Page 79 of Ties of Bargains

“I was going to say more…sharp-edged? Dangerous? Wild, even. And not just because of thefeeënaround you.” Gijs gestured from Val to the others. “A bitfeeën-mad, perhaps.”

Harm just shrugged. If he went down in history as Duke Harmen theFeeën-Mad, he could live with that.As long as it meant he was free to be genuine as he fought to help others, then he didn’t care what he was called.

“Oh, good. Then all my hard work in training you has made a difference.” Val bumped into Harm with her shoulder. “I wasn’t sure for a while there if it would stick.”

“Yes, the whole wolf incident didn’t inspire confidence.” Harm lowered his voice so that his words were only for her.

“No. Nor did the screeching as I tended your scratches.” Val raised her eyebrows, her smirk definitely flirtatious.

“They were far more than mere scratches.” Harm leaned closer to her. “And I wasn’t screeching.”

Val made an unimpressed humming noise in the back of her throat.

Gijs smirked and hurried to fall into step with Saskia. She wrapped her hands around his arm again, giving a small laugh when Vlek licked her face.

Harm would have to get used to having a brother so close to his own age instead of a decade younger. The Fae Realm might have stolen five years, but perhaps it had given him what could be a closer relationship with his brother.

His hand in Val’s, Harm slowed his pace still further until the two of them were trailing behind the others. “Do I want to know what you whispered to King Hendrik there at the end?”

“Probably not.” Val’s mouth pressed into a line, as if she wasn’t repentant but thought she should be. “I justreminded him that we’ll have his daughter in our care the way Gijs was in his for the past five years. Sure, we won’t harm her or use her that way, but King Hendrik doesn’t know that.”

No, he didn’t. He’d likely assume she was being used as a hostage, given that was the way he thought and acted.

“As long as the threat leaves Gijs and Saskia free to live their lives happily, I don’t mind.” Harm shot a glance to the others, but no one seemed to have noticed yet that he and Val were lagging behind. Harm leaned his head closer to Val’s, murmuring, “Have I told you lately how much I love it when you’re being all deadly?”

“Yes, but I don’t mind hearing it again.” Val halted, tipping her face up toward him.

There was no reason to hold back now. Harm lifted his hand to cradle the side of Val’s face, the moonlight trailing blue and silver highlights in her hair. “Will you stab me if I kiss you?”

“I’ll stab you if youdon’tkiss me.” Val’s dark eyes sparkled as she released his hand, only to clasp her hands in the collar of his shirt, tugging him closer.

“In that case…” Harm pressed his mouth to hers, gently cradling her close even as a fire lit deep inside him.

When he’d stepped into the Fae Realm, he’d expected cruelty and torment. He’d never imagined he’d fall in love, especially not with the pricklyfeeënwarrior woman who had hauled him through the realm with a magical tether.

But he couldn’t imagine returning to Tulpenland with anyone else at his side.

When the two of them finally pulled back a hair’s breadth from each other, Val murmured against his cheek, “We should keep moving. King Hendrik’s men might come after us at any moment.”

“I suppose.” Harm pressed little kisses to her nose.

“And you promised me all the cheese and cassis I could eat and drink.” Val swayed slightly farther away from him, though she didn’t let go of her grip on his collar.

“Don’t forget the stroopwafels, pancakes, and oliebollen.” Harm trailed his fingers through her hair, reluctant to let her go to keep walking.

“Of course not.” Val stepped out of his reach, giving him that eyebrow look, before she turned her back and kept walking. “Besides, your father has been left with Daisy and a crate full of giant snails for a week now. We really ought to rescue him.”

That might as well have been a bucket of sea water tossed over his head. Harm hurried to catch up with her. “Right. We’d better rescue him before Daisy destroys the entire palace.”

They couldn’t return to Tulpenland soon enough.

Epilogue

“Come on!” Harm tugged Val down the palace steps and onto the brick street beside the canal. At their feet, Vlek and Daisy bounded on their leashes. The dogs had become inseparable, and Harm was beginning to wonder what their puppies might look like. Although, he wasn’t sure Tulpenland was ready for even more sometimes-three-headed dogs running around.

“Are these pancakes really that much better than the ones the palace serves?” Val shook her head at him, even as she hurried to keep up with his long strides. She wore herfeeënleathers, causing more than a few people to stop and gape.

Though if they had negative comments, they didn’t voice them. If that was because of Harm’s presence or because Val sported enough weapons to take on a small army, including a sword, two daggers, four smaller knives, and a blunderbuss, he didn’t know. All of hernew iron weapons couldn’t go into her magical pocket. And she had a lot of new weapons.

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