Page 58 of Ties of Bargains

A pang shot through him, but he forced a smile. “Tulpenwerf—that’s the capital city where I live—is all brick roads, brick houses, and tiled roofs, lining the network of canals that we use more than the roads. The countryside is flat farm fields for as far as you can see, and you can spot all the little towns for miles around. Honestly, you’d consider it boring. There’s nothing trying to eat me in Tulpenland.”

“Nothing? Really?” Val nudged her elbow into his ribs, a hint of a smile curving her mouth. “It seems everything we’ve met wants to eat you.”

“Well, pretty sure the grain sprites were trying to eat you.”

“Only because I shoved you out of their way. They would have preferred to eat you.” Val raised her eyebrows.

“Right…” Harm winced, just thinking about all the things that had tried to eat him in the Fae Realm. There was the wolf. The scarecrow. The crone. Queen Titania was certainly hungry for him. It would be quite the relief to get back to Tulpenland where everyone and everything he met wasn’t trying to eat him. “Well, Tulpenland is a lot more peaceful. It’s home.”

“Home.” Val spoke the word as if she was rolling it over her tongue, tasting it. “I’ve never had a home before. At least, not since my family was banished from the Court of Sand.”

Harm hugged her tighter. “You’ll have a home with me. It might be a little boring. Unless the other kingdoms decide to start sending assassins after me.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me.” Val rested her hand on her dagger again.

“You don’t have to sound so happy about the idea.” Harm exaggerated his grumble.

Val smirked. But after a moment, the look faded. “Harm. Tomorrow, when we…”

“Stop thinking about it. We’ve planned enough for one day.” Harm dug into his magical pocket with his free hand. He retrieved two of his remaining pottery plates, the last of his cheese, and the flask of cassis. “Tonight, we’re going to feast.”

Val took the things as he handed them to her, but she didn’t start unwrapping the cheese. “Are you sure? If we succeed, we’re going to have a long walk back to the Court of Dreams, and this time I won’t have the protection of working for a fae court. We might need your bargaining goods more than ever.”

“We can wash the plates. Aren’t they more valuable here in the Fae Realm if they’ve been used by a prince?” Harm took the cheese, unwrapped it, and used a small knife to slice it. “But I think tonight of all nights is one for celebration, don’t you think?”

Val huffed again, but she didn’t refuse the cheese when he put it on her plate. She picked up a piece and took a large bite. “I rather like this cheese.”

Daisy sat up, placed her nose on Val’s knee, and gave her the big begging eyes.

“When we get to Tulpenland, you can have all the cheese and cassis you want.” Harm reached toward Daisy, a piece of cheese in his hand.

Val caught his wrist. “Don’t give Daisy anything untilwe’re done. We’ll never have any peace if you give her something now.”

He quickly stuffed the piece of cheese into his own mouth instead.

As he reached for another piece, Daisy’s ears perked, and she looked into the darkness, a low growl rumbling in her chest.

Val set aside her plate. “Monsters. We’re in the Court of Sand. We might not get a lot of sleep tonight.”

Harm sighed, stuffed the rest of his cheese into his mouth, and shoved the plates and flask back into his magical pocket. “Great. I’ll face near certain death tomorrow while sleep-deprived.”

Val drew her sword out of her pocket, twirled it, and pulled her dagger from its sheath with her other hand. “Less talking, more arming yourself if you don’t want to face tomorrow injured.”

Harm faced the darkness where several pairs of red eyes had appeared and drew his sword. He was beyond ready to get this over with and return to Tulpenland. Not having stuff trying to eat him each and every minute would be such a luxury.

Chapter Twenty

Val faced the stretch of bare sand dunes ahead of them, the heat shimmer already dancing. She toyed with the new leather cuff around her wrist, her stomach churning more than she’d ever experienced.

One wrong move today, and Harm would die. Perhaps they’d both die.

Harm halted next to her. He, too, wore a leather cuff around one of his wrists while he wore the tattered shirt and bloodstained trousers from his first couple of days in the Fae Realm. Some of the leather of the jerkin he still wore beneath showed through the rips in his shirt, but that couldn’t be helped. He’d need access to the magical pocket, and the ripped shirt worked better than his other, undamaged shirt.

Besides, they were counting on Diego focusing on the blood.

Harm held out his hand. “It’ll be all right.”

He was far too optimistic about that. And yet Val took his hand, willing to hope right along with him.

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