Chapter 15 #2
Kane was shocked at the sudden tenderness in her voice.
Even her features seemed to soften as the comfort of dry clothes and a full belly finally paid off.
He didn’t need any more convincing. Kane sat and wordlessly worked his way through dinner.
It was a divine feast of meat and flavors, and he resisted the urge to moan.
After prison food, this was a meal worth killing for.
“What do you want with Inez?” asked Erinna, the steeliness in her disposition slowly returning. At least she waited for him to down a few bites before starting.
“Why do you care so much for her? You barely know her.” He couldn’t help but ask.
Erinna eyed his half-eaten food for a moment before squaring her gaze back on him. “It doesn’t matter how well I know her. She doesn’t deserve to be a tool for men to simply use and discard as needed.”
Anger seared through his veins. “I’m not like the wretches of your nation, and I don’t need to be compared to their lack of ethics.” How dare she assume his intent. Kane was never a fan of audacity. The candle wicks burst with fire, barely able to control the blaze.
Erinna flinched. Arcanum buzzed lightly around his throat once more.
Dammit, Kane grumbled and scratched at the invisible threads.
He’d promised to get her home safe, but apparently the deal extended its protection against his own nature.
I wasn’t even planning on hurting her, he griped to invisible threads of arcanum that were growing increasingly more irritating.
“Inez will be cared for here. We all know what happens to misfits beneath the reign of your king.” He watched her eyes narrow and body shift in her seat.
As he suspected, she was no fan of King Mycelar.
He’d heard the rumblings of a couple Tarthans smuggling people away from the kingdom.
Never thought he would be dealing with them himself.
Under normal circumstances, he was fond of smugglers. “I’m not a smuggler.” The memory of her disdain flashed through his mind, and he bit back a chuckle.
“What was our half of the deal?” asked Erinna the moment Kane finished his last bite.
He opened his mouth to speak, the rippling of arcanum tugged at his neck. Squeezing tight to ensure he didn’t spill Kenneth’s secrets.
Fuck me. Kane clenched his teeth together in an attempt to keep unwarranted insults at bay. He scratched at his neck. The magical constraints would tighten their hold again if he tried to give her direct answers. And he knew better than to think he was done dodging her queries.
This would be the last time he ever dealt with a Yarrow.
“First.” He scratched again at the invisible bindings. “Let me make this abundantly clear. The deal was with your father. I cannot divulge his secrets, even to his kin.”
She scanned his face, frustrated but calculating. “What are you looking for in the library?”
Kane let out a sardonic laugh. Her queries would be the death of his patience and sanity.
“You ask too many questions.”
“You keep too many secrets.”
“And you’re entitled to none of them,” he shot back.
Erinna sat deeper in her seat. “You’re right,” she admitted. Kane blinked—he’d braced for an argument, not…whatever this was. Maybe they would finally be able to get somewhere.
“You need to know the ground rules so you don’t get yourself pummeled by my crew.” He pushed the plates aside and leaned over the table. “You will be expected to help at least with the basics if you plan on eating our food and staying in our shelter.”
She gave a slow nod. Kane knew she wasn’t naive enough to believe her stay would be free or easy.
Erinna folded her hands across the table. “And the library? I need access.”
“We’re working on it.”
“What do you mean working on it? The wards are down—”
“The wards are down for the library, but it’s surrounded by a military stronghold with old arcanum fortifications.” That was the Minor Apprentice’s job.
“I can help.”
Kane shook his head. “I need you on the ship.”
The last thing he wanted was to put Erinna and the Minor Apprentice in a room together.
He was only buying time before they eventually met, and he had a feeling Erinna was no fan of that pain-in-the-ass mage.
Although Kane had to admit, he wondered just how amusing it would be to watch her ire aimed at someone other than him.
She glared and crossed her arms over her chest. A momentary silence settled as she thought. Kane could practically hear the gears working in her head.
“How about we make a deal?”
Kane perked up and gestured for her to continue. He’d sworn earlier that he would never make a deal with a Yarrow again. But he was full, warm, and dry. It wouldn’t hurt to at least hear her out.
“Can I get assurance for access to the library once you open the doors or whatever?”
He fought the urge to roll his eyes. “It’s not worth my time to keep you out once we open the doors. But yes, I won’t stop you from entering.”
