Kai glared down at Alira behind her desk. Rusk and Shadow flanked him. Silence hung in the wake of her revelation.

  Did he come here for nothing? Was Kharon mistaken? His eyes narrowed.

  Kharon hadn’t been wrong yet - no reason to start now. Maybe Alira was lying - a negotiation tactic. Or this path still led to the Frozen Tear.

  Accusing her of lying was useless without proof. Better to see where this led.

  “The good news is,” she said, smiling. “I know where to find it.”

  Kai sighed. “The bad news is - you won’t tell me where?”

  Alira’s hand disappeared below the desk. “Why should I do that?” Hinges squeaked. A door. His hand found his blade. Shadow tensed. Rusk stayed calm as a crematorium.

  Alira produced a bottle filled with brown liquid. The bottle hit the desk with a thunk. She pulled out three glasses. “Drink?”

  His hand left his sword. Shadow relaxed. Rusk remained calm. Kai knew better than to drink anything he hadn’t prepared. He knew the dangers of poison well.

  But negotiation with nobles required a polite facade. “I appreciate your generosity.”

  Alira gestured to the two chairs in front of her wooden desk. “Sit.”

  Kai accepted the order disguised as an invitation. Rusk sat beside him. She covered a glass with her hand. Blue light flared beneath her palm, and ice shards crackled into existence. She poured the brown liquid in and pushed it toward Kai.

  He took the glass with a smile and studied the contents. The shards clinked as he swirled the drink, then set it down. Alira repeated the process for Rusk and herself. They both drank without hesitation.

  Kai kept Rusk in his peripheral vision, watching for signs of poison. Alira’s glass hit the desk - his attention snapped back to her.

  Her gaze locked onto his. “You’re taking my generosity for granted.”

  Kai swirled his glass again. “I’m a slow drinker.”

  Alira leaned back and tapped the desk twice. “That’s not what I mean. Your suspicion wounds me. Shouldn’t friends trust each other?”

  Anyone asking for trust was someone to be wary of.

  “They should.”

  Alira sighed. “If I wanted you dead, you wouldn’t have made it inside.”

  He didn’t buy it. Kai and Rusk could decimate the Nivisara’s skeleton crew. At minimum, they’d escape any ambush.

  She sipped her drink. “But the real issue is - you owe me. Yet you’re asking for more.”

  That was more compelling. She’d keep him alive until she got what she wanted. Kai sipped the brown liquid - disgusting. It burned going down, but he kept his face blank.

  Poison would’ve been kinder. He could heal from poison - though he’d prefer not to reveal that - but he couldn’t heal his taste buds.

  He set the glass down. “I told you what I know about Space God.”

  Alira scoffed. “That’s how you want to play this?” Her gaze sharpened. “You’re clueless about your circumstances, so I’ll lay it out for you.”

  She raised a blue-gloved finger. “One: You killed Gideon in the First Trial. If that got out…” She shrugged. “The Ashfords will hunt you down without mercy.”

  She raised a second finger. “Two: You have no allies, no resources, no reputation. You need us.”

  A third finger rose to meet its companions. “Three: Even though you won’t reveal the truth behind your Gift, I’ll be generous. Pledge to our house. Serve us for a few years. Then I’ll consider helping you retrieve our priceless family heirloom.”

  Kai didn’t have a few years to play errand boy. He’d be ash before long. His fingers had already stiffened; he had no desire to see what came next.

  Her arguments were flawed, the cracks easy to exploit.

  He smiled. Alira’s face hardened. Rusk kept sipping the despicable brown liquid. Kai stroked the silver ring. “Forgive me, my lady, but you’re wrong.”

  Alira raised an eyebrow. “Am I? Do tell.”

  “The Gideon incident had three witnesses. Rusk won’t talk.” Rusk mimed zipping his mouth shut.

  He continued. “Liora has no reason to turn against her saviour and ally. And you…” He shrugged. “Your word isn’t credible. Anyone can tell you’re horny for revenge against the Ashfords. Why would they believe you?”

  Alira’s fist hit the desk like a gavel. “I’m not horny for revenge!”

  Kai waved a hand. “Call it what you want. Righteous justice, whatever. Your cards are weaker than you think.”

