He hesitated, one shoulder lifting slightly. “Sure. It’s in here.” He tapped the grimoire. “But I didn’t think it would come up.” He focused on Taryn. “How did you find out?”
That was a very good question.
Taryn smiled, calm and confident, as if she’d been waiting for the query. “I didn’t know the possibility existed for sure. But I’m a scholar as well as a fighter.” She folded her hands loosely in front of her. “I’ve read plenty of grimoire records through the years. I returned home to find Luca gone, heard about this situation, and figured there was a good chance the trophy could be challenged as well.” She lifted her chin and glanced around the room. “I would very much like to be the Alpha female of this pack.”
The room felt heavier somehow. Nadia wanted to throw up.
“The Slate Pack is known far and wide,” Taryn went on. “It’s one of the protected packs. That means stability. And let’s face it, the price of slate is on the rise.” Her gaze flicked briefly to Solomon. “You’re all going to be very wealthy very soon.”
“What about the people?” Nadia asked.
“I’m sure they’ll love me,” Taryn said easily. “Most people do.”
Yeah. Well. Nadia didn’t. She turned toward the envelopes before she could overthink it. If this was happening, then it was happening now. Her fingers brushed the edge of the paper as she reached into Bussy’s envelope and pulled out a folded slip.
She unfolded it to read. “Bulwark.”
Great. Of course. Start with the jackass.
“All right,” Margaret said, lifting her envelope and giving it a decisive shake. “Let’s choose a challenge, shall we?”
Chapter 8
That afternoon, Nadia found herself standing outside the entrance to an abandoned mine with a backpack over her shoulder.
Snow drifted steadily from the sky, soft flakes settling into her hair, clinging to the shoulders of her coat, melting slowly at her collar. She blinked against the cold and stared at the dark slash in the mountain ahead. The opening yawned wide and uneven, framed by sagging timbers and splintered beams that looked one hard breath away from giving up entirely. The rock around it was darker than the surrounding stone, stained by years of moisture and neglect.
“Are you sure this is safe?” she asked.
Bulwark snorted beside her, his breath puffing white in the cold.
Solomon stood a few feet back with the ladies on either side of him, his posture straight, his expression maddeningly calm. “No,” he said. “It’s not safe. None of this is supposed to be safe.”
Well. That was just fantastic.
Nadia shifted her weight and looked up at Bulwark. He loomed beside her, broad shoulders dusted with snow, his expression unreadable. “You’re on board with this?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I like danger.”
Yeah. Obviously.
Solomon stepped forward and handed Bulwark a portable diamond core drill. The weight of it looked substantial even in Bulwark’s hands. “You need to find a sample of roofing-grade slate with a seventy to eighty percent usable yield,” Solomon said. “It’s in there. Even though we don’t use this mine very often, we’re close to reopening it. We’ve already found promising samples.” He gestured toward the entrance. “Now you need to find one that proves it.”
Bulwark glanced down at Nadia. “You ever done this before?”
“No,” she said flatly. “I’m a farmer, not a miner. I mean, I’ve read up a little bit about mining, but I’m not expert. Not even close.” The idea of walking into the darkened interior, past the bowed beams and cracked supports, made a chill slide down her spine that had nothing to do with the cold. The mine smelled damp and old. Like earth that hadn’t seen daylight in a very long time. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“It’s a horrible idea,” Bussy said briskly. “Can’t we find a different challenge?”
Solomon shoved his gloved hands in his pockets. “No. Nadia chose a challenge out of the envelope, and this is it. We’re the Slate Pack. Being able to mine slate matters.”
“So does safety,” Nadia said.
Solomon kicked snow off his boots. “Bulwark has to keep you safe. If he doesn’t, he dies.”
“I don’t think I like that,” Bulwark muttered.
“Too bad,” Solomon said, leaning forward and handing Nadia a hard hat with a mounted light. “Those are the rules. Anytime the potential mate?—”
