Page 18

Chapter Eighteen

T he next morning, Harm found himself once again clutched in a dragon’s talons, watching the world flash by below. This black dragon—Damig—held them the same way Golbet had, clasped in his front claws without squeezing. There wasn’t any gentleness in the grip, but Harm didn’t fear he was going to be squashed either, leaving him free to enjoy the ride and the view of the Court of Stone passing below.

In the dragon’s other front claw, Val’s dragon ride wasn’t nearly as peaceful as his since she had her hands full with a panicking, flailing dog.

The beat of the dragon’s wings provided a steady, almost soothing rhythm as they soared. The white mountains and dark evergreens blurred as they passed, their shadow keeping pace over the ground. Every once in a while, the shape of another dragon veered across the sky in the distance, glinting in jewel-tones from brightest reds to deepest purples .

Even after all this time in the Fae Realm, Harm couldn’t get over the strangeness of everything. Would his world and life seem boring after all of this? Assuming he ever returned to the Human Realm.

As the sun rose higher in the sky, the dragon carried them over the border, the land beneath them instantly changing from white mountains and dark evergreens to burnt scrub brush, gravel, and sand unlike anything Harm had ever seen before. This high up, he couldn’t feel the change in temperature that would signify crossing from the wintry landscape to the desert.

The occasional village of sandstone homes or a nomadic tribe with their airy tents flashed below. The small figures of people or animals moved between the homes or tents as they passed, a few halting and peering upward at the dragon flying overhead.

At last, a larger cluster of sandstone homes appeared on the horizon. A taller, castle-like fort of stone stood on the hill above the town.

The dragon swooped, banking toward the fort. Harm’s stomach dropped, but his heart soared. He’d likely never experience flight again, and he wanted to savor every moment of the adventure. He climbed to his knees, gripped a talon, and peered between the talons to take in their landing.

The dragon folded in his wings and zipped from the sky at a dizzying speed. At what seemed the last moment, the dragon’s wings flared with a whump from hitting the seemingly solid air. Only Harm’s grip on the talon saved him from tumbling within the dragon’s fist.

The dragon’s rear legs landed with a thump . Then without any warning, he spilled Harm, Val, and Daisy onto the sandy ground.

Harm rolled, the sand grinding into his skin and going down the back of his shirt. Bother. He already hated sand.

A few feet away, Val gave a wheeze as Daisy landed on her stomach, then a groan as Daisy shoved off her to scramble away. The dog clawed at the sand, trying to get away from the dragon.

Harm scrambled on his hands and knees to grab Daisy’s leash along with Val, keeping the dog from dragging her again.

Once they had Daisy somewhat under control, Val pushed the rest of the way to her feet, her face hard and blank as she faced their surroundings.

Harm released Daisy’s leash and stood. His leather jerkin and trousers were gritty with sand as he brushed at them, taking in the fort as he did so.

Stone towers marked out each corner with thick walls connecting them. Fee?n warriors, dressed much like Val was in leather armor adorned with a breastplate, marched back and forth. At least they didn’t seem too concerned by the appearance of a dragon in the middle of their fort. Harm wouldn’t have wanted to find himself in the middle of a fee?n -dragon battle.

In front of Harm, a squat, sandstone building loomed. Maybe the headquarters of this fort. Or perhaps the home of a fee?n warlord.

The double doors opened, and two fee?n warriors marched out of it. They stepped aside, and a fee?n woman strode into view. She wore silken robes that swirled around her, yet she had a curved sword and dagger buckled at her sides. Her black hair was done in braids woven into an elaborate hairstyle that glinted with gems and gold strands.

In a blink like a shimmer on water, the black dragon shifted into his fee?n form. “Zaya.”

“Damig.” The warlord’s eyes glinted, her mouth tightening in something between a smirk and a sneer. “Is this the human you promised in your bargain?”

“Yes, it is.” Damig gestured to Harm.

“The sand dragon venom, as bargained.” The warlord gestured, and four human men trundled from the building, carrying barrels on their backs. They set the barrels down before Damig and stepped back, though they kept their heads bowed.

Harm swallowed. That was a preview of what he’d endure once he was bound to this warlord. At least basic grunt labor was better than what Queen Titania had planned for him. Or Queen Mab.

Damig withdrew a large bag from the pocket of his jerkin. Even though the bag was much smaller than the barrels, he somehow lifted each barrel and stashed them inside until all four barrels disappeared into what must be a magical bag.

Once that was done, Damig transformed back into his black dragon form, the bag still hooked over one long talon. As he beat his wings, he kicked up clouds of sand.