  “You dare—”

  “I’m not done.” He forced his stiff fingers to rotate his drink, ice shards punctuating his argument.

  Alira’s jaw clenched. “You forget yourself.”

  A smirk tugged at Kai’s lips. “I don’t forget.” He wagged a finger at her. “For example: The villagers abandoned your castle town. They trust the local priest more than their lord.”

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  Her chin rose. “The church offers salvation. It’s natural they’d flock to it.”

  “True, but they never returned. What does that say about your crumbling House?”

  “Watch your tongue, Kai.”

  “Why? Will you pull your pitiful forces from battle prep to cut it out?”

  The glass in Alira’s hand froze. Then exploded into ice fragments. “Enough!”

  Kai’s smirk widened. “That’s the problem, isn’t it? You don’t have enough allies, resources, or reputation.”

  “I’m warning you, Kai."

  “I should warn you, Alira - this castle’s a death trap for your House.”

  Alira snorted. “Fool. We’re on a cliff. The Domain controls entry. We can’t be flanked.”

  Kai tapped his finger on the desk. “You can’t escape. An enemy force could take the village and get here in minutes. You’ve too few soldiers and no way to secure resources.”

  Alira’s expression darkened. Kai continued. “House Nivisara’s a month from losing everything… less if some bastard wears a warm coat and sword instead of waiting out a siege.”

  Kai scratched his chin. “The other Houses have Saints, you don’t - or they’d be here.”

  “You know nothing!”

  “I know I’m a penniless orphan, but your noble House is worse off. More enemies, less flexibility. You need me as much as I need you - maybe more.”

  Alira's glare could’ve frozen steel. She stayed silent. Her eyes shifted to the window - toward the empty castle town, the skeleton crew, the reality of her position. Her gaze melted when it returned to him.

  “So,” Kai said. “Isn’t it time you stop posturing, and start showing me some respect?”

  Her shoulders slumped. She sighed. “You’re smarter than I thought.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  “Take it how you want.” Alira shook her head. “The fact remains: I can’t help you for free, and you owe me. Since you want to keep your secrets, I have another way for you to pay.”

  Kai’s eyes became slits. “If I do whatever you’ve cooked up - you’ll help me get the artifact and we’ll be square?”

  Alira released a mocking laugh. “Do you need lessons in maths too?” She shook her head slowly. “You help me with this, I help you retrieve the artifact. Favour for favour. After that, you still owe me a debt.”

  Her hand hovered over the frozen fragments. The shards met like lovers at night and reformed into a frozen glass. She poured herself another glass of brown despair. Rusk slid his drained glass across the desk. He smiled as she filled his glass with more sewage.

  Kai grimaced.

  Whatever Alira asked for wouldn’t be easy. Giving her a blank cheque didn’t bode well either.

  But what choice did he have? If he didn’t take her deal, he couldn’t return to Earth. He couldn’t pay Renzo back in blood. His healing power could mend any wound, but vitality leaked from his fingers.

  The longer he waited, the worse it would get. Whatever she asked for, whatever the price, he had to pay it. The first favour was all that mattered right now. The future debt was as good as written off. Once he had the Frozen Tear, he wouldn’t need to settle his accounts.

  He straightened and locked eyes with the Ice Maiden. “You drive a hard bargain. What’s the favour?”

  She tasted the liquor, eyes never leaving his. “You’ll know when we get there.”

  More games and subterfuge.

  He sighed. “Fine. But if it’s impossible or fatal, we renegotiate.”

  Alira’s smile returned. “Good. My favour isn’t fatal. But getting the Frozen Tear is a different story.”

  Kai leaned forward. “You know where it is?”

  “Nearby,” she said, chin resting on her knuckles. “But inconvenient to retrieve.”

  Wasn’t this inconvenient enough already? He came here to find the Frozen Tear and was still empty-handed. Now there was more?

  “Define inconvenient.”

  “House Nivisara sent retrieval teams,” Alira said. “Some of them returned.”

  Some of them returned - could be worse.

  “What did they report?”

  “Nothing,” she said.

  “Nothing? What kind of amateur outfit are you running here?”

