," I whispered.

"He caused harm."

I turned and saw a bead of blood drip down Sereza's arm. It was a light scratch but still a scratch.

"Zagreus. We don't hurt friends. Okay?"

One head popped out and recoiled at Áine who was only an inch away. He backed up and looked upward and nodded with his little snake head.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to her."

His other heads stretched and waved at Sereza. "Sorry."

Her mouth threatened to form a smile and I saw the heart eyes forming. I shook my head and she regained control.

"If you want something, ask politely. Was it my blood?"

He nodded meekly.

She poked her finger and bowed her head at Áine who shook a fist. As a fat droplet threatened to dribble she reached over and let Zagreus lap it up.

Joy bled through the link and I gently patted him on the back.

"Taste good?"

"Yes!"

"What about poison in general?"

He cocked his heads.

Sereza reached for her bandolier and pulled out a vial. "This is a mild paralytic. What do you think?"

She gave him a taste but there wasn't the same level of enthusiasm as her blood had received.

After testing her entire arsenal of toxins and poisons he clearly preferred her blood but he enjoyed the other concoctions as well.

"Looks like I'll have to add poison to my grocery list," I said.

"We can buy some on our way out. There's at least two stalls that sell them," Teddy added.

"I said grocery list."

"Yes?"

"Nevermind." I adjusted Zagreus and turned to Sereza. "Well, how is it?"

She sent a barrage of daggers into the wall and closed her eyes. After a minute passed, she grinned.

"It works!"

I pulled up the perk and confirmed that everything was working on my side.

Blood Pact (Stage One):

* The Crimson Monarch grants you their favor.

* Through blood is the way to power. For nothing is stronger than the ties that bond.

* Form a pact to share your greatest strength.

* Minor increase to mana regeneration.

* As the bond matures and the connection strengthens, the pact evolves, enhancing its benefits and potentially revealing new powers.

* Current bonded: (Celenae Sylvus, Sereza)

I closed my eyes and reached out with mental feelers. Like Celenae, I knew vaguely of where she was.

"Well beyond your name added to my perk, there weren't any changes. Safe to assume we can proceed with everyone else. If you still want to."

Isaac nearly tackled Sereza out of the way.

Igas leaned over and whispered to my familiar. "Don't follow his example."

"Hey!" Isaac protested.

After settling down, I completed the ritual with Isaac and the rest of Broken Tower. Each one added another weight to my soul but there was something else.

I dived into my soulspace and found a new rune forming along the island, one in the center. It was dull red and I felt the grooves as the shallow cut stretched outward to form loops.

Maybe I need more? It feels... unfinished.

As I exited my soulspace I found Celenae waiting with a notebook. "Anything new?"

"There's definitely a rune forming. Maybe a couple more and it'll do something."

"If you're not against it, Teddy's parents would be a good choice. The perk clearly implies it can rank up, so new bonuses would be a boon."

"How rare is an upgradeable perk?"

"Decently so. I wouldn't expect people to have one. It's not entirely unknown, some arena style rifts have ranks according to how far you get, but they don't upgrade."

"Got it."

I expected things to calm down again. Not everyone was obsessed with tracking things like Celenae but I couldn't have been more wrong.

Igas and Isaac dipped, rushing off to find things to kill while Eodyne and Teddy partnered up to go down another corridor.

That left Sereza who sauntered closer. "Well? Want to go delving?"

"Why do you all want to kill things so badly," I grumbled.

"We're adventurers. It's in our blood."

I motioned to the dungeon. "Give it a month or two."

"Why?"

"The rift, the dungeon, another rift, another dungeon," I paused theatrically and held up my fingers. "I could keep listing things."

"Fine. You made your point."

"Cyrus," Celenae interrupted. "Don't you need more energy to get your skills to the threshold?"

"See! We have a legitimate reason to delve."

Slowly, I stood up and tapped Zagreus. He looked excited and I pointed to the end of the hall where the ice walls had a doorway installed.

"Let's go. Time to hunt your first monster."

"Yes!" Sereza cheered.

"You just want me for loot," I accused.

She shrugged. "Maybe. It wouldn't hurt. I was never allowed to loot anything from the dungeon as part of the contract for being escorted. It'd be nice to see what's inside this place."

"Didn't you say you hated it?"

She stopped and crossed her arms.

"While yes, this trip hasn't exactly been standard. You guys make it fun, and it's a good distraction from the guilt inside my head. Is that so bad?"

Fuck.

"Suppose not. But ground rules. You can get half of what we loot. In return I want something."

"Anything."

"I want a gallon of your blood."

Sereza blinked slowly before backing away.

"Cyrus, that'd kill me."

"Not with Áine," I quipped, patting the fairy who waved from atop my shoulder. "She'll keep you alive and whole. I'll even buy you a donut."

"Does it have to be a gallon?"

"I suppose we could go smaller but it'd be nice to have something on hand to feed Zagreus."

"Blood?" he asked.

"Later. I'm negotiating."

"Fine," she relented. "You can bleed me dry. But I want more than one donut. Whatever they are."

I flashed my fangs in a devil's grin. "Deal."