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“He gave himself upafterwe found out where he’d built his new lair. Don’t be a cheap bastard, Ezra. Ben’s a lot more generous. He was told to pay me whatever I asked.”

A laughing Ezra shook his head. “Fine. I won’t deduct any of the fee for retrieving him but I still need proof that he’s safe to be set loose. How can ya guarantee that?”

“I can’t guarantee Mulan won’t curse Ben if he kills the tiger catsorthat Bo is one hundred percent safe to be cut loose. All I can tell ya is that I believe in him. He’s a male in love. Come with me and watch the negotiations for yerself. I don’t mind an audience for it. Bo might feel a bit intimidated by yer presence but he’ll have to get used to the people here if he wants to work as my troll partner.”

“Partner?Ya’re truly crazy to believe that’s possible, Aran. Can the troll even speak to ya?”

“Jayesh said Bo’s speech is limited but I’m not worried about that. Five tiger cats in cages speak for themselves. The shamanistic troll is a very different story, though. He needs to stay in custody until he realizes the error of his ways. I don’t have direct proof he’s a magick wielder but he or someone working with him sent a giant hydra snake after us while we were trying to collect him.”

“Hydras? Those came from the Greek pantheon. They’re simple to make if ya have enough magick, though. The magick wielder could have been any sort of practitioner.”

“That giant snake could never have fit in the cage the troll originally had it in. That snake had been further enhancedafterhe released it from the cage, which means someone in his lair used magick to change it. I put a spell on the troll to make sure he couldn’t speak any spells himself. Take care with that one, Ezra. He’s dangerous.”

Ezra stared at me, blinking slowly. “What is a troll shaman like? Trolls don’t have enough brain retention to speak full sentences, much less practice magick. How does a troll memorize the spells?”

I lifted my shoulders and let them fall. “All I can tell ya is that the snake was so big it took three of us to take it down. We learned the hard way that it was a hydra. Conn called demon fire to ash it. Also, someone magickly programmed it to come after me. The snake ignored everyone else.”

“It could have been Hisser who helped the troll. Word got out that ya were working for the Shadow Breakers again. I can see him encouraging someone he knew you’d want to hunt down.”

“But why not come after me directly? It’s not like I’m hiding.”

Ezra shrugged. “Who knows what he’s thinking? He fancies himself to be a god. We both know Hisser loves altering normal creatures. The prison gave him herbs in his food to stifle his magick. If that hydra snake was his creation, he’s more powerful now than he used to be.”

“I know, which is not good news for me.”

Ezra frowned. “No, it’s not, Aran. Keep yer team close.”

I would do that but not because Ezra suggested it. I would do it because it was good advice.

Jayesh puthis hands together and bowed in greeting. “Greetings, Aran of The Dagda. I have been looking forward to meeting you.”

“I’m sorry to have kept ya waiting, Jayesh. It took me a while to convince our substitute boss to give my idea a chance. Fairies are natural skeptics.”

Jayesh’s smile was brilliant as he chuckled. “I have explained things to Bo as well as I could. I think he understands but do not think he believes it is true. I got the impression Bo isn’t used to things going well for him in his life.”

“They say actions always speak louder than words. Let’s unlock his cell and see how it goes.”

I lifted my chin and waited for the guard to bring Bo out to us. Rasmus stood by with one of the tiger cat cages. He’d gotten someone to feed this particular animal and it now calmly watched the proceedings. Food was the way most trained them. I was trying to imagine Mulan feeding fresh meat to her mutated kitten.

Bo arrived in magickal cuffs looking quite studly for a male troll. His hair hung in dark black strands that showed no silver hairs yet, which meant he was well under forty. His muscles were defined but he was still very lean.

The troll seemed much bigger than I remembered, towering over me from his seven-feet-plus height but nearly everyone was taller than me. My five-foot stature intimidated no one who couldn’t sense my magick.

I smiled at Bo before turning to nod to Rasmus. He walked over with the tiger cat cage and set it gently at Bo’s feet. Remembering how uncomfortable those cuffs were, I reached out and chanted until the metal bindings on Bo’s wrists opened. He didn’t flinch a bit as I removed and handed the cuffs to Rasmus.

When I was done, I pointed down at the tiger cat cage. “Bo’s,” I said, stating the possessive term.

Bo rubbed his wrists and tilted his head. “Bo’s?” he answered, turning it into a question.

I nodded and said, “Yes,” in as firm a tone as I could manage. “Tiger cat for Bo’s mate.”

“Mate,” Bo said softly, eyes widening as he glanced down at the tiger cat.

If I’d been Bo, I wouldn’t have believed my luck, either. Me giving him a tiger cat was an offer too good to be true.

Jayesh jumped into the conversation. He grunted a few times and moved his hand between the tiger cat cage and off to somewhere else.

Bo’s eyes widened further as his gaze connected to mine. “Lie?” he asked me.