Harold said, “Plans? What can you possibly need capital on that scale for?”

  I just shook my head. “It’s still coming together. I will tell you, I just need a better idea of what I have at my disposal. I need a value for what we’re trying to sell. Test the market. Try Cassius. I doubt he can afford a slice himself, but he’ll know people, put together a syndicate pretty fast. He’s in love with Dodge, we’ve already got a contract in place for his management.”

  I pulled a sheaf of papers from a fold in my suit. “You’ve been getting communications from—there are more notes here. Have you made progress with what I asked?”

  Harold said, “The assessments. Roughly. It’s vast and spread out. I can make a fairly accurate assessment of your liquid assets.”

  “My cash? The money on deposit?”

  “Yes, young master. As I said, it’s piled up, waiting to be reinvested. Well, apologies as I correct myself—it was piling up, with the exception of your splurge there.”

  He pointed to the protrusion at my left wrist, where the buckler relic lay.

  I said, “Thank you for arranging that. It might have saved my life. That rider, the ex-Freeman, Austin. He seems like a capable man.”

  Harold said, “You have no idea. Your father held him in similar regard to Zeb. An exceptional person. But then your father liked to acquire exceptional persons. As for the relic, and the, erm, shopping list you furnished me with… it will exceed even your cash reserves. That relic alone consumed more than a fifth of your liquid assets.”

  I was startled by this. I knew it had been precious. Relics of the sort existed, though exceedingly rare. This one was amongst the finer that could be found. I knew I needed something powerful if it was to have a hope of deflecting a blow from a Griidlord. “A fifth?”

  Harold nodded, face grim. “I have made inquiries. Some of the items you have sought come with asking prices that exceed the entire cash value of your liquid assets.”

  I pursed my lips. I’d known it would be expensive. I hadn’t realized just how expensive. Danefer and Joel had been two of the most successful Griidlords in all of history, they’d worked long, storied careers. It made sense that they would have had monstrous assets to draw on to make themselves as powerful as they were outside their suits. I just had not quite realized the scale of the sacrifice.

  I said, “Then it’s a good thing we’re adding more cash with the sale.”

  Harold looked nervously at the pages I had handed him. “Should I… do you want to proceed with these purchases as the sales proceed and the funds arrive?”

  I shook my head. “Not yet. I suppose I thought my resources more unlimited than this. I need to be judicious.”

  Harold said, “To almost any purpose, your funds are unlimited. But to this end? Buy relics—the rarest and most powerful known to man—that goes beyond.”

  I said, “Fine. Update me, if you would, when you have prices for everything on my list. I’ll make the call when I have all the information. Oh, I need to equip 200 knights.”

  Harold visibly deflated. “That… by the Oracle, that will be expensive as well…”

  I said, “That’s a non-negotiable. If I need to wait on funds from share sales for my other plans, then so be it. But the knights are a must.”

  Harold said, “I’ll… I’ll get to work on the numbers.”

  I said, “And the agent to the south?”

  Harold said, “I wanted to talk to you about that. If you’re considering what I think you are, it’s a foolhardy expenditure—”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  I interrupted him. “I’ve made no commitment. I just want the information. I can make a decision then. I’ll consult you if time allows.”

  Harold sagged. “The agent has been dispatched. Negotiations are ongoing.”

  I put a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you, Harold. I know I’m burdening you. But it’s for the better. I swear it is. This will all be worth it.”

  ***

  I walked Dirk back to the village his people had built, under the shadow of my burgeoning castle.

  He walked in deeply considered silence for a time before speaking. “Yinz want to meet the leaders of the Blood. That’s why yinz showed me all that, letting me in on yinz secrets. Now yinz want me to show mine.”

  I said, “That’s right.”

  Dirk said, “Yinz were so cagey about the Blood before. Now yinz is ploughing ahead, full steam. I don’t know if they’ll want to reveal themselves so easy. They want yinz, no doubt about that, but they didn’t get this far taking chances.”

  I said, “Things have changed…”

  My hand drifted to the bulge on my thigh, where Katya’s knife was sheathed within the skin of the suit. A prince or a puppet? That had been the question. I thought back to the moments with Raquel, by the pool, the sounds of little flies and splashing frogs. Things had crystallized so much for me.

  Dirk said, “Yinz lost someone close to yinz. Things like that affect us, but how do I know it’s not a passing thing?”

  I said, “It’s all dice rolls, Dirk. Everything we do. Nothing’s guaranteed. The Blood allege that they want to affect change. Well, I have an opportunity for them. A real opportunity. We may have some breathing room while the Green Men rally after their defeat, but the next attack could come soon. I don’t know if we have weeks or days or hours. Time is of the essence.”

  Dirk said, “I can’t go to leadership with that. I need more.”

  I handed him a sheet of parchment. He scanned it as we walked. With each step his eyebrows climbed higher and higher.

  Dirk was a hard man. A practical man. He’d seen and done things that would pale a seasoned warrior. But the plan laid forth left him speechless.

  ***

  As the footfield propelled me away from Dirk, ’s voice came to me.

  I said,

  I said,

  I said,

  There was a pause before the voice answered me.

  I said,

  I said,

  I smiled. I could hear ’s frustration and it bolstered me.

  I crossed the landscape with ease. My holdings were on the fringes of Boston territory and the city proper was most of an hour away under footfield. I felt a certain tension at the thought of returning. I’d dismissed . I couldn’t clearly predict how he would react to that. Things were shaking for him. The war, the upheaval, the arguments in the chamber. There was rich opportunity for him to expand his power and advance whatever plans he had. But I sensed danger for him as well. It could all crumble away. He needed me. And, as much as I wouldn’t be his pet anymore, I needed him too. I was trying to decide how to approach him when I returned. He wouldn’t be happy.

  I sped on. I was alone. couldn’t lie, so I felt confident it had left me at least for that moment.

  Almost as quickly, it was back.

  My heart sank. Not yet. Not now. I couldn’t leave now. I needed to show my face in Boston. I needed intel. What if there was another attack while I was gone?

  ’s voice was giddy, laced with excitement.