Page 119 of A Bargain with the Fae King

Unseelie murmur and whisper words I cannot understand.

Katiya’s ears twitch. “You expect us to trust your Seelie spells?”

My heart lurches. Riven opens his mouth to speak again, but Sigurd interrupts.

“May I make an offer?” He stands on the ground now, mere feet from us, forming a triangle between his body, the Unseelie, and our party.

My gaze flits around the space, searching for Galen, but he’s nowhere to be found.

Katiya adjusts her stance to face Sigurd. One hand settles on her hip, claws retreating, as she cocks her head to the side.

“Why involve yourself in this anymore, Air King? You could have taken the girl yourself days ago.”

My heart skips a beat, my terrible suspicions confirmed. Ambrose lets out a muffled curse behind us as Riven goes rigid at my side.

Sigurd shrugs. “An opportunity presented itself.”

“What would you offer for the little human?”

He pulls the stone from his pocket, holding it up in the air with a confident smirk. “A door key. With this, you can find many more humans.”

The Unseelie murmur among themselves, their excitement palpable. Even the big one next to Katiya stirs, looking at her with eager interest.

But Kayita purses her lips. Her eyes narrow.

“I would touch it. To see if you speak truth,” she responds. In a moment, she stands in front of Sigurd, the shift taking but a breath.

Sigurd’s smirk fades. He holds out the stone in a clenched, upturned fist before her.

Dainty fingers with pointed nails trace over the top of the stone. Her arm snaps back to her side as she hisses, “You too would try to deceive us. That is not a key.”

She shifts back to her people, leaving Sigurd wide-eyed and motionless where he stands.

“Of course it is,” he says.

“Foolish King. Such treasures have a feel to them. That is a clever rock.”

Riven’s thumb rubs my hand, catching my attention. His eyes cut to me, their intensity searing. He asks a silent question, begs it.

I rub his hand in return.

Light glitters in his eyes. Relief? Triumph? Pride?

My free hand fumbles in the pocket of my dress, wrapping around the stone residing there—the true key, twin to the duplicate I gave Sigurd.

I didn’t trust it with either king. This key is my hope for saving May. The only person I trust to make that bargain is me.

Sigurd’s head swivels slowly in my direction. His shards of ice for eyes settle on me, skewering me with barely concealed rage and fury. Lips pull back from sharp teeth as I slide the true stone from my pocket.

“I have the key, the true key,” I say.

The hint of a smirk pulls at Katiya’s typically stoic features.

I gasp when she appears in front of me, no more than a foot away.

A growl rumbles from Riven’s chest, but she ignores him and reaches toward the stone in my hand. Her eyes widen as one finger trails across its surface. Her gaze snaps to mine. Her head tilts, assessing me. Two sets of ears twitch atop her head before she shifts back to her people.

“It is a key,” she says.

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