I sighed. “I’m here for my friends. We just traveled from the Fall Court. They’re in their fifties and coughing up gray dust.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Middle-aged fae with powder lung?” She let out a low whistle. “That’s gonna cost you.”
“How much?” Nellie demanded, her voice tinged with sass.
I elbowed her lightly to calm her down.
“Five gold coins,” the fae said flatly.
“Five golds! Are you insane?” Nellie shrieked, earning her another nudge from me.
The fae’s eyes narrowed at Nellie’s outburst.
“Five for the female, and I’m assuming another five for her husband?” I clarified.
She nodded.
“Is there a rush fee? Could I pay extra to move to the front of the line?” I asked.
She leaned forward, lowering her voice. “For ten gold coins each, you can use our side entrance and get immediate service.”
“Ten golds,” Nellie grumbled, and I nudged her again.
My heart sank. I had plenty of money back in Ethereum, but I hadn’t thought to bring any with me. And anyway, it was useless here.
“And what if I were on a secret mission for the Spring princess, a close friend?” I asked, grasping at straws. “Could you bill her?”
The fae glared. “Are you wasting my time?”
“No,” I promised. “I have the backing of Princess Lorelei.”
She rolled her eyes. “Then where’s your official summons?”
This wasn’t going well.
“Okay,” I said, desperation creeping into my voice. “If someone in this town wanted to make money fast, where would they go?”
“The treasury,” she said as though it were obvious.
Right. The treasury.
“If you have collateral, they can loan you coin.”
A loan? The Ethereum lord of the Western Kingdom getting a loan—it was unheard of. I had enough gold to buy this entire town.
“Next,” she called over my shoulder, and someone scurried forward to take my place.
Defeated, Nellie and I left the healer’s shop and headed for the treasury.
I wasn’t a quitter. I would see Elida and Evander healed, and Nellie would get her sweets. I just needed to make some quick coin first.
The treasury master, a Mr. Donahue, stared down his crooked fae nose at me. “Let me get this straight. You have no deed to any land, no witness of character, and no job, yet you want a loan for thirty gold coins?”
I’d spent the last ten minutes trying to convince him that giving me the money was a good idea, that Princess Lorelei would pay it back. But the way he looked at me now, with such disgust, told me I was wasting my time.
“Yes,” I said firmly.
Donahue tipped his head back and laughed, the smell of alcohol wafting over me. I glanced at Nellie to see if she noticed. She scrunched up her nose and scowled at the man.
