Page 2 of A Kingdom of Shadows

Neither had I.

"Stick to my side," Darius whispers into my ear, resting his hand on my lower back.

I'd retort with an insult if I weren't too distracted by the various looks shooting our way. However, a traitorous flutter spreads across my spine like the comfort I'd experienced the moment after I saved him from the dungeons.

I remove his hand. "May I remind you I know him better than you do?"

His murmur is a chuckle vibrating against my ear. "And may I remind you, I managed to pay off your debt Goldie with a simple crystal."

I glare at him—at the cocky gleam in his expression before I choose to ignore him and tread behind Ivarron. He leads us through a doorway on the left side of the tavern. Putrid scents of urine and mold hover in the air of a long corridor, but after being so accustomed to spending far too long in the dungeons, I push past the smells. The floorboard creaks, drowning out our heavy footsteps until we enter a smaller room at the end. Sunlight darts through a shaft window on the side, and I watch Ivarron make his way around a desk full of clutter. All his jars, trinkets, and books decorate a wooden shelf behind him. It's as if he's displaying each prize he's won for hurting animals.

For so long, I had watched his addition of claws, fangs, and pixie wings grow. I would dream of them in my sleep so often that it soon became a reality of nightmares every time I visited Ivarron.

"It's been a while since someone's asked me for a map of the Screaming Forests."

"Why has all your stuff moved here?" I don't bother explaining why I need the map. It's clear what I plan to do with it anyway.

"Change of scenery." Ivarron gestures to the entirety of the room. "I own this place now."

I can imagine all the unpleasant things he must have done to own it.

"So, Nara." He settles into a chair, steepling his hands. "What do you have for me in exchange for this map."

"Money—since you love it so much."

He makes a sound of prideful agreement. "I do."

I thought so.

"But I don't want that this time." He leans back, his glass eye unblinking. "I want something else."

Annoyance churns in my stomach. "We don't have anything else."

Darius slowly nears me as Ivarron's eyes sharpen with a smug smile. "It doesn't have to be an object. It can be a secret... your greatest desire." Curiosity fills his one-working eye as it slices toward Darius. "Whatever extreme you are willing to go to for this map."

I remain silent, pondering his words. If there is one thing I will never forget about Ivarron, it would be his deals and greed to blackmail many by obtaining information from his victims. He'd done it to people I'd known from my village. I'd seen them step into Ivarron's old home and come out, thinking they'd made the best decision of their life when they hadn't.

"What if I trade you a valuable pendant."

As if I have not heard correctly, I glance over at Darius. Puzzlement cinches between my brows as he holds a firm gaze on Ivarron.

Pendant?

Since when—

My thoughts freeze as he takes out the Rivernorth pendant from his pocket. Gold glints and enmeshes Ivarron's eyes on it as if he were in a sudden trance.

Darius dangles the chain on one of his fingers. "A pendant that belongs to the previous rulers of this land. The Rivernorth’s." He tilts his head, and a smirk carves his full lips. "Wouldn't you rather this than a silly little secret?"

The last time I saw the Rivernorth pendant was the day before Darius's arrest.

"Tempting." Ivarron taps his fingers against the desk, then rises and walks toward Darius, reaching for the pendant.

Darius pulls his hand back and bites out, "The map."

Ivarron's fingers curl into his palm, unsatisfied with that answer. Still, he turns back to the desk. Taut silence stretches the room as his hands skim the top layer of wood before fishing out a set of keys from his coat pocket to unlock a drawer. He lifts a rolled-up parchment and heads toward Darius again. Each step is precise and heavy with tension as he hands it over. Hesitation crosses Darius's eyes, but his gaze briefly meets mine before he drops the pendant into Ivarron's palm.

No matter what, the pressure in my chest doesn't seem to lift off.

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