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I laugh weakly. “I think you might be slightly overestimating him.”
I’ve known Zathex to be crafty, but he’s far from a mastermind. I think of his insidious smile, then shiver as a reflex.
Anger creeps into Kazrith’s voice. “Like I told you, he robbed me of everything I had, leaving me destitute and hopeless. He’ll do the same thing to you if given the chance.”
“Honestly, I don’t know if he could do much more to me than he already has.”
But Kazrith is resolute. “Knowing him, he’ll find a way.”
Whatever we’re doing, we need to do it quickly.
I nod. “As long as your contact is trustworthy, then I trust you.”
“Good.”
Kazrith retrieves a piece of parchment from the carriage, rummaging loudly. When he returns, he presses it down on his lap, quill at the ready.
“What would you like it to say?”
If it were to be intercepted, the consequences could be disastrous. “Something vague. Like… ‘I’m safe. Don’t go looking for me. I will find you.’”
He scribbles down something, but it’s nothing even remotely like what I said.
“You have to be thinking about the message falling into the wrong hands,” he says. “I left coded instructions at the bottom, too, so that Vrask will know where to take the message.”
“Fantastic,” I say, relief flooding through me momentarily. Hopefully, this Vrask type will get the job done right.
Panic takes hold when I realize that even given these precautions, I’ll have no way of knowing if he got the message.
Kazrith holds out his arm for a few solid minutes. Eventually, a black bird lands on his shoulder.
“Alright,” he says, giving the karasu the scroll and tucking it into the bird’s beak. “After this, we need to get going.”
I study the karasu, which looks unremarkable compared to any of the other birds. Meanwhile, it tilts its head at me while holding the parchment.
“Is that bird really going to know where to take the message? Is it even going to make it there?”
He nods. “You might not believe it, but this isn’t the first time we’ve done this. I even left a little red string on this guy’s leg as proof. When you’re running a business together, you need a way of getting messages out quickly.”
I look, and sure enough, I find a red bit of thread affixed to his sharp talon.
“Strange. So you just let him fly around and trust that he’ll find you wherever you go? Wouldn’t it be safer to keep him caged in your carriage?”
“Jeddy doesn’t like cages,” he says as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. “He has a funny way of following me around whenever I’m in New Solas, and that’s usually enough.”
I look from Kazrith to the karasu in disbelief, understanding now that he may be more resourceful than I realized. He looks like a typical brute, muscles rippling with every breath. But there’s something far deeper that I look forward to understanding.
“And what if I were to say no?” I ask suddenly, possibly as a test. “What if I decided this fake marriage wasn’t the best arrangement?”
“Then I would wish you well and send you on your way,” he replies, sending the karasu flying with a nudge of his arm. “But you’d be far better off if you agreed, I think. I don’t know what’s going to happen to you in New Solas with Zathex running around. And who knows? Maybe someone else will snatch you up and throw you back into shackles.”
My gaze wanders from the expectant, patient stare on his face to the warrior’s body this salesman has cultivated. Upon closer inspection, I notice the muscles sneaking out from beneath his loose clothing. There’s something exciting about the danger of this agreement. And I realize that it somehow makes it more, not less, enticing.
“Alright,” I say finally. “I’ll do it. But only because you’ve been good to me so far.”
He nods in affirmation, unable to hide how pleased he is.
“But know that this verbal agreement isn’t binding,” I warn. “If I see the slightest hint that you intend to fuck me over, I’m pulling out.”
