'Bryn, the Underhillwillcall in your debt to them,' Dane explains from the dais, looking just as confused as Morgan, Locke, and Jak.
'Yes. But you aren't listening. I spent my life at an outpost in a dying world,' I say. 'I'm no stranger to the Dark Realms, to cruelty. I spent the last months in the pits, and I didn't die there, my mind wasn’t lost. I wanted a place here. Now, I have secured it and it's worth whatever I must do. I made a deal. There was no other way, not when more than half of your Council voted for me to be cast out and were so adamant that they began to say that you shouldn't be allowed to stay here either.'
I frown as I think back to mytrial.
'I don't quite understand why Calder was so desperate to get rid of me for being Fate Touched that he would consider sacrificing three Underhill spies only to turn around and make a bargain with me but?—'
'Because, despite voting against you, they want you, Bryn,' Dane snarls low. 'They covet what you can do, the same as they covet the Harbinger’s power. But my Lia is much too strong to roll over and do as she's told, and she has allies in the Underhill within the Council Five itself. You do not. Calder and Voss likely had a plan to somehow take yo?—'
'Of course!' Jak interrupts him quietly, slapping his palm to his forehead. 'They would have had her cast out and then had one of their network capture her quietly in Merediea.'
Locke nods. 'They'd have made you work for them anyway, Bryn. Probably made a deal for your freedom if you did what they wanted, but without any official obligation to see it through.'
'There,' I say, validated by their words and still not quite understanding why they're so upset. 'See? This is much better. I'm already free and they can't treat me like a slaveor trick me into helping them with promises and then leave me in the Dark to my fate.'
I see Locke and Morgan wince at the parallel I've drawn, and I snort. 'I'm truly one of the freefolk now.'
My smile widens again, hearing it out loud for the first time.
'Tell her, Locke.'
'Tell me what?' I snap, all at once finished with their cryptic fae nonsense.
'The Law of the Fourth, Bryn. You think it's…that we're simply responsible if you do anything wrong here, but…' Locke trails off, looking vaguely ill.
I frown at their drawn faces, my stomach clenching uncomfortably. '…Is it not?'
'You do understand, don't you, Bryn, about the Law of the Fourth?' Dane asks, appearing uncertain. 'You do know what you've agreed to…'
'Of course she doesn't,' Jak snaps. 'She'd never have said yes if she knew what it entails!'
I stare at Dane, my mouth doing dry. I swallow hard, wishing I had some water to moisten my tongue. 'I thought…Locke, Morgan, and Jak are responsible for ensuring I don't try and raze this place to the ground. That's what it sounded like. I suppose I must thank you three, too,' I say, turning back to them while I remember. 'You had a part in my not being cast out.'
Though I'm loath to admit it, they did actually try to help me. Though they didn't do much, they did speak up. But none of them say a word to me now, none of them meet my eyes.
I whirl back to face the front of the room, stung. Perhaps they do regret that they're lumbered with me again. Perhaps they didn’t truly know what they were agreeing to either.
'Bryn.'
I look up at Dane. He's come out from behind the table. He stands in front of me.
'What is it?' I ask, trying to hide my impatience, and not sure I'm succeeding.
Why can't fae just speak plainly? Everyone is looking as if something is terribly wrong. What have I missed?
'The Law of the Fourth,' he answers, looking beyond me at the others. 'You misunderstand.'
I wait for him to speak, my stomach sinking a little lower, twisting a little tighter.
'It's a mate bond, Bryn,' I hear Locke say harshly from behind me.
I spin to face him and the others. 'What do you mean?'
'We must all be bound to you and you to us. It's a ritual of blood.'
I gape at him, searching his eyes, but I see no trickery there.
'Tell her the rest, Locke,' Jak commands, sounding angry. 'There's another part.'
