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“Of course not.” Gareth shakes his head. “Because it’s preposterous. No one would believe I’m interested in becoming a slaver. The winter realm will never allow slavery within its borders, not as long as King Gladion or I have anything to say about it.” He has to stop talking like that. Because when he does, I want to climb in his lap, grab his grumpy face, and kiss him until I can’t breathe anymore.
“Exactly.” Silmaran snaps her fingers. “Now that I know who you are, it makes this even easier. You say you’re Gareth, King Gladion’s second-in-command, and that your king is looking for ways to increase productivity, especially now that you’ve entered an agreement to supply the Vundi with food and—”
“How did you know about that?” Gareth snaps.
“Spies.” Chastain rolls to his side. He would be handsome if Gareth hadn’t beaten a few years off his life. “I employ several. It’s the only way to keep up the ruse of my slave-trading.”
“Why is it a ruse?” I arch a brow. “What made you decide to never trade slaves?”
Chastain winces. “I didn’t say I’ve never done it,” he says quietly. “But I don’t anymore.”
“Why not?” Gareth waves a hand at the opulence around us, his tone verging on acidic. “Seems to have treated you quite well.”
Chastain’s gaze strays to Silmaran, who goes to him and sits next to him on the divan.
His battered face brightens as she adjusts a bandage on his arm. “I found something that is worth far more than anything in this house, or even this city.”
“She’s your mate?” Gareth’s voice softens the slightest bit.
“She is my chosen one, the one I would happily forsake my fated mate for.” He reaches up and strokes her cheek with his thumb. “She is everything, and I will happily risk all to ensure that she will never be a slave again.”
Silmaran kisses his palm.
Parnon groans.
“I see.” Gareth pulls me tighter to his side. He smells like the bath, but still has a hint of winter’s bite beneath it. I want to roll around on him like a cat.
Chastain turns to us. “I will send a guide with you to the Abyss. You won’t make it through without one. But first, I need you to infiltrate the Bazaar, find out the attendees, and assist us with the overthrow.”
“We can navigate the Abyss without any help.” Gareth is consistent, if stubborn.
“How? The way is perilous. One wrong turn and you’ll be flung into the darkest depths of Arin, never to return. You have no coin, no food, no water.” He settles back onto the divan and closes his silver eyes. “You have nothing.”
I pipe up. “We have plucky determination.”
Silmaran smiles. “Have I mentioned how much I’ve missed you?”
“I could stand to hear it a few more times.” I waggle my brows.
Her eyes almost twinkle. “It’s good to see that some things don’t change.”
“But some things do. ‘Silmaran sees all.’ What sort of catch phrase is that?”
She shrugs, but a blush creeps into her cheeks.
“Silmaran is a wanted fae.” Nemar looks at her with nothing short of adoration. “She’s become the touchstone of all the slaves in Cranthum.”
“I’ve done nothing except fight for justice.” How does she pull off modesty? I’ve always wondered how that particular trait works. I seem to have none of it. Then again, do I really need any? Pffft.
Parnon grunts. “You’ve freed more slaves, fought more masters, and destroyed more caravans than any of us.”
“Not alone.” Silmaran shrugs. “You three have been there fighting right alongside me.” She strokes Chastain’s hair. “And you serve as an excellent decoy, my love.”
He snorts. “When this rebellion is finished, I’d like to hang up my role of getting my ass kicked, if that’s possible.”
“So, you intend to free the slaves of Cranthum? And then what? What’s your plan?” Gareth’s chilly words put a damper on the conversation. It’s his one true gift. “Kill all the masters? Because I can assure you that there will still be slaves in Byrn Varyndr even if you manage to take this city. And the queen will not look lightly upon an uprising that destroys her nobles and stops the influx of workers southward to the mines or northward to the capital.”
“This is just the beginning.” Silmaran’s voice turns sharp again. “We will liberate this city and then move north to Byrn Varyndr.”
“The queen will destroy you all before you set foot on her island.” Gareth waves a dismissive hand. “She has the old magic, the kind that comes from the deepest well. She and Leander are two sides of the same coin, both of them balancing each other with the sheer power each possesses in their respective realms.”
“Even so, I will fight.”
Gareth glowers. “You will die.”
“Then so be it.” The conviction in her words sends goosebumps down my arms. And she’s not the only one who’s committed. The two changelings and the brute all have that same set to their chin, the same spark in their eyes. Even Chastain nods.
She stands. “I will happily fight and die for my freedom and the freedom of others.”
