Page 23 of Ties of Legacy

“Elliot, I’m sorry. It isn’t about the lamp’s monetary value. I swear to you that if I could possibly sell this to you, I would. But I can’t.”

“Ask the smith to make you another lamp with the same properties,” he said desperately. “I’ll pay for it. He just needs to use different brass.”

Avery was already shaking her head before he finished speaking. “If I commission another one, I’ll have to wait another six months. I can’t do that. The people of Bolivere need it too much.”

“Bolivere?” Elliot stared at her. “What does Bolivere have to do with this lamp?”

Avery hesitated. “That’s not my story to tell. They swore me to secrecy. But it’s a life and death situation, I promise. I wouldn’t withhold the lamp for anything less.”

His eyes dropped to the satchel clasped in her arms, and her hold tightened around it in response. When his eyes jumped back up to hers, she was looking at him with an expression that was half-afraid, half-determined.

She knew he’d been considering whether he could take the lamp by force, and she was determined to fight him if it came to that. He was taller and stronger—although possibly less well armed—so he might be able to take it, but he wouldn’t succeed without hurting her.

The thought turned his stomach. He was desperate, but he didn’t think he was that desperate. Not yet.

“Please, Elliot,” she whispered, and he thought he heard the faint edge of tears in her voice.

He stumbled back, gripping his head with both hands.

“Give me a minute,” he gasped. “Just…give me a minute.”

Chapter 9

Avery

Avery watched Elliot pace the limits of their makeshift campsite. Why did it have to be the lamp out of all the possible items? She would have sold him anything else in her cart. She would havegivenhim anything else.

Watching his distress was painful. But even more painful was the lingering splinter of doubt in the depths of her mind. It was awfully convenient that his tie—a tie that could only be confirmed by Elliot’s own sensations—was with the lamp. What if the whole thing was an elaborate drama to bypass the smith’s waiting list?

Avery didn’t think Elliot was that good an actor, but what did she really know about him? Only what he’d told her himself.

Eventually he stopped pacing and came back to stand in front of her. His manner was calmer, although his eyes still stormed as fiercely as they’d done before.

“Can I at least see it?” he asked in a carefully controlled voice.

Avery gripped the satchel, and he sighed.

“I won’t try to take it. I won’t even touch it. I just want to see it. To confirm…”

Avery was pretty sure they didn’t need further confirmation. But she also couldn’t deny the only request she could agree to.

She carefully extracted the lamp from the satchel, unwrapping it from the soft material the smith had wound around it. When it was revealed, she held it up with one hand, her other hand resting warily on the hilt of her dagger.

But Elliot made no attempt to approach closer. Instead, his eyes examined the lamp from where he stood, tracing over the elegant handle and the curve of the spout. The design was unusual for the southern kingdoms, but that was to be expected given the smith’s origins. Other than the rounded shape and single spout, it appeared to be an ordinary brass lamp—although it was a well-crafted one.

Elliot’s expression of defeat deepened, however. “That’s definitely it,” he said in a flat tone. “I can feel it. Which leaves us where? You won’t sell it to me, and I can’t be separated from it.”

They looked at each other, the realization hitting them both at the same time. For as long as Avery had the lamp, Elliot would have to stay with her.

“Will you allow me to travel with you?” Elliot asked.

She blinked, pressing her lips together as her eyes darted all over the clearing. Elliot wasn’t a roving merchant, and he didn’t know what he was asking of her.

Apart from anything else, the prospect was daunting. She hadn’t traveled with another person in nearly two years. Could she really allow a perfect stranger to accompany her?

But what was the alternative? Leave him to die?

“You’ll have to come with me,” she said quietly.

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