She seems in earnest. Her game has changed, so she must have some other plan.
‘Oh, there’s no doubt about that,’ I say, my tone cocksure and haughty.
I walk around her slowly, deep in thought. ‘But is there something in particular in your mind?’
‘Well, powerful mages with talent are always in short supply,’ she murmurs. ‘There aren’t many who’ll leave the legitimacy of Dead City for this. And, of course, I have no second. My generals tend to take up quite a bit of my time with their little intrigues, time that would be better spent on other endeavors. And, of course, Warrior wasn’t intending to bring the Kismet to me, at least not directly regardless of what he says. He would have had me searching for her when she was already in his grasp had I not threatened him to do my bidding in this.’
Fiana’s lips thin, but then her eyes twinkle in the dark.
It’s disconcerting, but I hold my ground.
‘And do you suppose I’d be more loyal?’ I ask, quirking a brow.
She laughs low and turns back toward the door to leave the room. ‘I don’t need you to be. I’m clearly a more powerful magick-worker than you are. I’m sure that I could,’ she turns back and steps closer, lowers her voice an octave, ‘keep you inyour place if I chose. But, at the very least, you wouldn’t work against me.’
‘You seem very sure,’ I murmur. ‘What do you propose to give me in return for my help?’
She gives me a slow smile. ‘The Underhill, of course.’
I’m surprised by her words.
‘Why would I want the fae fold?’ I ask with a laugh.
‘You said it yourself,’ she answers readily. ‘Because it could be great. Because if there weren’t so many bureaucrats arguing the minutia of everyday decisions, itwouldbe. Because the Under-born fae lord it over the rest as if they’re somehow better. I want what I want. You want what you want. Be my second in command. Myfirstgeneral. We’ll both have what we desire.’
She smiles a little, her eyes narrowing. ‘I’ll even give you Warrior. You’re free to kill him. If you can.’
I regard Fiana thoughtfully, my eyes never straying to the humans here, nor to Bryn who hasn’t moved an inch.
She’s not physically hurt, I tell myself. She’ll be all right.
She’ll be all right.
Jak and Morgan should be here by now. Gods, I hope they are because if they take any longer, I may have to actually pledge myself to this bitch.
‘I’d like to see the other dungeon,’ I say. ‘Your personal one.’
She hesitates and I open my hands, reaching out my arms to show I have nothing to hide.
‘Come, do you think I don’t already know what you’ve been doing? Varrik was known for his experiments, and I feel that same power in you. The power of the Harbinger. The power of the Black Lake.’
And Bryn.
Fiana’s eyes blaze and her jaw tightens. ‘You’ve been in the Harbinger’s presence?’ she grinds out.
‘She considers me a friend.’ I grin darkly. ‘Show me everything, Fiana, and I’ll deliver her, Varrik’s only real success…besides you, of course…to you with a bow wrapped around her neck.’
She nods quickly, fervently, and I see that I was right about the girl in the hall that Fiana is having tortured. Fiana despises the Harbinger even more than she loves her little empire. She tortures women who look like her. She’s rotten with her hatred. Twisted.
Stupid.
We leave the dungeon, and I hope to the Gods that Jak and Morgan are here, that they were able to contact Dane and Lia before they came.
Because soon the people of Halsford will be sorted like geese at market. Fiana’s network is more expansive than any of us realized. If they’re taken from here, we’ll never find them, and even if I could do that many tracking conjures, so much magick would be noticed.
I search for Bryn’s eyes in the darkness, but I don’t see them.
She doesn’t look at me. She thinks I betrayed her.
