Page 125 of A Soul’s Awakening

Lance shook his head, a deep frown lining his face. “Then… why agree to wear one?

Declan shrugged. “Most faeries only agree to them because they are desperate. There’s a threat to your family, or—”

“They take your child?” Helena interjected.

Eleanor focused on the Wisp coin, still sitting on the centre of the tabletop. If Mum and Lance do this… I’ll be free. She remembered the faerie who healed her, the one with the cut across her wings, done with such precision that Eleanor knew she would never fly again. And so would she. The Changeling’s gaze met the young man’s face and frowned. “Why didn’t they use a Bargain Bracelet on me, before… this?” She gestured to herself.

“It only works on people with magic,” Declan explained. “An enchanted bargain can only bind those who have magic.”

“Then how are the faeries in the manor helping you?” Eleanor asked. “If they have bargains and masters… that doesn’t make sense, they shouldn’t be able to.”

The young man exhaled through his nose. “Because they are working within the limits of their deals. They are still going about their work at Tithe Manor and doing what they can within that. Placing a coin on a carriage is a not a violation, nor is passing on a message, nor leaving a note. If they go about their work, the deal is kept.”

Helena interjected. “But…” She lowered her voice. “Why wouldn’t the Fae, the Seelies... plan for that?”

“Arrogance,” Lance and Declan said together.

Eleanor suppressed a giggle as the Merman scowled down at the Half-blood, who lowered his gaze in response.

“The High Prince is right,” Declan agreed. “If you think you’re untouchable, then you act like it.”

“They can’t be doing the carriage part though… right?” Eleanor asked, gaze on the copper disc again.

Lance nodded in agreement. “No matter how arrogant you are, surely a deal of service would include the requirement of not killing your master.”

Declan huffed. “That’s because they are not the ones using the devices for the act. The stable faeries are just placing them on the Seelie carriages.”

“So… who is?” Eleanor pressed.

“Family members of the indentured, the artificers themselves, Si—” He let out a long exhale. “Look, do you want to help, or not?”

Eleanor turned her face to her mother, who had been unusually silent during the back-and-forth between the three. The Changeling studied her mother’s expression. She looked as though the wheels in her mind were turning fast, like those on a carriage pulled by a Seelie Stallion.

She laid her hand on Helena’s arm. “Mum? You okay?”

Lance leant forward over the table. “Sweetheart?”

“I’m in,” Helena agreed, picking the device up from the table.

“Mum, you can’t—” Eleanor argued, pulse quickening in concern.

“Yes, I can. Anything to keep you safe.” Tears silvered in her mother’s eyes. “I won’t lose you again.”

Eleanor huffed angrily, her gaze passing between her mother and Lance. He nodded over the table to Helena, a soft look on his face, before turning a glower to Declan.

“If this is a lie or you betray us, I will drown you,” the High Prince promised.

The young man swallowed and looked up at the towering Merman. “Understood. There is no lie here, Highness.”

“When is this all happening?” Helena asked.

Declan snapped his head back to her. “Soon. It will be within the week. The servants are trying to fix it, so they leave all around the same time and the partner coins are attached shortly before their departures. We are aiming for a coordinated removal. There are twelve devices, six pairs, one for the King and five for the Lords.”

“I will be ready,” Helena replied. She met Lance’s face across the table. “We will be ready.”

The night after her family’s meeting with Declan, Eleanor slumbered fitfully, Rian haunting her nightmares again.

“Leave me alone,” Eleanor growled up at the Seelie King. I can’t let him know anything. I need to make sure he doesn’t figure out what they’re planning. The Changeling clenched her jaw.