18. The Cost of Freedom
The Cost of Freedom
Lanias
“ T he werewolf lands are the hardest to get into without invitation,” Sir Boyd said.
Lanias cursed, glaring at the warlock seated across from her. She wanted to grab his whiskers and yank hard. But she refrained. “I know it’s hard, but I also know it can be done.” She crossed her legs, ignoring the cooling tea on the table in front of her.
“I know all the tricks; you and I both know that every barrier has its cracks. I just need to hop over their wall and visit a friend of mine,” she explained she scrutinized him. “Sir Boyd, you’re the only one outside of the council who can give passes. I require one.”
With a probing gaze, he smoothed a hand down his beard. “In the many years that I’ve known you, this is the first time you’ve used your connections with me to get something. It makes me wonder what precious item awaits you on the land of those filthy mongrels.”
Lanias forced a smile as she caught on to the meaning behind his words. She wanted to sneer at the man across from her, she’d met plenty of his ilk. Men who enjoyed having power over anyone and anything. The type who would marry a career-minded woman only to slowly chip away at her until she was nothing more than a woman with a dead spirit. She’d watched plenty of women go into marriage with bright eyes and come out looking like zombies; it was well-known among women who married men with power like Sir Boyd, the minister who oversaw the veil and human relations; that they were going to have hell like experience.
Thoughtfully, she tapped her bottom lip. “Surely, Sir Boyd, you did not mean for your words to sound like a threat.”
Expression remaining pleasant, he quickly denied it. “No, of course not. I just assumed that if something was worth you of all people pleading for it, it had to be something worth it.”
“I approached you because I assumed you’d be smarter than the others,” she expressed bluntly.
“Did you just insult me?”
“I think it’s been a very long time since I reminded those of you who attend my establishment and use my services, of just why you do not mess with me.”
“You damn witch,” he shouted rising to his feet. “Where do you get off threatening me? When you are nothing more than a high-priced whore. The only thing worth anything about you, is what’s between your legs.”
“And my brain,” Lanias added as the light outside his office window dimmed. “I am a daughter of magic.”
Her shadow stretched across the floor and began to spill black ink. “I have played nice with you and the others for years—” Lanias said in a dulcet tone, as she stood.
Sir Boyd's mouth was forced shut by unseen hands, and a hundred stingers erupted from his bottom lip and surged, piercing his upper lip, his mouth sewing itself shut.
“I want a pass to the Wolfen lands; you and the council have been stalling on giving them out. I don’t know why, nor do I care. All I care about is getting what I want.” she said as she slowly made her way around the coffee table.
She strode to his side, ignoring his frantic scratching at his mouth that swiftly turning into a mess of torn flesh, blood and swollen skin. Taking a seat where he’d previously been sitting, she picked up her teacup. The surface bubbled until the tea itself was steaming hot once again. “Now, you’re going to do what I asked, and you’re not going to report me because I’ll show them the pictures of what you believed to be your greatest wish come true. In fact, the reality is I found a changeling who enjoys sick desires like yours. And he has been ever so patient with me even after I promised him a large lump sum when your scandal breaks.”
She sipped her tea, her eyes like chips of midnight as they stared into his trembling male.
“Now, it’s your move Sir Boyd.”
Castian
“Why is this Eliza so important to your cousin?”
Castian asked Oye, who was currently looking over a recipe in the kitchen she’d half destroyed. though he knew she’d clean it up after. She refused to let the servants into her kitchen. She cooked most of the meals, and he wouldn’t have it any other way, especially on days when she only wore her apron.
“Focus, man. Focus.”
Frowning, she looked up from her cook book. “It’s complicated, and honestly, it’s Lanias’ story to tell.” With that, her attention returned to the cookbook. Eventually she released a humming sound and ran to the fridge.
Castian’s eyes sparkled, this seemed like something worth investigating.