CHAPTER 3

Lord Berin held out his hand to her, and Vex considered him. She realized she’d seen the gentleman in front of her around the Market Ward several times during the day, always in her periphery. He appeared to be some years older than she, in his late twenties at most, and he carried himself with the confidence of a man who believed the world to be his. It was a confidence bought by gold or titles, and in Vex’s experience people like him didn’t simply offer assistance. If there was one thing Vex had learned scraping by with her brother these past few years—and in her father’s house before that—it was that there was always a catch to such offers. A cost or a cruelty. There was always someone who wanted something, whether it was to impress her or to degrade her. She wasn’t in the mood for either.

But whether intentionally or not, he effectively blocked her exit, so she had no alternative but to play his game.

She let the lordling take her hand and held her head high. “Charmed.”

“A pleasure, my lady.” Lord Berin smiled. He straightened and placed his hat and his purse on the table with books, next to the one she’d just returned—an otherwise interesting volume on poisons. “If you’ll forgive me, I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation.”

Next to Vex, the bookseller harrumphed, though whether his disapproval was targeted at this man’s smooth words or at the continued interruption of his reading was entirely unclear. He kept his focus on his book, but his ears had pricked up.

“You were following me,” Vex suggested casually.

“Nothing of the sort, my lady. Though I’ll admit to noticing you in the market today. It would be impossible not to.” Lord Berin tugged at his sleeves as if nervous, and a blush spread from his neck up to his cheeks. “If it’s information on dragons you seek and this fine gentleman can’t help you”—the gnome muttered something, turning a page with force—“I could guide you to the Scholar Ward at your leisure.”

“The Scholar Ward?” Vex kept her voice light. She put on a smile like armor.

Lord Berin inclined his head. “I have contacts at the Cobalt Reserve—at the library—who are not usually open to consultation, but I’m sure with the right introductions they would be more than willing to make an exception for one such as you. They could aid you with any inquiries you may have. Their collection is awe inspiring.”

Vex took a measured step back. “One such as me?”

“A beautiful young woman in the pursuit of knowledge, of course,” he said, without hesitation. “A lack of contacts should not get in the way of your interests.” He twisted one of his gold bracelets. He’d perfected the look of bashful naïveté that might have put other people at ease, but Vex saw the hint of shrewd calculation in his eyes, and his words were as slick as some of the concoctions the apothecary sold. While he talked a good game—and despite her better judgment Vex found herself intrigued by the suggestion—she didn’t trust that his benevolence came without strings attached. And she refused to become tied up in them.

“What would you get out of it?” she asked.

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

“With your wish to escort me? Or to connect me with your contacts?” She winked at him, as if amused by the suggestion. “It can’t all be for the pursuit of knowledge and the betterment of your fellow people?”

Lord Berin smiled a smile that never reached his eyes. He flexed his fingers, purposefully showing off a number of rings and gems. He indicated the emptying street around them. “I would gain the pleasure of your company, my lady,” he said.

“As I would gain the pleasure of yours?”

“Of course,” he said, like that went without saying. “I’m sure you’ll understand the value of my company. As yours is clear to me. I saw you standing here, in all your radiance, and I could not simply keep walking.”

Vex snorted at that. She couldn’t help it. She considered what he must see when he looked at her. A half-elf with dirty clothes, a fraying cloak, and hair that hadn’t seen a bath in too many days. In hindsight, that would’ve been the only argument her brother needed. If he could find them an inn that would provide hot water for a decent bath, she would be entirely content. But right now, she had dirt beneath her fingernails and bear fur on her boots. There were bloodstains and mud stains on her clothes, and as far as she could tell there was nothing beautiful or radiant about her. Contrarily, the lordling’s air of importance was as finely tailored as his coat. He seemed all too aware of his own appearance, all too comfortable with using his wealth and position to entice those around him to do his bidding.

He raised his eyebrows, as if taken aback by her reaction. “Do you mock me, my lady?”

“No more than you me,” she said. She managed a polite rejection through clenched teeth. “No thank you. I don’t need any assistance. I am perfectly fine on my own. Now if you could be so kind as to step aside so I could go home, I would appreciate that too.”

“Best be off now,” the gnome muttered viciously. He’d closed the book and put it and the pipe into a pocket of his coat, after which he climbed on his chair and began stacking the books on the table to prepare for the night as well.

Lord Berin didn’t move. “But I insist,” he said. His frown deepened. The calculation in his gaze made way for something sharper, and his charm bled away. “Perhaps you do not know who you’re dealing with, but I assure you, you do not want to say no to me.” By the sound of it, very few people ever had.

Vex had expected no less, and her patience was running thinner and thinner. “I assure you, I do. And I insist you step aside.”

“Foolish girl, you think too highly of yourself.” Instead of leaving like she told him to, Lord Berin crowded her, one hand reaching for her arm, another for her face. His eyes flashed. “Come now, don’t be so shy. I’m a gentle man. I could show you a side of the city that you could never afford on your own.”

Vex reacted without hesitation. She ducked under his arm, and when he overstretched, she spun away from him. She used his momentum to drive him forward while twisting herself around him, and she reached for the knife in her belt. With all her strength she braced against him and dug the point of the knife into his side. Deep enough to show she was serious, not deep enough for lasting damage.

Lord Berin yelped.