  Alira ignored the jab. “They reported nothing because the creature took their memories.” She held up three fingers. “But we learned three important things.”

  Kai’s focus sharpened as Alira continued.

  “One: The women returned unharmed. We assume the men are dead.”

  A picky murderer. Interesting.

  Alira lowered a finger. “Two: The creature can erase memories, or has a tool that can.”

  Sounds like Dusk.

  Kai frowned. He couldn’t let this bastard corrupt his memories.

  One finger remained upright. “Three: No Marked can defeat it.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Just because your Marked couldn’t do the job doesn’t mean it’s impossible.”

  Her face became an ice mask. “We lost good people to learn that. Marked more powerful than you, for sure.”

  He made a dismissive sound. “But not more powerful than you and your Curse?”

  Alira shrugged. “I wasn’t part of the retrieval teams - hadn’t received my Gift yet. I’d worry more about your wellbeing if I were you. The creature lets women live - I’ll be fine either way.”

  “You’ll be fine?”

  Her chin rose. “Of course. You think I’d tell you where it is so you can teleport off? My job first. Then I’ll take you there…if you’re brave enough.”

  “How generous.”

  Satisfaction showed on her features. “I am, aren’t I? You could die getting the Tear. Naturally, I insist you help me before we take that risk.”

  There it was.

  He’d have to complete a dangerous side mission. What if she betrayed him after? What if it was all a story?

  Kai gritted his teeth. If she wanted to stab him in the back, it didn’t matter. He’d dodge her dagger. He had no other option. Kharon sent him here - the Nivisaras must be the answer. But could he trust Kharon?

  These flimsy alliances and shaky foundations made his head spin. What was he to do? Suspect everyone? Trust no one? Do nothing?

  He had to forge forward. Anyone who betrayed him would meet a dark end.

  “All right,” he said. “I’ll do it.”

  Alira leaned back, smug. “I’ll tell you more on the way. For now, be ready for battle.”

  Kai nodded. He checked on Rusk.

  “Rusk, what about you?” he said.

  Rusk frowned. “What do you mean? I’m coming too!”

  A weight vanished from Kai’s shoulders. He could trust Rusk more than Alira - they shared deadly secrets. If Alira tried anything underhanded, Rusk’s threads would end her despite her troublesome Curse.

  Alira nodded. “Even better, you’ll have to wait outside, but we can use your…talents on the way there.”

  She stood and smoothed her dress. “Ready to go?”

  Kai nodded and stood - no reason to wait around.

  “Good,” she said. “Give me a minute to change into something more appropriate.”

  Kai studied her, ignoring the hat - she was stunning. The dress offered no protection, but a few seconds of stunned awe could end a fight.

  “Wait here,” Alira said. She stepped past them and left the room.

  Kai turned to Rusk. Rusk’s mouth opened, but Kai shook his head. Who knew what kind of surveillance, listening Gifts, magic, or devices they had in this room? No need to take the risk.

  They stood in silence. Neither sat back down. They’d have to stand soon enough anyway. No point getting comfortable only to have it ruined in moments. They didn’t move or touch anything. All kinds of traps could be waiting. He’d heard enough horror stories about noble families to keep his hands to himself.

  Rusk was less concerned. He crouched to stroke Shadow’s fur. The wolf’s tail thumped against the floor.

  Get a room.

  Alira soon returned, dressed for combat. She wore the predictable blue plate armour again. This time, however, the plate hugged her figure. Kai looked elsewhere. Focusing on her eyes, he almost drowned in the blue pools. He steadied himself. Alira was a potential enemy. No matter how much they claimed friendship, he had to stay cautious.

  She noticed his gaze. “What are you looking at?”

  His gaze shifted from her eyes to her hair. He found solace. A brown ornamental clip decorated her hair. The atrocious clip clashed with her blue hair and armour.

  Does she have a second Curse too?

  He checked Rusk’s reaction. The fashion connoisseur straightened from his crouch, shook his head, and bit his lip. His eyes glistened with tears.

  Shadow’s tail stopped thumping.

  Kai cleared his throat. “I was admiring your eyes.”

  Her beautiful eyes narrowed. She turned, avoiding eye contact. “Follow me. The longer we delay, the more dangerous our mission becomes.”

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