Page 25 of Realm of Thieves

“I know very well what I’m doing,” I snap. “I captured Brynla so she can work for our side. In exchange I will get her aunt out of the Dark City.”

“Andor,” he barks as he walks toward me. I hold my ground. He presses his finger into my chest, hard. “You had no right to bring a Freelander into this house. You know what kind of people they are.”

“Actually, I don’t,” I say. “At least I didn’t before I started dealing with them. But she’s not like you think. Everything we’ve been told about them is a lie.”

“Oh, is that so? She’s a thief working for Dalgaard. Doesn’t show much strength of character there.”

“She’s a survivor doing what she’s had to do to survive. How can you not admire that?”

“Don’t try to appeal to my sympathy, because I have none. There’s a reason her people are banished, why no other realms have taken them in.”

“Because they have no means to leave. And the ones that do won’t be welcome on anyone’s shores because of the lies that the Eslanders spread about them. How can you side with all the rubbish that comes from the Soffers in Lerick? You know they’re as erratic as a ghost bat.”

“Fuck, Andor,” he mutters under his breath, going back around his desk. “You really messed up this time.”

“I can’t possibly mess up if I haven’t been given time to prove myself,” I point out.

“I want her gone, Andor,” he says tiredly, plopping down in his chair. “This will only complicate things, especially with Altus Dugrell. Don’t forget your promise to the princess.”

A promise I never made, I think.None of us ever do.

“You don’t need to worry about that,” I tell him. “The thief hates me.”

“Then make sure you keep it that way,” he grumbles. “I would suggest you put her on your ship and take her back to wherever you got her from immediately, but now that she’s been in our keep, I can’t risk that.” He pauses, eyes narrowing. “You do realize what you’ve done, don’t you? You have to keep her here forever. You won’t be able to let her out of your sight. You won’t be able to let her go. She’ll be a prisoner of House Kolbeck until the day she dies. Death is the only way I’ll let that thief walk out of this house and right back to the Dalgaards.”

I swallow hard. I almost play my other hand, the only card I have left, but now isn’t the time.

“Then I better go make sure she hasn’t tried to kill Solla,” I tell him.

My father stiffens and drinks the remains of his glass.

Chapter 9

Brynla

Andor was right. Solla Kolbeckseems sweet, but now I know I can’t underestimate her.

After he passed me and Lemi off into her hands, I focused on surveying the castle, looking for my exit. The odds of escape were low, but I hadn’t seen a single guard since we pulled up to the castle. In fact, I’d seen no one except his uncle and Solla.

As we climbed the stairs, Solla behind me, we passed by a window that was open enough for me to squeeze through. I could get away and Lemi could shift back to the road, then come find me.

But before I could back-kick Solla down the stairs, the window slammed shut as if by an invisible hand. Lemi ran past me up the stairs and I felt a force at my back, as if that same invisible hand was pushing me along. I moved my feet fast to avoid tripping.

I got to the second floor and whirled around to look at Solla, but she only had a quiet smile for me. “You must be exhausted from the journey,” she said as she took me down a wide hall, past tapestries and paintings of forests and waterfalls on the walls. “As much as you’d like to run away, I think you’d feel a lot better with a warm bath, a change of clothes, and something to eat, don’t you think?”

And even though I yearned to run away, the idea of a hot bath was too indulgent to resist. Besides, even if I had made it out the window, where would Lemi and I have gone? We’re in a new realm, in a new climate, with untold dangers that I have no experience with. Even if I could find my way back to the docks, which was doubtful, then what? Smuggle myself onto a ship and hope it’s going to Esland or the Midlands, where no one ever goes?

So I let her lead me into a large bathroom, where she gestured to a flush toilet in the corner and a large copper bathtub in the middle. “We have indoor plumbing, thanks to my younger brother,” she said. “If you turn the tap with theC, cold water comes out. If you turn the tap with theH, hot water comes out. There are bath salts and herbs and different soaps to choose from. Take your time. I’ll give you privacy and lay out some clothes for you in the room across the hall. They’ll be my clothes—I don’t think anyone would be too happy about you wearing my mother’s—and they’ll be too big on you but I’m sure you’ll make do.”

Then she looked at Lemi. “Would you like me to feed him? I assume beef would suffice?”

I told her he’d love that but I wanted him to stay with me. He wouldn’t go off with a stranger anyway, no matter how kind she was being.

And now she’s left, closing the door behind her. I quickly go after it and lock it to make sure no one will walk in on me in the nude. Then I lean against it and survey the room.

I let out a loud breath. My knees start to shake. The adrenaline of the journey is starting to wear off, like I’ve been holding on to a cliff for too long and my hands have finally let go. Part of me thinks I should just curl up in the bathtub as is and take a nap—it’s certainly big enough. But I remind myself that it can wait. I need to get through the rest of the day before I figure out what my options are.

“Well, Lemi,” I say to him, and his tail thumps against the rose quartz floor in response. “How about I take a bath, then you’ll take your turn?”

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