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Fell held up a hand. “The amount does not matter. I won’t pay it. I don’t give in to thieves.”

I looked at Fell with some annoyance. Was this even worth the fight? He had the coin to spare. He could pay, and we could avoid any trouble.

The leader’s eyes found me again. “Coin isn’t the only payment we accept. We can barter... other things.”

I didn’t miss the direction of his gaze. Neither did Fell. His expression unreadable, he looked to me and back to the brigand.

I held my breath, my fingers clenching my reins tightly.

Still grinning, the leader nodded to me, adding, “We can take the girl there as our due.”

No one moved.

I waited, wondering if Fell would agree. He didn’t want me, after all. If they wanted to be rid of me, this would be the opportunity to do so without being directly responsible. He would have an explanation to give my parents and the lord regent.Sorry, bandits took her.

Rotting Teeth frowned at me. Shaking his head, he muttered, “Bad luck, that.”

His leader sent him an annoyed glance. “What are you on about?”

“The hair.” He shook his head. “She’s... wicked.”

I resisted rolling my eyes. It would not be the first time I’d heard that allegation.

The leader gave his insufferable grin again. “I like them wicked.” Then he shrugged as though he were not talking about something as significant as my life. “What can I say? I like redheads. See so few these days.”

“For good reason,” Rotting Teeth muttered, referring to the war on witches. Not that there was much of a war anymore. They had all been run to ground in the past few decades. Eradicated. Or they hid themselves so well that they avoided detection.

Arkin leaned to the side, the leather of his saddle creaking as he whispered something to Fell. I couldn’t hear the words, but I could guess.

Let him have her.

“She’s not for the taking,” Fell declared after a long moment, ignoring Arkin.

The bandits’ leader tsked. “Come now. She’s not one of you. Anyone can see that. She looks ready to topple off her saddle. She must be slowing you down.”

I bristled. Did I lookthatfeeble and pathetic? I pulled my shoulders back as though I could suddenly appear more stalwart, as strong and sturdy as the rest of them. I hadn’t uttered a complaintin the days since we’d started this hellish ride. I bit back a retort insisting that I was not slowing them down. They merely moved at a fast clip. At least, I didn’t think they had slowed their pace because of me. I now eyed Fell suspiciously. Would they be moving faster if I wasn’t with them? That did not sit well with me. I did not want to be a burden and give him another reason to resent me.

“Oh, now you’re doing me a favor by taking her off my hands, is that it? So considerate of you.” Fell laughed darkly. “Which is it, friend?” The way he stressedfriendwas decidedly unfriendly. “Is she a burden? Or valuable enough to barter?”

The brigand’s smile slipped. Clearly he did not appreciate being laughed at. He leaned forward over his mount as though ready to impart something significant. “Either give me the girl or I’ll litter the road with pieces of you.” He gestured to our full party with a mild flick of his fingers. “All of you.”

Suddenly my skin snapped and pulled tight as warmth rose up inside me. A sense of foreboding rushed over me. Air tremored from my lips... from my mouth, which suddenly tasted of copper.

Compelled for some mystifying reason, I lifted my gaze from the menacing man and peered into the dense walls of foliage to the right and left of us along the road. It was impossible to see within the thick press of towering trees, but I looked anyway. I tried to see whatever it was I felt staring back at me... at us. I couldn’t see them, but I felt them. Felt their hot gusts of breath, the rush of blood through their veins, their humming excitement ready to be unleashed upon us.

There were more. More brigands lying in wait, ready to cut us down like a scythe to grass if the order was given. It was not just the manageable dozen or so in front of us.

A panicked gasp left me. My gaze flew to Fell. His attention was also on the trees. He knew, too. Perhaps he had always known, from the moment we rounded the bend. And, looking at me, he saw thatIknew. He read that knowledge on my face as easily as one scanned a map, and I felt his surprise. It was the same curious way he had looked at me in the chancery, when I’d emerged from myhiding spot behind the painting. The same way he had looked at me in our marriage bed—his eyes full of wonder and curiosity.

He’d been unable to see my face through the veil, but still he had looked at me, surprise flickering across his shadowed face as his body took mine. I’d felt his shock... his bewilderment as we joined, me taking from him as much as he took from me. My face burned fire.

“Give us the girl.”

The words jarred me back to reality. I had forgotten everyone else, lost in the memory of that bedding and the pleasure I had found. At the voice, Fell and I dragged our gazes back to the brigand.

“She’s my wife,” Fell said. Just like that. A statement of fact.

The admission affected me, though. The pulse spiked at my throat. It was the first time I had ever heard him acknowledge me as that. It made our marriage feel all the more real—equal parts terrifying and exciting. His voice, those words... My belly dipped.