I nod.

“I know you don’t like us and you think we’re soft behind these walls, but my father’s magic keeps the people safe,” she says. “They don’t like to think about that when they riot and whine about sacrificing a little blood to the Divine. I don’t know what you’ve been through living outside these walls for so many years, but I think you can admit you don’t know what I’ve been through living within them.”

Harlow’s passionate, eloquent, and, unfortunately, right. I don’t know, and I need to.

This whole mid-dinner attack is almost too convenient. Her family is twisted enough to have orchestrated it to appear more sympathetic—or, worse, to point the finger at us. I can see the suspicion in Harlow’s eyes. She doesn’t trust me, but for some reason, she and her family have accepted this proposal, so she must think she needs me. I wonder if that need is strong enough to build a tentative peace on.

“You’re right.”

She chokes on a laugh and holds a hand to her ear. “Did I hear that right, my wolf? Did you finally admit that I know best?”

“I admitted that you have the entirely accidental good fortune of being right this one time,” I counter.

Her smile morphs from wicked to docile in a second as she glances at something over my shoulder.

I turn and nearly bump into my father.

“Harlow, given the way the night has gone, I’m afraid we’re going to need to return to Mountain Haven sooner than expected,” he says. “You have a day to get your affairs in order, but I think it’s best for everyone’s safety that we return to the fort.” He claps a hand on my shoulder. “We ride out at dawn the day after tomorrow.”

He leaves us on our own, and Harlow watches him go with narrowed eyes.

I read her distrust in the way she crosses her arms and angles her body away from me. My father is right, but he’s rushed to this so quickly that now it looks like we planned the attack to push the timeline.

Whatever goodwill I gained by healing her brother has been wiped away by this change of schedule.

“Have a drink with me tomorrow night,” I blurt.

Her dark eyebrows shoot up. “Why would I waste my last night at home with you?”

“Because you’re about to leave the city walls for the first time and you’d probably feel more comfortable if you had a chance to interrogate me.”

She scoffs. “You’re acting as if you’ll be honest with me.”

“I will.”

She cocks her head.

“At least half of the time.”

The corner of her full lips twitches. “You know, if you’re trying to kill me, Henry, there are more efficient ways than boring me to death with your company.”

I wink. “It’s a date.”

Harlow presses a hand to my chest. “It’s a hostage negotiation. Don’t read my agreement as anything other than a desire to survive you.”

“Bold words from a woman who already tried to kill me twice.”

She rises onto her toes, and I bend so that her mouth is closer to my ear. “Then, by the grace of the Divine, let’s hope the third time’s a charm.”

OceanofPDF.com

10HARLOW

Guardian’s Crossing teems with people. Raucous laughter and quick fiddle music bring the drunk crowd to a frenzy as I cut down the back hallway and slide up to the bar.

Bea marks my presence immediately. She passes a pitcher of ale to a pretty young waitress and pulls a pint.

She leans over the bar as she hands it to me. “I did background for your new client personally, but between what happened with the last client setting you up and the attack on South Hold, I think you should take a break. Rest up.”

I shake my head as if I can rattle away the memory of Kellan lying in a pool of his own blood. Listening to Bea would mean admitting that I’m losing my edge. This has always been the unnavigable rift between us. Bea has always wanted me to be soft in a way I can’t afford.

I lean over the bar and whisper to keep from being overheard. “I’m fairly certain the setup was courtesy of Rafe. He made a comment about it at my engagement dinner.”

Bea’s eyes darken, and it’s like a cloud has gone over the sun. All the warmth is erased from her face. “That fucking ghoul. I swear to the Divine, I’m going to choke the life out of that man someday.” She shakes her head and blows out a slow breath. “His desire for power is matched only by your father.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her that Rafe knows about my magic, but if I tell her, she won’t continue to help me do this work that’s given me a purpose to focus on while I can’t help Aidia. So many things in my life are out of my hands right now, but this is something I can do.

“As for the attack, it was just a couple overzealous men who weren’t as brave as they fancied themselves,” I say. “The real shame is that mother’s fine dishes are no longer with us. May Divine Asher deliver them.”

She frowns, and I know I haven’t sold my apathy.

I squeeze her hand. “I’m fine and I may as well do some good with the last bit of my time here. I leave for Mountain Haven tomorrow. The Havenwoods want to return to the fort and have us married immediately. They don’t feel comfortable staying in the city any longer.”

Bea tilts her head to the side. “You think that’s what the rebels were hoping for? To scare them off?”

I shrug a shoulder. “I think they would have had more men and a more solid plan if they actually wanted to take us out. If you come for all of the high magical families at once, you better not fail, you know?”

Bea nods. “And what better way to cast doubt on your parents’ ability to protect their people than to show it on display to the very people they’ve already failed.”

“So, I suppose this job is my last for a while,” I say. “One last hurrah before Henry makes an honest woman of me.”

“I’m certain no man could handle such a task,” Bea says. She scrubs at a nonexistent spot on the bar, not meeting my eye. “Tell me—what’s he like, this new husband?” She glances up at me and a lock of dark hair falls into her face.

I shove down the desire to tuck it behind her ear. “He’s a man.”

She waits for me to say more, and when I don’t, she bursts out laughing. “Oh, he is in for so much trouble.”

“He’s just a job, Bea. Like you with this bar.”

Her grin grows wider. “Yes, but the difference is when this bar fucks me, it’s metaphorical. That’s not the case with your mountain man.”

I purse my lips. “Jealous?”

She shakes her head and smirks. “It’s different when you love someone.”

“I wouldn’t know, but that’s hardly a concern here.”

She pauses her scrubbing and sets the rag down. “Are you nervous?”

“No.”

“Liar.”

I knock back half of my beer and burp in the least ladylike way possible. “I’m cautious. I’ve never even left the city gates, and while that’s terrifying, it’s also almost…a relief.”

I see the recognition in Bea’s eyes. She knows what it is to be trapped here, to feel that the same walls that keep you safe also cage you in.

The itch to leave is ever-present. Each time it grows too large to contain, I stand on the top of the South Hold guard towers and stare down into the Drained Wood. I think of the gray-skinned, clawed creatures lurking in the dark. I think of their black-hole auras. I imagine fighting my way through the woods.

But I can’t imagine anything beyond.

The concept of escape is too abstract. I’ve heard stories from travelers and tradesmen, but none of it feels more real than the threat of death outside of our city walls.

Beyond the woods might as well be the edge of the world. An adventurous few people have come to visit Lunameade, but the natives don’t leave.

The bar lights go out and the whole crowd groans in unison. The fiddlers play on, but the dancing stops. The fire is bright enough that people aren’t crashing into each other, but not enough that they feel comfortable with such a frenzied dance.