“She was kind to me.”
“Kindness deserves thanks. What you have done goes far beyond that. You’ve warned me expecting nothing in return. You saved the mercenaries from Falcon Point. You put yourself in danger for the sake of others because you do not like to see people suffer, Maggie. Even strangers. I’m offering you a family who will love and shelter you and accept you as their own. I doubt you will repay us with betrayal.”
“Don’t take this offer,” Everard said. “I can give you an identity. I can give you protection, wealth, and status. I can give you the means you require to accomplish your goals.”
All at the low, low cost of my freedom.
The papers lay on the table in front of me.
“Everything has a price, Maggie,” Everard said. “Yes, you will be gaining a family, but you’ll be assuming its burdens. Think about it.”
Margrave Izarn Demarr, Solentine’s father, was in the upper middle tier of Rellas’s nobility, below the Eight Families and their immediate circle. He rarely visited the capital or attended court. However, his influence far outweighed his rank.
In the Trihorn, Izarn commanded both a formidable fighting force and a terrifying reputation, and nobody wanted to get on his bad side. When Izarn besieged a city, he surrounded it and issued his demands. If they were refused, the next morning the defenders would wake up to find their entire command staff slaughtered. Very few people knew how he did it, and that only added to the family’s legend.
I was now a part of an elite club that had seen that magic in action. The Demarrs were abnormally fast, had ridiculously good hand-eye coordination, and their magic allowed them to play with gravity. They could run up walls. They could sprint across a wooden beam the thickness of a chopstick like it was solid ground. If you threw them off a building, they would land on their feet like a cat, charge right back up, and stab you in the throat.
It made them excellent assassins. Everyone in that family—Solentine’s father, Solentine himself, Solentine’s aunt and cousin, and even Solentine’s teenage siblings—all of them were gifted killers. If I took this offer, I would become a Demarr, and they would be my relatives.
However, the Demarr family existed on a blade’s edge. The Throne’s grant didn’t cover all of the military upkeep for that oversized army Sauven expected them to maintain. The Demarrs were always strapped for cash, provisions, and equipment. They couldn’t afford to piss off either Everard or Sauven. They swam in the ocean between two monsters, scrounging for crumbs and always ready to dodge if one of them decided to strike.
“If Sauven turns on them, he will obliterate them,” I told Everard. “If you withdraw your support, the border will fall, and they will fall with it. I understand the situation very well.”
If I closed my eyes, I could picture Solentine splattered with blood and howling like a grieving animal over the body of his father.
Everard crouched by me and took my hand into his. His eyes were so warm, his face reassuring and sincere. The feel of his fingers on mine sent little shivers down my spine.
“You don’t have to make this decision right now,” he said. “Or at all. Use me. Let me be your shield. Let me take care of you.”
“Holy shit,” Solentine muttered.
“If you reject this, I give you my word Solentine will never bother you again. Tell me what you wish for, and I will grant it.”
Solentine leaned forward. “Maggie, not even the Eight Families can take the Demarr name for granted.”
I knew exactly what he was saying. If I became a Demarr, I would slip out of Everard’s grasp. The Demarrs were Everard’s allies, not vassals. He couldn’t kidnap their child.
“Trust me, Maggie,” Everard said. He was so handsome right now. So irresistible. Saying no seemed absurd. Ridiculous.
“I do trust you,” I told him and tugged my hand free. “Where do I sign?”
Solentine exhaled.
Everard’s eyes blazed. He straightened and leaned over the table, shortening the distance between us to way closer than was appropriate. His voice was low and calm. “A mistake, my lady.”
He didn’t say it in a threatening way. He simply expressed his disappointment that someone he treasured had made a regrettably foolish decision. It was problematic but ultimately it would change nothing because he was completely confident in his ability to compensate.
I couldn’t sign this paper fast enough.
“I thought we had established trust.” Everard looked into my eyes.
“I trust you with my life. Just not with my freedom.”
The Sleepless Duke smiled. It was an indescribable smile, knitted from determination, power, and pure heat. “Then I shall have to work harder.”
Dear god.
I turned to Solentine. “Hurry up.”
