Moran Ingmire, spare Heir to the Fifth Line, sat before us, grinning. “When they told me we had such esteemed guests at the front door, I hardly believed it, but here you are. What brings you to my little dark corner of the world?” He was addressing Vox, though his eyes flicked to Hayle just as often. His smile turned self-deprecating. “Daddy issues giving you drama? Almost a universal experience in the Upper Six Lines at this point.”
I snorted a laugh. “I’m from the Ninth, and I can promise you, it’s not just an Upper Six affliction.”
Finally, Moran’s eyes turned to me. “Oh, you’re the Halhed daughter? The crazy one?”
Hayle growled low in his throat. “Don’tcall her that.”
Moran waved a hand. “If Roman Halhed is the definition of sane up there in the north, I’d want to be the crazy one too.” He stood, leaning over to shake my hand. “Moran Ingmire, also known as Boot. You are…?”
He was charming, that was for sure, but not my brand of charming. “Avalon.” I pointed to Lierick and Iker. “These are my friends, Lierick and Iker.”
Moran stared at them for a lot longer than would be considered polite, but didn’t say anything as he shook their hands too. “Come on, we’ll head back to the bar. I feel like this conversation is going to need a drink or two.”
He wasn’t wrong. We followed him out of the office, toward a second bar inside the Broken Heart Inn. Everyone was doing their best to appear like they weren’t watching us out of the corner of their eye, but I could still feel the weight of their gaze.
Moran held up a finger at the bartender, who grabbed a jug and started to fill it with ale. There was a table in a darker corner of the room, and Moran waved us into the chairs before slumping down on his own, his back to the wall. “So, my sources down in the Sixth tell me you’re the Spryrix. A lot of excitement over that,” he said to Hayle.
I tensed, and Hayle’s gaze flickered to me. I didn’t miss the guilt that passed through his expression. “People talk too much,” he grumbled.
Vox’s hand found my thigh under the table, squeezing it comfortingly. I knew I should follow his advice from earlier—clearly, it was serious when my stoic, stubborn lover was being the reasonable one.
But my pride was hurt. No, it was more than that. Myfeelingswere hurt, and I didn’t know how to get past that. There had been one constant in all these life-altering moments; my powers, Lierick, being on the run. It’d all been okay, because I could trust that Hayle would be there to protect me. That he’d have my back.
Him changing into a monster post-sex had ruined all of that.
Moran smirked. “They don’t have a lot of excitement down there. The Sixth Line eke out a pretty miserable existence if you ask me, but they’re fiercely loyal to their Line, and to the ideathat better days are coming. If you give them even a little bit of hope by just existing, I can’t see how that’s a negative thing.”
“Except now an entire Line knows the Third’s greatest political secret,” Hayle muttered back. “Though I guess, we might be even now. An Heir running a criminal network seems unusual.”
I slid my eyes to Lierick, who had that expression on his face that I was beginning to associate with him reading the people in the room. The bartender appeared with a jug and several glasses, giving Moran a respectful nod before moving back to the bar.
“Is it, though? This is where therealFifth Line exists, not up there in the Great Hall with the Baron.” He sneered as he said it, and I got the feeling that there was no love lost between Moran Ingmire and his father. “So tell me, what brings you south of your gilded halls, Heir Vylan? Or are you even still Heir? My network tells me that your father sent assassins to murder you in your sleep. Nothing like paternal love, am I right?”
Vox’s face gave nothing away, but his hand flexed on my thigh gently. “Before we speak of this, I need your word that nothing we say leaves this room.”
Moran shook his head. “I can’t swear to that. The safety of my people comes first, and to be blunt, I’d screw you over for any of these lovable reprobates.” He waved a hand toward the room.
My lips twitched. I believed him, and honestly, I respected it.
Vox did too; I could see it in his expression. “Then I’d like to soundproof this conversation, if I may.”
Moran’s eyes narrowed, but he shrugged. “I appreciate you asking. Go for it.”
I felt the slide of Vox’s power over my body as he created a dome of silence around the table. He cleared his throat. “My father is trying to starve out the Eleventh and Twelfth Lines in order to sway the Conclave in his favor, but more than that, hebelieves that they are a burden on the system and would best be eradicated.”
Moran’s eyes grew stormy. “I know. Word got to us too late to prevent the supply ships sinking in the Alutian Sea. My network can do many things, but even we can’t go up against the Baron’s guard, let alone the Dawn Army.” He shook his head. “I also know he isn’t the only one who has those beliefs among the Conclave.”
“What if I told you that there was someone who could do something about it? Would you offer support?”
Moran had a sip of his ale. “We can’t exist in what-ifs, Vylan. That’s why we formed the Underground. I can’t help them up there, but down here? We can get my people what they need, even if it isn’t exactly legal.”
Leaning closer, Vox lowered his voice. “I mean it, Ingmire. If I could find someone who could sway the Conclave and stand against my father, would you join them?”
Moran’s face gave nothing away, and I wondered if they trained all the Heirs in that stonewall expression. He looked at Hayle. “Has the Third Line gotten onboard with whatever he’s suggesting?”
Hayle nodded sharply. “We’ve never agreed with Baron Vylan’s version of eugenics. There’s no love lost between the Third and the First.” He tilted his head at Vox, giving him a small smirk. “Well, most of the First. This guy is okay.”
Silence fell over the table, and Moran tapped his glass with his fingernail. “Even if I pledged the Underground to your cause, we are spies and thieves, not soldiers.” I guess that explained who Liselle was gathering information for down in Doend.