“You piece of shit, I said go,” Vex hissed, leaning as close as she dared before stepping back out of the corner he’d pushed her in. In front of the table with books, she reevaluated her possible escape routes. She could leave now, but she didn’t want to turn her back on him. And while she wished she could pull out bow and arrow, she knew how to look menacing with a blade too. She only had to channel her brother. “Now.”

Lord Berin was bright red when he turned to her, and he pressed his hand against his side. “Do you have any idea what a mistake you’re making? Or who you’re threatening?”

She held the belt knife loosely, the blade following his every movement. She placed her feet more firmly on the ground and grinned her teeth bare. Her expression conveyed no amusement, only threat. “I don’t know, and I don’t care.”

He breathed in hard and seemed to take stock of his options, so she did too. He didn’t carry a weapon, or he would’ve reached for it already. Presumably magic could have given him the upper hand in an instant too. Since he’d used neither of those, she didn’t mind pushing him a bit further. She made a shooing motion with the blade and pointed in the direction of the square, where lanterns were being lit to brighten the streets and different-colored lights illuminated the second-story living quarters above many shuttered shops. “Best be off now,” she said, mimicking the gnome’s earlier advice.

Lord Berin snarled, and for the first time since he’d addressed her, he took no care to hide his anger and his disdain. “Who on earth do you think you are, to deny me like this? You’re nothing. You’re no one.” He spat at the floor and reached for her, only to be driven away by her blade again. “Better watch your back from now on. I’ll see that you pay for this.” And with that, he spun around and marched off.

She watched to make sure he left the square, instead of changing his mind, before she put the knife away. Her hands trembled, and her head pounded. The lordling’s threats repeated themselves over and over, and his oily words clung to her. She hated how he thought he had a right to approach her like this. That those rich bastards always thought they had the right. There was always a cost or a cruelty.

This was why she hated cities.

“Dangerous type,” the gnome commented. He took the last three books and placed them on top of the pile that now towered over him. With near-impossible balance, he picked up the stack and ambled in the direction of the shop, as though the standoff had only been a minor inconvenience to him. “Good night.”

Vex blinked. “Thanks?” She shook her head. Thanks for the help too.

She pulled her bag up on her shoulder again and noticed Lord Berin’s hat and purse still on the book table. In his anger and frustration, he’d left them behind. After a moment’s hesitation, she took a step closer.

She made sure the few wanderers around the square were busy when she pushed the hat to the side and snatched up the purse. She recognized the familiar weight of gold and silver coin, and she kept her face carefully neutral, though something unwound inside her. At least the lordling’s carelessness would pay for her bracers and a good winter coat for her brother.

She needed to get back to Vax. With twilight blanketing the city, he was probably worried now that she was running so late. She had to keep her mind on that—on getting back to her brother—and avoid walking in the same direction as Lord Berin. She glanced across the street once more before she set out for the Temple Ward.

“SO LET ME GET THIS straight: You threatened a nobleman claiming to be an officer of the court in broad daylight and then stole from him,” Vax summarized, staring at the coins on the bedspread. He’d found the two of them a room in a shabby little inn near the edge of the city, where the half-orc innkeeper had served them a surprisingly decent meal of soup with cream, vegetables, and unidentifiable lumps, as well as a cut of roast meat and a few pieces of freshly baked bread. The room itself looked like it might fall apart in a stiff breeze, with its wooden walls and roof all at slightly odd angles.

But it was clean enough and private, and as soon as she’d closed the door behind them, Vex had thrown a bundled-up cloak at Vax then emptied out a purse full of coins on one of the beds. She sat counting them now. “It was dusk, actually.”

“I’m so proud of you.” Vax unwrapped the cloak and ran his hands along the garment. The fabric was of a rich and lasting quality. A long cloak for colder weather, made of a deep dark leather that felt both sturdy and supple, with dark-gray fur lining, trimmed with a lighter gray, softer than anything he’d felt in years. The leather still smelled faintly acidic, like it had been cured but never been worn before. On the inside lining, he saw smudges of chalk that the tailor must have used to take measurements. When he reached out to brush it away, his fingers lingered for a heartbeat or so.

Meanwhile, the purse had been filled with coppers, silvers, and even some gold coins. More by some measure than he got for delivering the letter. And that was after she’d found the fur-lined cloak.

What with the coin, the supplies, and perhaps an odd job or two, this could easily tide them over until Winter’s Crest, perhaps longer.

Vex sighed. She scooped up the gold coins and put them in a hidden pocket in her belt. “What if I got us in trouble because of this? Fucks like him always find a way to get what they want.”

If that was the case, Vax knew exactly what he wanted to do: find the nobleman and impress upon him—with the sharp end of his daggers—that no one threatened his sister and got away with it. She’d refused to tell him exactly what he’d said to her, but when she’d walked up to the temple, she’d been angry and weary, and he could still see the lines of tension around her shoulders.

“Sounds like he’s got his head so far up his own ass, he’ll need a map to find his way out. We’ll be long gone by then.”

Vax peeked out the window and found the expected images of a city at night. Outside the entrance to the inn, a handful of dwarves were drinking and singing. Two city guards walked the streets. Across the road, a person in a long maroon cloak squinted up at the inn as the Shields passed him by. He lingered for a moment longer before he too continued his walk. Vax turned away. “Besides, I’m an expert at trouble. If you got us in, we’ll get ourselves out again.”

Vex grumbled but smiled. “Next time, I’m sticking to giant spiders.”