She pulled in her bottom lip in thought, eyes narrowed as she assessed. “I’ll outfit your mast with witchstone. In exchange, you bring me back home when all of this is done.”
Kane couldn’t stop his excitement. A witchstone ballast. On his ship. He could almost salivate at the idea. But heading back to Tarth…
“Not worth it.” He finally decided, but gods was he intrigued. The Hellish Rebuke was a fearsome vessel, even in its current state. But witchstone was a valuable asset, and to have even a sliver on his ship…he was almost tempted to say yes.
Erinna gave a “worth-a-try” shrug. It was clearly not the deal she really wanted. Kane leaned in closer, hands clasped in thought as he waited for her next attempt.
Erinna mimicked his move. Leaned in, closing the distance between them. “There must be something you can tell me.” She scanned his face, looking for clues. Her scent of sandalwood and sage washed over him. Kane swallowed. Hard.
“Afraid not.”
She pursed her lips and finally leaned back in her chair. “I think you’re lying. I think you made a bad deal and are reaping the consequences.”
Kane acted on impulse. He hooked the tip of his foot beneath her seat and pulled it closer. She was too far away for his liking. “What are you going to do about it, Yarrow?” he challenged.
Erinna tapped her chin in thought. Eyes going once more to Kane’s neck. “Tell me everything you can about my father. In exchange, I’ll affix a piece of witchstone to your ship. If you can’t agree to that, we will part ways on a default. You stay out of my way, I stay out of yours.”
Kane underestimated her judgment. The strings of his pact thrummed to life again, only this time they didn’t tighten their hold or keep him beholden to its clauses.
Arcanum waited to be molded in anticipation of another deal. His finger twitched, and he saw Erinna’s eyes dart from his hand to his neck. She was testing an assumption.
He gave her a wide grin. It was a much better bargain for both of them.
“You know, Yarrow, under normal circumstances, we would have made good partners.”
She gave him a sickly-sweet smile. “Perhaps, in your dreams.”
Something wicked flashed across his mind, but he bit down the juvenile retort. Instead, he cleared his throat and said, “Regardless, I look forward to your work. We have a deal.”
They clasped hands in agreement, and the air went stale. Arcanum buzzed around them, the sensation faint but unmistakable. Slowly, the threads that bound him to secrecy lifted. The pact wasn’t completely gone, but made room for the new deal—one that gave him more freedom to answer her questions.
He could feel the power caress their hands like a breeze. Not enough to bind them together like the deal he’d made with her father. Fear flickered across her features as she felt it too.
“So,” Erinna started. “You really were compelled to be entirely unhelpful.”
A chuckle escaped his lips. “I still can’t give you everything. But this is better than before.”
“What happens now? What does this mean for me?”
“Nothing. Get witchstone on my boat, and I can tell you what I know about your father’s deal.”
“You should have told me this was a magical deal, Atwater.”
“I couldn’t. It’s—”
“Complicated,” she finished.
Silence settled in the small space, and Erinna chewed on her bottom lip. Kane braced for another series of questions. Instead, Erinna grabbed the empty dishes and excused herself.
“Find Asher. She’ll place you,” Kane called after her and slumped low into the rickety, creaking chair. He would allow himself a few minutes of rest and recovery. There was too much work to do, and now that the waiting was over, he was ready to set his plans in motion.
A small hint of worry ebbed into the back of his head.
Everything had been going to plan except for one small hiccup.
He thought Kenneth could provide the answers, give Kane an easier way of navigating the maze of Iprix’s library.
The clue to what he’d been looking for. Instead, he had been given a coded index that Kane had no idea how to solve.
On top of that, his daughter was stuck in his camp, with his crew, and now he had a deal with another Yarrow.
Kane sighed and pushed Erinna from his thoughts. She had a job that would keep her busy for now, and it was best he warned Afton to be on good behavior. Or to at least make sure not to antagonize the new Tarthan arrivals.
Kane squared his shoulders and left the small room in search of his ship’s carpenter. Things had only just started, and he had work to do. Not to mention the impending arrival of the new Chancellor.
They had two weeks at best before the academy was on the island to finish Haru’s appointment as Chancellor. If the crew were still on the island when that happened, then everything would have been wasted. Many would not survive.