Page 118 of Traitor Witch

There's a few beats where we're silent. She's trying to figure out where to begin. I'm bracing myself for an ending she doesn't know is coming.

"You... read?" she asks, after a few long moments.

I tap the little loop Val made me. "The captain created it. I point my finger at the page and this hooks around my ear and reads the words to me."

Valorean has always liked tinkering and inventing. It's a mage thing.

But that's not what she's here to talk about.

I sigh and close the book, setting it aside. "You came here to ask me something."

She moves closer, her scent becoming stronger. The reticence in it is more noticeable now.

"You know everything already, don't you?"

"I don't like these games," I whisper. "People trying to figure out what I have and haven't seen. Yes. I know you went into the hold. I know what you found. You want to know why."

"Fae dust, I understand..."

My beast stirs at her anger, demanding I fix it. He doesn't accept what we've seen.

"The captain takes care of his crew. Always. That's the only answer I can give you."

She stiffens, putting two and two together quickly. Our fierce, smart, wonderful mate.

"She's blackmailing you."

I don't speak. The geas ensures I can't say anything that might break the fae-bound bargain. Even now, almost two decades later, the magic is as strong as it's ever been. Even Kier, the fae who was forced to witness the bargain, can't break it.

Only the Queen can.

We can't kill her, harm her, or betray her. She owns our contract and we're bound to serve, eternally.

Queen Catherine has all the pieces... for now.

"That isn't right. The temples should have—"

"You honestly believe the temples in Cawshome are anybetter off than those in Ilyani?"

She's upset now. The change in her scent is subtle, but unmistakable.

"How did she...? Why would she even...?"

I grimace. “We caught her interest when Val burned down an illegal shifter circus operating at her discretion." I know I'm oversimplifying the whole situation, but the fae bargain prevents me from telling Nilsa exactly what the Eagle wanted with the gruesome place. "She sent her entire fleet against us. They boarded us, and her men started dragging Val off of theDeadwood."

A death sentence to a bond mage.

He passed out just a few feet from his ship.

I couldn't see it, but I remember hearing the thud.

"We agreed to her terms—"

My air cuts off, stealing my words and making me choke. Nilsa moves closer but I hold up a hand between us.

"I'm fine... I just can't say some stuff."

But Nilsa understands. "Kier was there, wasn't he? She trapped you in a fae bargain."