“I want the slaves freed, but a rebellion is going to end in blood and massive loss of life on both sides.” Gareth never seems to shake his level-headedness. “Perhaps you’d be better off sending a contingent to speak with Queen Aurentia and—”
“You think speaking will solve this? Did you see the bodies hanging above the market? Did you see the multitudes being herded in for sale?” Her voice rises with each question. “Did you see the lash marks? The crying children? The babies ripped from their mothers’ arms?”
Gareth rubs a hand down his face, the stubble ticking against his palm. “I saw.”
“Then you know simple words aren’t going to change anything.”
“Let’s assume you’re right.” Gareth glances around. “I see five of you. How do you plan to bring down a city?”
Silmaran flicks her gaze to me. “Silmaran sees all.”
That saying. Even the children at the fountain knew its significance. Silmaran isn’t just a fighter, she’s a symbol. “It’s not just the five of you, is it? You’ve got more at your back.”
“An entire city, each slave prepared to fight for freedom. We just have to light the spark that sets it all aflame.”
The spark is already lit inside me. A world without slaves. Freedom for everyone, no matter if they’re a changeling or a lesser fae. I never thought it was possible. The winter realm taught me to hope, but I couldn’t let that seed grow. Not when the entire summer realm relies on slavery to keep itself running. But an uprising? In the worst slaver city of them all? That could set off a chain reaction that sees the end of shackles and forced labor throughout the lands. “We have to help them.” I pull on Gareth’s arm.
He pats my hand in a maddeningly patronizing way. “We have to do no such thing.”
“This fight belongs to you, to me, to everyone in the realms.”
“I want slavery to end. I always have. But you want to start this uprising at the Bazaar.” Gareth almost groans. “Where this Lord Zatran will be surrounded by powerful fae with powerful bodyguards. Where they will be armed to the fangs. Where only a fool would venture if he wasn’t invited.”
“Yes. Exactly.” She nods. “We have two days to finish preparations.”
“Two days?” he scoffs.
“That’s really soon, though it does delay us.” I tap my chin. “I don’t want to waste time getting to Clotty. Hmm—”
“Nemar, Parnon, and I have all traveled through the Abyss.” Silmaran holds my gaze, resolve burning inside her. “We can get you past it in half the time.”
I crane my head to whisper in Gareth’s ear. “Could definitely work for us.”
A muscle in his jaw tightens. “Danger and death do not work for us.”
“They’ve worked for us so far. I’m in.” I try to stand, but Gareth keeps me next to him.
“Hold on, changeling. We can’t—”
“I said I’m in.” I wrestle free from his arm and take Silmaran’s hand. “I came here for Clotty, but I don’t see anything wrong with starting a rebellion along the way. Besides, we need your help to navigate the Abyss.”
“And supplies, too,” Silmaran chirps. As it is, you’re destitute and have zero food, water, or knowhow to survive the journey.”
I nod right along with her. “Right. Agree. Let’s kill some slave masters, and then we can all traipse over to the Abyss. Easy.”
Silmaran grins. “I knew you’d understand.” Looking past me, she offers her hand to Gareth. “And you?”
Gareth grumbles but climbs to his feet. “This is never going to work.”
I turn to him and press my hands to his ever-so-chiseled abs while giving my most flirtatious look. “Can you please help us start a rebellion?”
At my touch, his gaze turns feral, gold swirling into his irises. “What will you give me in return?”
I try to feign disapproval. “You would bargain for innocent lives?”
“You want me to help on this suicide mission? Then you need to give me some incentive.”
I don’t think for one second that he needs any encouragement to fight the slave trade, but I’m willing to bargain. In fact, based on the way my body’s tingling right now, I’m thrilled to bargain.
“What do you want?” I simper.
He pulls me to his chest. “You know what I want.”
Someone near us gulps.
“You can’t have that. We already have an agreement.” Damn that agreement to the Spires! I want him so badly that I’m almost ready to leave Clotty to her fate. But I have to stay strong. Right? Yes. For … reasons. Staying strong. I clench my thighs together.
“Then what can I have, wily changeling?” He licks his lips as his eyes turn a full molten gold. I shouldn’t want his feral to come all the way out, to show me the power that rests inside the winter warrior, but I do. Oh, how I do.
“You can have…” I chew my bottom lip.
He follows the movement with his gaze, and he slides one hand to my ass. “Yes?”
So forward. My thoughts start to fuzz as I feel the warmth of his hand against my bottom.
“If you’ll excuse us,” someone mumbles, and the room clears with haste. Even Chastain limps away with Silmaran under one of his arms.