Harm squeezed his eyes shut, shielding his face. When the swirling wind and scouring sand finally stopped, he cracked his eyes open to discover that the dragon was already high in the sky overhead.

Warlord Zaya stared down her nose, first at Harm, then at Val. “And who are you?”

Val stepped forward, straightening her shoulders as much as she could with Daisy yanking at the end of the leash. “I’m the fae mercenary tasked with delivering this human from his realm. If you would please accept the delivery, I’ll be on my way.”

Harm tried not to flinch at the cold tone to Val’s voice. He had to trust what she’d said the night before. She was merely extricating herself so that she would be free to attempt to free him.

Warlord Zaya’s gaze swept back to Harm, assessing him with the same cool indifference one might use when buying fruit in the market.

Harm lifted his chin. He’d been passed around like a piping hot oliebol from the moment he’d entered this realm. He wasn’t going to cower now.

Warlord Zaya gave something almost like a sigh before she turned back to Val. “As much as I would wish to claim such a strapping specimen, I no longer hold his bargain. I lost it in a card game last evening.”

“A card game? Really?” Harm thought he’d muttered it under his breath, but perhaps he’d been too loud because Val shot him a quelling look.

Harm snapped his mouth shut. Still, this was ridiculous. He understood being bargained away. Somewhat. But, seriously, lost in a card game?

Val spoke through gritted teeth, the muscle at the corner of her jaw flexing. Perhaps she was just as frustrated by this happening yet again as he was, even if she was trying hard not to show it. “Then who holds his bargain?”

“I lost his bargain to the leader of Wild Hunt Grimbrand.” Warlord Zaya waved her hand, as if losing a card game was a small thing.

Val’s whole body stiffened. Was something wrong? Was her band at war with this Wild Hunt Grimbrand or something like that?

“I suppose you’ll wish hospitality for the night.” Warlord Zaya’s eyes glinted, the expression more sneer than smirk now. “As you are now employed by a courtless fae, you’ll have to bargain for it. The Law of Hospitality doesn’t demand it.”

“No, we won’t need hospitality. We’re leaving.” Val spun on her heel and marched toward the gates of the fort.

Daisy trotted at Val’s side, calm now that the dragon had left.

Harm hurried to fall into step on her other side, working to keep his questions firmly behind his teeth rather than voice them in front of the warlord.

Val strode with such a bristling, dangerous edge to her that the fee?n guards jumped to open one of the gates. Not even the warlord tried to stop them as they walked from the fort and onto the gravel path that ran from the fort to the village below.

Instead of following the path, Val turned and headed out into the trackless sands of the desert, leaving Harm with no choice but to trot along at her side.

Val clenched her teeth, her veins burning as she pounded her feet against the sand. She set a relentless pace, needing to put as much distance between them and that smirking warlord as possible.

This was all so wrong. So much worse than what Harm realized.

He was looking at her now with those big blue eyes of his. So very trusting. So very good. And she was going to have to face him and tell him the truth. A truth she hadn’t known until that warlord had spoken the name of the Wild Hunt band.

The village and fort disappeared behind them as Val tromped farther into the desert. The gravel crunched satisfyingly beneath her boots while lizards scattered to hide in the rocks at her approach. The scrubby brush and cacti spread out in all directions, something almost like twisting paths winding between them. The occasional wash or canyon cut through the landscape.

It didn’t matter what direction she walked. They just needed to be away. Far away.

Harm sucked in a breath, opened his mouth, shut his mouth, and released the breath. After a moment, he straightened his shoulders and opened his mouth again. “Is this Wild Hunt Grimbrand at war with your band or something?”

“No.” Val flexed her fingers on the hilt of her dagger.

“Then…what’s wrong?” Harm strode a hurried step forward, pivoted, and halted in front of her, forcing her to stop. “We agreed we’d face whatever came together. ”

Val couldn’t make herself meet his eyes. She hunched under the force of the tumult inside her.

He gripped her shoulders with gentle fingers. “Val? What is it? Is it that bad?”

“Worse.” Val forced her gaze up. She had to be stronger than this. “Wild Hunt Grimbrand isn’t at war with my band. It is my band. Diego is the Wild Hunt leader you’ve been bargained to.”

“Then…did he see me at that faerie market and decide he wanted to bargain for me? Why?” Harm’s blue gaze still held far too much trust and confusion.

“No. Diego never does anything on a whim.” Val found herself leaning into his grip on her shoulders. He was so steady in this moment when she was falling apart. “If he bargained for you, it means he always intended to bargain for you. Seeing us in the faerie market? He wasn’t just picking up a weapons order. He was checking on us, finding out where he had to go to head us off.”

