Page 64 of Ties of Bargains

He had her back as she tried to get both of them out of this mess once and for all.

Val turned and faced the Wild Hunt mercenaries arrayed before her. She planted her hands on her hips, ready to reach for the iron knife again if needed.

Several of the mercenaries sauntered forward, weapons already gripped in their hands. One—seemingly deemed the spokesman—stepped forward, an ax in one hand. “Do you really think we’re going to take orders from you, now that you’ve married a human? You’re a good warrior, Val, but not that good.”

If he thought he’d rile her with insults, he was barking up the wrong canyon. Unlike him, her ego wasn’t so easily bruised.

Val held his gaze, her hand easing toward the iron knife. “No, I don’t expect you to. I release you from your binding to me. I abdicate as the leader of Wild Hunt Grimbrand. To the strongest go the spoils.”

For a long moment, the mercenaries stared at her, asif they couldn’t believe what she’d just done. Then, with shouts and war cries, they lifted their weapons and turned on each other, blades flashing, dust rising.

Val gripped Harm’s arm and tugged him after her. “We should go.”

“Right behind you.” Harm swiped Daisy’s lead from the ground, though the dog remained pressed close to them, all three of her heads still out.

As they hurried to find a way around the melee, Val retrieved her sword and dagger where they lay discarded on the sandy canyon floor. No sense leaving behind good weapons, even if she was headed toward a new, likely very boring and weapon-free life in the Human Realm. She sheathed the dagger but kept a grip on her sword.

She and Harm edged along the canyon’s side to avoid the fighting. She had to shove aside a few mercenaries when they tumbled toward them, but other than that, the Wild Hunt was too focused on brawling to pay attention to them.

At last, she and Harm stood at the end of the canyon, the twilight of coming night closing around them. Somehow during their escape, her grip had shifted from his arm to his hand.

Now he swung their clasped hands. “Ready to go home?”

“You know it won’t be that simple. We need to hop through a rift, walk across a couple of Fae courts, find the right faerie circle, and hope we end up in your duchy in a relatively timely manner.” Val rested her free hand on her dagger’s hilt, her stomach churning.

What would his family think of her? And his duchy? Would she even be able to make a life in the Human Realm?

She’d already made this choice. That didn’t mean she couldn’t be somewhat frightened. Even if she wasn’t about to show her fear.

“And once we get there, we’ll still have to deal with the king who poisoned my brother.” Harm grimaced, his hand straying toward the magical pocket where he’d stowed his sword.

Right. The conniving king. Val’s nerves vanished. “An evil king to vanquish sounds promising.”

“You won’t be leaving without us.” A deep baritone voice spoke from behind them.

Val whirled, tugging Harm behind her as she drew her sword. “Don’t try to stop us.”

Five mercenaries of her former Wild Hunt band stood before her, festooned with weapons, although none of them had them drawn. The three men and two women had nearly identical stances with their arms crossed, their feet braced.

Val’s heart twisted. These five mercenaries were those who had been almost a small family within the larger band. They were the ones she’d actually trusted to watch her back. The ones she actually regretted leaving behind. When she’d passed them earlier, she couldn’t bring herself to do more than glance at them, for fear they’d read her plan in her eyes.

Familiar as she was with them, Daisy’s tail wagged.

Abelardo, the male fae who had spoken, stood in the lead with his small turquoise fleech dragon twining byhis feet. “We’re not trying to stop you. We want to go with you. We accept you as our Wild Hunt leader, and we will follow wherever you go.”

“I’m going to the Human Realm. With him.” Val jabbed a thumb over her shoulder at Harm.

“Yes, we gathered that.” Abelardo gave a shrug without uncrossing his arms. “He’s some kind of prince, right? Princes always need more mercenaries.”

Harm made a strangled noise in the back of his throat, but she couldn’t tell if he was protesting or laughing.

“Perhaps some princes. But I’m going to be following his moral compass.” Val pointed at Harm yet again. “And his moral compass points rather true.”

“Well, that’s good.” Abelardo made that shrug again. “Because clearly none of us have one.”

“Yeah, it might be a nice change of pace to try being moral for once.” Chela, one of the female mercenaries, relaxed out of her crossed arms stance.

“Harm?” Val sheathed her sword and half-turned so that she could face him and her fellow mercenaries. “It’s your duchy.”

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