Page 33 of Ties of Bargains

The two librarians did a dramatic reading of a passage from a book, made all the more dramatic because the two librarians seemed to hold some kind ofanimosity for each other. Or perhaps romantic tension. It was hard to tell which it was.

After them, a smirking male fae led a string of cringing humans carrying musical instruments onto the stage.

Harm paled, clutching the edge of the bench with a white-knuckled grip.

Val stood. “We should go.”

Harm just nodded, rose to his feet, and followed her as they eased through the crowd that had gathered.

Once they popped out on the other side into the relative quiet near the booths that faced the performance stage, Harm glanced over his shoulder, a pucker between his brows. “I thought you said the Court of Knowledge is against the captivity of humans?”

“They are. But faerie markets are considered neutral. The Court of Knowledge doesn’t have jurisdiction here, even though the faerie market is on the court’s land.” Val looked back the way they’d come, though she could barely see the cluster of humans over the heads of the crowd. The raucous jeers nearly drowned out the almost painful dirge the humans had struck up. “It still was bold of that fae to bring his captives here. He’s bound to lose a few by the time he returns to his own court.”

“Good.” Harm spoke the word under his breath, his fists clenched at his sides.

Val swallowed, turning away and forcing herself into a brisk pace. She agreed with Harm. She shouldn’t, but she did.

And yet here she was with a captive human at herside with every intention of delivering him and no plans to aid him more than she already had.

In the darkness of evening,the last light of the fading sunset lingering behind the trees, Val tossed the rope for Daisy. After the day spent in the market, Daisy had an excess of overstimulated energy, and she raced after the rope. As she reached it, she tried to stop and ended up tumbling for a moment before she rolled back to her feet and scooped up the rope. As she whipped the rope back and forth to kill it, she gave a low growl.

With Daisy occupied, Val risked a glance over her shoulder at the tent only a few feet behind her. The crackling fire cast a pool of light onto the side of the tent and the surrounding grass.

Not that Val was anxious to see Harm emerge in his new clothes. It was just that they’d lost a whole day in that faerie market trying to obtain the items, and Val needed to make sure it was worth it.

If that goblin woman had tried to trick them by creating less than optimal clothing, Val would march back there and wring a better bargain out of her. Nevermind the lateness of the hour or how wild the faerie market would be by then. She was in the mood to crack a few heads.

Once they’d retrieved the clothing from the mouse woman, Val hadn’t wanted to linger any longer. She’d hurried Harm out of the faerie market, and the two of them—three of them counting Daisy—had hiked as faraway from the faerie market as they could before darkness fell.

Daisy finished killing the rope and raced back toward Val. With only a few feet of room to maneuver, Val held her ground until the last moment, sidestepping Daisy.

Daisy nearly barreled right into the tent before she caught herself, pivoted, and jumped at Val.

Val lifted the second rope out of the way. “Sit.”

Daisy landed, then plopped her butt on the ground.

Val tossed the second rope and searched the gloom for where Daisy had dropped the first one.

There. The darker length of the rope lay against the grass several yards away. Well out of Val’s reach, unless she dragged Harm out of the tent by the cord.

Daisy, at least, seemed happy enough whipping the other rope back and forth.

At a whisper of canvas, Val turned. Harm stood there, wearing a light blue shirt that brought out the blue of his eyes even in the evening shadows. Given the warmth of the weather, he’d rolled the sleeves to his elbows. The leather jerkin over top was well-fitted, and he’d left the ties loose at his neck. His new breeches were sturdy tan fabric while the sword belted at his waist completed the look.

His blond hair was long around his ears while the scruff of a beard covered his chin and cheeks. Dressed in fae clothes, tall, and broad shouldered as he was, he could have been a mercenary in the Wild Hunt.

At least, until he smiled. Then he didn’t look at alllike a fellow mercenary. Instead, he was the cheerful puppy she was coming to appreciate.

Not appreciate. Seeing her Wild Hunt leader had reminded her of all the reasons why she should never harbor appreciation for one of her packages.

Val shook herself, shoving thoughts of Diego and the Wild Hunt away.

Harm spread his hands wide. “What do you think?”

“Either that goblin seamstress has a soft spot for you or that cheese was exceptional.” Val gestured from Harm’s head to his feet. “Because that is among her best work.”

“Tulpenland is known for its cheese.” Harm shrugged and smoothed a hand almost self-consciously over the front of the jerkin.

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