The Legendborn Cycle, #3
Oathbound
by Tracy Deonn
Contents
Chapter 16
Overview
Bree interrupts the abduction of a young Rootcrafter by a human warlock, but the girl protects Bree and forces Bree not to intervene. The encounter reveals that Rootcrafters may be targeted by greater demons for their unusually rich access to root, raising disturbing questions about Erebus’s feeding and complicity.
Zoe stops Bree from pursuing the kidnappers and reveals that she and Elijah are under pressure from a dangerous trial arrangement. Bree is left shaken by the cost of remaining in the Shadow King’s circle and by the innocence of the girl taken from the Rat.
Summary
Bree sees the attacked girl’s golden root and understands that the girl is a Rootcrafter. When the girl is dragged from the stall, Bree confronts the older man assaulting her, but the girl warns Bree not to use her own root power because the girl can See Bree’s root too.
The man insists Bree should leave, then reveals a switchblade and speaks a demonic word that transforms it into a green, solid aether weapon. Bree realizes the man is not a demon but a warlock: a human who has bargained with a demon for borrowed power. The Rootcrafter girl steps between Bree and the blade, trying to protect Bree from being exposed or drawn into the danger.
The warlock threatens to cut the girl if Bree interferes. The girl tells him he wants root, not Bree, and warns that fighting will attract attention. Because the blade is too close to the girl for Bree to stop in time, Bree is forced to let the warlock back the girl out of the bathroom and leave.
Bree rushes after them into the snowy parking area, but Zoe catches Bree by the collar before Bree can leap over the railing. Zoe initially thinks Bree broke her promise not to run, then realizes Bree smells like warlock. Bree explains that a Rootcrafter girl has been kidnapped, but Zoe says they cannot track the car through the snow and warns that warlocks likely work in groups.
As Bree presses Zoe for answers, Zoe reveals that ancestral magic users, especially Rootcrafters, have strong access to root and can be preferred prey for greater demons. Bree connects this to Erebus, the Shadow King, and realizes that feeding on a Rootcrafter could damage or sever the person’s own magic, cutting the Rootcrafter off from family and community. Zoe refuses to confirm whether Erebus is involved and insists they must return because Regazel has arrived and Elijah and Zoe could be punished if they fail their trial situation.
Bree lets Zoe remove Bree’s jacket because it carries the warlock’s smell. As Bree follows Zoe back inside, Bree reflects that she, Zoe, and Elijah chose the Shadow King’s world, but the Rootcrafter girl did not choose her fate and even tried to save Bree from it.
Who Appears
- BreeConfronts a warlock, tries to save a Rootcrafter girl, and questions Erebus’s possible role.
- Rootcrafter girlGolden-eyed ancestral magic user abducted by a warlock; protects Bree despite her own danger.
- WarlockHuman pact-magic user who wields a demon-forged blade and kidnaps the Rootcrafter girl.
- ZoeStops Bree’s pursuit, explains Rootcrafters’ vulnerability, and fears punishment from her trial arrangement.
- ElijahAbsent but central to Zoe’s urgency; expected inside and vulnerable to punishment with Zoe.
- ErebusAbsent Shadow King whose possible feeding on Rootcrafters deeply troubles Bree.