Page 126 of Of Bargains & Betrayal

“Oh, Lan, dear?” came a soft but distinctly male drawl from inside Gallan’s quarters.

He swore quietly and pinched his brow.

A shifter with lengthy, chocolate-brown hair came up beside Gallan, and I was quick to avert my eyes anywhere but his proud, fully nude form. A challenge, when he was hung like a goddess-damned horse.

My guilt and amusement were warring in equal measure—at least someone was getting laid in the Keep.

“Marcus,” Gallan said slowly, “This is Enora. Maksym’s…betrothed.”

Well, that was better than his indebted prisoner.

“Pleasure to meet you,” I quipped, and Gallan fixed me with an unimpressed stare.

Marcus’ attention roved over me for a solid few seconds before he smiled, bearing sharp canine teeth. “Oh, the pleasure is all mine, darling. Coming to join us, or are you⁠—”

Gallan moved to block his view and pulled the door so all I could make out again was the silver flash of his eyes. “Just give me a minute, will you? Stay there and don’t move.”

Click.

My bit of guilt for waking Gallan in the wee hours of the morning was no longer anywhere to be found. No, I chuckled to myself as I headed over to an alcove window a few paces away and settled on the slab of the sill. Dense shrubbery partially obscured the view, dotted along the exterior of this wing of the Keep, and the sky was still quite dim as dawn worked on making its slow appearance way out on the horizon.

I didn’t get to appreciate the peaceful view for long.

A door clicked open and shut, and Gallan strode over. No silk robe to be seen, just a white shirt left unlaced a little too low, a pair of dangerously tight pants, and worn leather boots.

“Sorry for disturbing you and your…guest.” I plastered on a cheeky smile, and Gallan rolled his eyes.

“Don’t. With any luck, he’ll be gone when we get back. I’d thank you if I weren’t so damn tired right now.”

My brows climbed. “When we get back?”

He sighed. “Yes, we. Now, take this. It’s forged with a specially imbued core and bright iron, which I think you may be rather familiar with already.”

I stared at him before I took the sheathed dagger and gave it a lengthy glance. “Bright iron? From Odessa?”

“None other. Though we mine it from the Northern Faces too.” At my prolonged confusion, he sighed and added, “You clearly are less familiar with how badly that ore interrupts a dark fae’s flow of aether. Fucks with our connection to our magic terribly. So, if we happen to run into a crazed wolf while we’re out gallivanting…”

Every bit of that was news to me.

Bright iron was a massive export out of Odessa, and, despite their dangers, our mines employed thousands of citizens. But all I knew was that the ore forged hearty, expensive weapons, and we shipped most of them directly to High Fae buyers in neighboring Elysiel. Something about the metal serving as a drain for their illustrious syphons—I never paid enough attention in lessons, clearly, because I was just drawing the connection then.

“Oh.” I tested the weight of the sheathed blade in my hand before fastening it to my belt—it was remarkably light, but if it was properly tempered bright iron, it would be formidable.

“And just so we’re clear, make sure you aim for the neck should the unlikely circumstances arise.”

“The neck?” I croaked. “Wouldn’t that be…fatal?”

“Oh, my sweet princess,” Gallan chuckled. “That’s the point. If they are sick enough to strike, there is no saving them. Compassion is as swift an end as we can give them. Now, come.” He extended his hand and beckoned me up off the sill. “Let’s get out of here.”

“How far away is Embervale exactly?” I asked as he slung his arm across my shoulders, but he didn’t steer me into steps.

Instead, Gallan grinned, and my world shuddered.

Well, my second foray into unwilling plane stepping didn’t turn my stomach inside out, but I was in perfect shape to fire a barrage of profanities at Gallan the moment the world reformed around me and the ground took solid shape beneath my feet.

“You arsehole,” I seethed as I pushed him away.

His moon-silver eyes dazzled with amusement. “What? You wanted to go to Embervale, and here we are. Did you think we were going to walk?” he scoffed. “That would’ve taken us hours, princess.”