She groaned at the name. Amidst two weeks of chaos, Cardigan’s sour attitude and abandoning her to trade wardens on the Autumn Plane made for smaller concerns. That didn’t stop the reminder from ticking her off.
“CardiganRothmauk?” Antal said.
Fi and Boden shared a startled look.
“Yeah…” she said, slow in confusion. “Cardigan’s the asshole who gave me that cart of energy capsules to blow up your capitol building.”
“He didwhat?”
She’d only seen Antal this livid when facing Verne, claws curled, tail lashing. His clenched fangs looked ready to rip a throat out.
“How doyouknow him?” Fi asked.
“Cardigan Rothmauk oversaw the most recent energy conduit renovations in Thomaskweld. Milana recommended him.”
On the morning of the explosion, Fi had passed a crowd at the gate to the capitol complex—citizens of Thomaskweld demanding audience with their governor, complaining of faulty conduits.
Cardigan. That turncoat bastard.
“Cardigan’s name pops up for several questionable energy projects,” Boden said, grim. “Faulty equipment. Crates of energy capsules missing from smaller communities. I’d guess that’s where your contraband came from. He’s a conman. A thief. Whatever you want to call it.”
Antal perched on the sofa, a picture of rage. His tail coiled a tight circle. His eyes glowed the red of hot steel. If Cardigan had sabotaged the energy conduits in Thomaskweld, that would make Antal’s citizens more desperate, more willing to accept a new ruler so long as Verne promised to save them from freezing.
How many died to the cold anyway? How many lost in the capitol explosion?
“If Cardigan’s working for Verne,” Fi said, “he might be able to tell us more about her coup plan. Maybe even her next moves.” If nothing else, she’d relish punching his teeth in. “But what does that have to do with getting Antal a meal…”
The pieces clicked as she spoke. Then, a blink of surprise. Fi was far enough removed from a noble paragon, she felt little qualm tossing a double-crossing traitor to a daeyari. But Boden? He’d condone a plan like that?
“You know the type, Fi.” Boden spoke quietly. “If we confront Cardigan, I don’t imagine he’ll cooperate. If it comes to blows and he ends up dead?” He mustered a shrug. “I don’t care what happens to the body.”
Fi was so fucking proud, she could have hugged him.
At last, the gloomy raccoon on her sofa perked up. Antal’s eyes glowed brighter. A black tongue flicked hungry over his teeth.
Fi had made it ten whole minutes without staring at that mouth. A noble milestone.
“What price do you ask for this?” Antal said.
Boden’s brow knit. “Price?”
“You offer me a meal. I must repay you. This is the pact between our people.”
“This isn’t a barter, daeyari. I won’t ask you for anything—fmi mtma fwk.”
Boden shouted angry gibberish against Fi’s hand clapped over his mouth. Apparently, her pride in him was short-lived. Passing up an opportunity for a deal? Not a desperate deal, either, like the rushed words she’d muttered at Antal’s shrine. A true favor from an immortal.
Sometimes, she was ashamed they were related.
Especially now, when Nyskya needed every advantage. Fi considered the energy capsules Antal had charged for her, the times she’d caught him poking at her machinery.
“Can you fix energy conduits?” she asked. “Nyskya has a few acting up.”
Boden fell silent. Fi released him, grimacing at the slobber on her palm. A low blow.
“I can,” Antal said. “Depending on what materials you have available.”
Better than the town going dark. Fi, the intermediary, looked to her brother. “Mayor Boden? How do you find these terms?”
