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Each breath filled the room, shrinking the walls a bit more. To stop whatever schemes the Black Palace had now fell to me. I was the queen. I was a Kryv. I would make the deal.
“We will save your boy,” I said. The sea fae studied me as I stepped next to him. His skin was unwashed and smelled of old blood and sweat. I didn’t back down. I didn’t look away. “But you must vow never to join with our enemies. You help us with whatever we need until we find your boy.”
“And my reward is?”
“Your damn son,” Ari snapped.
It was sickening how long the sea fae seemed to debate with his options. As if he considered the idea of leaving his son and what? Saving his own neck instead?
After too many heartbeats, he sighed. “Fine. The boy is a pure bloodline of sea witch and sea fae. He is too valuable.”
All gods, hewasconsidering leaving the boy.
A clatter in the corridor drew our attention to the door.
“Ah, old Hodag has returned,” Sofia said. “Now is our chance, my new-found friends.”
“How do we escape the troll?” Elise asked.
“Oh, we don’t escape her.” Sofia let out an extended sigh. “We’ll bargain with her. Make her a greater deal until she lets us go free. Troll folk are intrigued by rare magic. As it is, we have a memory thief—” she gestured to me, then looked to the man. “And a sea fae from old lore. I’m sure we can come to an agreement.”
Scuffling steps thudded in the tunnel, then a deep, husky wail broke the quiet.
“Sweetling!” Heavy, rapid steps filled the room where Sofia was kept. “Where’re you at!”
“Slowly killing me, yet she loves me.” Sofia cupped a hand around her mouth. “In here, Hodag.”
No more than ten breaths later, a stout woman barreled into the chamber. Her ears were thicker than the fae, and the point was too heavy to stand straight. Each ear flopped over, wiggling with each deep breath she took. The troll’s skin was leathery and the color of copper. She had short, black hair that stood wild and tousled on her head, and big, glistening tears stained her cheeks.
“Oh, oh, sweetling.” Hodag beelined it for Sofia. The huldra grunted as the troll flung her muscled arms around her waist and squeezed. “Thought I lost ye.”
Sofia patted Hodag’s head. “Enough tears, but we must have a discussion.”
The troll woman pulled back, swiping at her wet cheeks. For the first time she seemed to notice there were new faces in her tunnel. “Who’re they?”
“New friends for your rooms,” Sofia said.
Hodag didn’t look pleased.
Sofia squared her bony figure to the broadness of the leathery troll. “We must have discussions on this arrangement, Hodag.”
“I kept ye safe.”
“Yes, you pulled us from the dungeons and we’re quite grateful. But,” she went on, “it is long overdue for a new arrangement. We wish to go to the surface and join our topside kin.”
The troll shook her head violently, her ears slapping the sides of her face as she did. “No. I kept ye safe here. Nasty fights going on topside, sweetling.”
“Yes, we’ve heard. But you must release us.”
Hodag’s worry faded, and her dark eyes sparkled with a touch of mischief. “What is better?”
“She’s asking what offer we can make to convince her to use her glamour to open her doors,” Sofia said. “Hodag, you’ll be honored by the High Court should you free us.”
The sweet troll had transformed into a sly creature. Her large nose wrinkled. “Sweet sweetling. Already work with High Court.”
Sofia frowned. “Hodag, you sided with the High Queen and left your princey to rot?”
“Sweet princey is alive.” The troll shrugged. “What’s better?”
