Page 7 of Of Bargains & Betrayal

By saying he would arrange it, he meant one of his myriad of boot-licking, acknowledgement-seeking whores would scramble to do it for him. And that woman would be Joyce, my only lady-in-waiting, who’d been around since I was a child.

But, of course, his scant few brain cells were too preoccupied with basic functions like breathing and pumping blood to dare remember a name.

“Oh, this arrived for you yesterday.” From the inner pocket of his doublet, he retrieved a folded piece of parchment, jutting it towards me. “I’m sure it’s full of well-wishes for your journey and his enthusiasm for your imminent arrival.”

I sighed and took the missive. It bore a seal I recognized well after these last few months—black wax with a simple X stamped into it.

The Blackspire seal.

I was already so tired of it.

Ever since my brother had waved that blasted betrothal agreement in my face three months ago, signed by both him and the King of Grimmoria, I’d seen the seal weekly. The notes my soon-to-be husband sent me were probably well-intended, but they were utterly meaningless, just a few sentences scrawled in penmanship sloppy for a king.

How eager he was to show me Grimmoria’s sprawling lands.

(I’d heard they were almost as barren as the Wastes)

His plans for arranging a tailor to see to my every wardrobe need.

(As if I didn’t have any clothes of my own)

Goddess forbid he exchange anything more than surface pleasantries with his future wife, or bother to create some feigned air that our forced union might be one that stood a chance of being interesting.

When the sound of the door clicking shut behind my brother finally reached my ears, I cracked that aggravating seal and sighed again at the message that greeted me.

The day grows ever nearer,

and I eagerly await your arrival.

- HM. Callum Blackspire.

2

FRAUGHT EXITS & SEE YOU LATER’S

ENORA

When push came to shove, or a day became two hours, there wasn’t much I considered valuable. It took just over half of my allotted scrambling time to gather my most sentimental items—small mementos from my father and friends—and vital travel goods. That left Joyce with another hour to puzzle it all into two saddlebags and me to soak in my bathtub one last time.

Joyce didn’t approve of that, but it was an easy judgement for her to make when she wasn’t the one wondering when she’d bathe properly again.

If I could trust the math I’d done, weeks separated me from making landfall in my new and notoriously hostile home. Just to clear the mountains and cross the Wastes could take a fortnight on its own—entirely weather and equine dependent. Another week after that, and we’d hopefully see Grimm’s Keep after being ushered through some apparently terrifying wards.

That was a long damned time to hope we found a few creeks to bathe in. So, I scrubbed my skin until it ached and Joyce was hauling me out of the tub on a string of muttered curses.

The stout, graying brunette I loved dearly stuffed clothing into my arms and kicked my ass out the door before I was fully dressed. She was hot on my heels as we rushed down the hall, and I tried not to think about how I’d likely never see her wrinkle-lined face framed by the airy, pale-gray stone and gentle archways of Caenleigh Fortress ever again.

Thankfully, my maid didn’t have time for sentimentality.

“You missed a clasp,” she chirped from beside me. “Here, just let me⁠—”

I swatted her hands away from my chest as I fought with my riding coat and stared at her. “I’ve. Got. It. Thank you.”

She rolled her eyes and pointed down. “You’ve got those too?”

My boots were tied before we’d left my room—I was positive of that—but both had become tripping hazards during our hurried trip down the corridor. If that wasn’t the most foreboding omen of how this entire trip would go…

I parked myself on the nearest window ledge, refusing to take a glance at the glorious alpine landscape beyond the glass as I focused on my boots. A lot of good that did for my wavering emotional state that almost unraveled when Joyce kneeled in front of me and stared at my other boot.