The Legendborn Cycle, #3
Oathbound
by Tracy Deonn
Contents
Chapter IV
Overview
Erebus reveals that Briana's bloodmark protected her from Zoelle and Elijah by burning them when they tried to consume her magic. He explains the origin and purpose of the mark, tying Briana's unique power to Vera's old bargain and Erebus's claim on Briana's bloodline.
The lesson shifts toward Selwyn when Briana asks what consuming her power would do to an imbalanced cambion. Erebus says Selwyn's act of saving Briana likely doomed him to permanent demonia, but Briana clings to the humanity implied by his sacrifice.
Summary
After the twins recoil from trying to feed on Briana's magic, Elijah gags and Zoelle angrily accuses Briana of burning them. Erebus arrives and stops Zoelle from attacking again, explaining that Briana did not consciously hurt them; her power reacted through Erebus's bloodmark. Briana realizes Erebus anticipated both her failure to hide her power and the twins' attempt to consume it, turning the encounter into a lesson for all three of them.
Erebus explains that bloodmarks predate written demon contracts. A bloodmark binds a human debt and warns other demons that the person's bounty is already claimed. Briana inherited Erebus's mark through her maternal line because Erebus joined Vera's plea to the dead, claimed the furnace of power in a future daughter, and offered protection to Vera's descendants. If someone forcibly consumes Briana's magic, the bloodmark flares that power and burns the thief.
The twins ask what would have happened if they had continued feeding. Erebus says balanced cambions like Zoelle and Elijah could become intoxicated by Briana's power but would eventually die. A full demon strong enough to endure the bloodmark's pain could gain unimaginable power, which is why Briana must be guarded.
Briana then asks what would happen to an imbalanced cambion, specifically a Merlin, who tried to consume her power. Erebus recognizes that Briana is thinking of Selwyn and warns her that a Merlin would suffer a fate worse than death. He explains that merely wielding Briana's root can cause intoxication, but consuming it would accelerate a Merlin's fall into demonia, permanently stripping away humanity and leaving only demonic hunger for aether and human pain.
Erebus tells Briana that Selwyn is gone and that, if Selwyn can think of Briana at all, Selwyn would now want to test how much pain Briana can survive. Briana resists this conclusion, citing Selwyn's mother as proof that humanity can remain after descent, but Erebus says Selwyn had no time to prepare. Briana realizes Selwyn continued trying to save her even while Erebus's bloodmark must have burned him, and she argues that sacrifice is deeply human. Her grief causes red root to escape her mouth, prompting Erebus to dismiss the twins so he can speak with Briana alone.
Who Appears
- Briana MatthewsLearns her bloodmark's purpose and grieves Selwyn while rejecting Erebus's bleak conclusion.
- ErebusShadow King teaching through manipulation; explains bloodmarks, Briana's power, and Selwyn's likely fate.
- ZoelleImpulsive cambion twin burned by Briana's bloodmark after trying to consume her magic.
- ElijahMore analytical cambion twin who questions Erebus about the consequences of feeding on Briana's power.
- SelwynAbsent Merlin whose consumption of Briana's root is revealed as potentially permanently damning.
- VeraBriana's ancestor whose plea to the dead created the bargain tied to Briana's power.