“But how would he have known…oh…” Harm’s eyes widened and went distant, thoughts flashing.

“Exactly. Diego is the mysterious fae who bargained with Queen Mab. He must be.” Val clenched her teeth around those words, the fury burning in her chest again. “He told Mab to send someone to bargain with your father. He named you as the price for that bargain. He even sent me there so that I would be conveniently available when Mab needed someone to retrieve you.”

“Then he poisoned my brother. Or bargained with the human who did.” Harm’s jaw worked, his blue eyes flashing sharper than she’d ever seen. “But why? Why does he want me?”

“I don’t know.” A partial lie. Val’s stomach churned. She didn’t know why Diego would target Harm so specifically. But in general? She had a pretty good idea.

“Why not just bargain with my father himself? Or stay in the Court of Dreams and snag me from Queen Mab?” Harm shook his head, as if more bewildered than afraid.

“Diego doesn’t speak your duchy’s language. He needed Mab to do the initial bargaining.” Val shuddered, and Harm rubbed her upper arms, as if he thought she needed warming. With the scorching sun beaming down on them, she was plenty warm. “Perhaps he planned to bargain with Queen Mab for you but was called away or delayed. I don’t know. But the result has worked in his favor. He used me. He’s been using me this entire time to gain your trust to set you up for an eventual betrayal.”

And that was the worst of it. All these years, she’d congratulated herself on being a part of the Wild Hunt where she was free and treated as a worthwhile member instead of a pawn to be used and discarded on a whim the way the fae monarchs treated their people.

But in the end, Diego had done just that to her, manipulating her in order to manipulate Harm.

“What do you mean?” Harm still didn’t seem to fully understand.

Of course he didn’t. When she’d told him about bindings, she’d skimmed over this part. She hadn’t thought he’d ever need to know .

Val swallowed and rested her hands on his chest over his heart. “There’s only one reason a courtless fae living in the Realm of Monsters would want a human. For forbidden blood rites.”

“Are blood rites as bloody as they sound?” Harm’s grip tightened on her shoulders, his heart beating harder beneath her hands.

“More bloody than you can possibly imagine.” Val fisted her hands in his leather jerkin. “There’s power in the blood of a human, especially when it’s shed in painful and bloody ways. The darkness that can be unleashed is even more potent when the human has recently experienced a deep betrayal or great terror.”

Harm remained silent, his expression going blank, as if he couldn’t quite comprehend what she was telling him.

She shook him slightly by her grip on his shirt, the heart she hadn’t even realized she had dying inside her. “He’s going to kill you, Harm. You’re going to die, and there’s nothing I can do but deliver you for slaughter.”

“Val…” Harm rested a hand over hers on his chest. “I’m bound by the bargain. I have to go, whether you deliver me or not. And if I have to go, I’d rather have you by my side.”

“But it’s wrong . And for once in my life, I want to do what is right .” Val clutched his jerkin, her body shaking with the force of her emotion.

Her freedom, it turned out, wasn’t freedom at all. Instead, she was bound to evil. To guilt. To the consequences of a life lived ignoring that true freedom was found in what was right and good and noble .

A part of her wanted to lean into him, rest her head on his shoulder, and gain strength from someone other than herself for a change.

He wasn’t at all the type of man she’d thought she’d find herself falling for. He wasn’t the strong, fierce type like the members of her Wild Hunt.

But he had something even better than strength of muscle or skill with a sword. He had a moral compass that pointed true toward goodness and kindness. No matter what the Fae Realm put him through, he’d never wavered from that.

“I don’t want to play Diego’s game. I don’t want to be the means he uses to manipulate you before he kills you. I don’t want to go back to delivering people like packages and not caring and not being good and…and…” Val half-screamed through her teeth as she released his jerkin.

She would have pushed away from him, but his hand still rested over hers. Somehow in the last few moments, his other hand had skimmed down her arm and ended up on the small of her back, holding her without trapping her.

Unlike what she was doing to him. Her gaze caught on the glimmer of the tether strung between them. And she hated it. Without it, she would at least have a choice. He wouldn’t be her captive but a friend.

“If only I could take this thing off.” Val dug her fingers beneath the cord around his wrist and yanked.

Instead of resisting, the cord slipped off his wrist as easily as if it had never been magically bound there .

What…Val froze, then lifted her gaze from the cord to meet Harm’s eyes.

His gaze held hers for a moment, his mouth dropping partly open in his surprise, before he looked down at the cord again. With gentle, slow movements, he reached out and eased his fingers beneath the end of the cord still on her arm.

The cord slid off her wrist just as easily as it had his.