𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙙𝙚

Chapter 3

Euryale

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     I stole another glance at the gem hanging from his neck, where his heartbeat drummed most prominently. 

He covered the stone with a scarred hand. 'The queen is willing to give you what you desire most, in return for a favor of equal value,' he said, steering my attention back to his face. 

I cocked my head so that my dirty tresses moved out of my eyes. Ever so ambiguous, faeries.      

     'What might that be?' I asked flatly. What worth held freedom? I could put a price on a great many treasures, but not that.

     'Does it matter?' Hollin countered, evading my question, reminding me of their inability to tell a lie. So I was to simply trust them, then? 'From where I'm standing, it's either doing the queen's bidding or rotting away in this vault. I have spent less than a day in this pit, and I'd make whatever trade necessary to get out.'

There wasn't enough silence to wash away the words he'd just spilled. He hadn't meant to, I could see it in the surprise in his eyes, but the truth was a dark mirror. Daesmire wielded it well.

    'Do you know why I am in here?' I asked, a serpentine smile coating my words. It didn't hurt to gauge how much his queen trusted him. I doubted he knew what beast he served. Hollin pursed his lips again, slipping behind that unfazed mask as if it were his second nature, but I could smell his true emotions now, and they were far less heroic.

    'No.' A muscle in his jaw twitched. Maybe he expected me to elaborate, but I didn't. He was just an errand boy, then. Disposable, if he were to fail. 'I imagined you'd be far more interested in getting out.'

It was the chastised tone in his words which pulled me forward. Careful, the movement seemed to say.

    'You'll want more than my interest,' I uttered, leaving mere inches between us. Hollin tightened the hand that had reached for his sword at his side. I raised a brow and pursed my lips mockingly. 'What else does this bargain entail?'

It would do little to change the outcome. I'd be lying to myself if I said that I wasn't going to do everything I needed to regain my freedom, but it didn't hurt to tread carefully, especially not where the folk of tricks were involved.

The devil's in the details. One, little mishap and I may as well be signing my dead warrant. If this punishment had taught me anything, it was that I didn't want to die. Not yet.

     'I'd call it a precaution, insurance you will hold up your end of the bargain.' I narrowed my eyes at him. Even if he talked with the charm of a courtier, it didn't come naturally. 'To ensure the safety of her court, the only condition under which the queen will release you from Daesmire, is if you become her subject and swear your loyalty to her and the Seelie court. She wants you bound by blood and tongue.'

I recoiled visibly. The shreds of my soul that had thrashed and roared for survival turned even more feral at the prospect of becoming a puppet. I did not want to be forgotten; but I would not be remembered a slave.

     'The queen's pet monster?' I hissed, a glimpse of what lay beneath the surface. The halfling winced almost invisibly, before he struck back.

     'Would that truly be worse than this?' Hollin indicated the cell with a flick of his wrist, dismissing it so casually it ignited an emotion I hadn't felt in a very long time. He'd regret that. I was going to make sure of it. 'What is a temporary service to the crown in comparison to what you desire most?' 

'You should be terrified of what I desire most,' I said too quietly. 

Freedom

The word was a soothing balm to an open wound I thought would never heal, and I knew, I understood that my pride wasn't enough to keep me from accepting perhaps my only chance at that.

     'Do you accept the bargain, yes or no?' he asked. 

I thought of the salt on my bones and the iron in my veins and felt a smile pull apart the seams of my face as I inclined my head. 'Yes.'