The shadow left at dawn, and the knocking started before I had my boots on.
I opened the door with the black scale hidden in my sleeve, warm against my wrist.
The man on the step wore a plain dark coat and had gray at his temples.
Cedric: Sorrel? I am Cedric, steward to Lord Vareth of Glasshold.
Cedric: Your debt was bought last night. I have the papers.
Behind me, Fenn's boots came down the stairs, slow and wary.
Fenn: Sorrel? Who is that?
I stepped into the doorway so Cedric could not see past me.
Cedric: The office must record the transfer. Then you come with me.
Sorrel: And if I refuse?
Cedric: Then the Merns collect it their way, and they will not be gentle about your brother.
He said it without heat, which was worse than a threat.
Sorrel: Fenn stays out of this.
Cedric: Then come quietly, and he will.
The tax office smelled of ink and wet wool. Half the bridge had come to watch, because a crowd always comes.
Lysa Mern stood at the rail with the ledger open, and she smiled when she saw me.
Lysa: Debt of Orvin Mern, bought in full by the house of Vareth.
Lysa: The steward pays in gold. The debtor's daughter goes with him.
She read it slowly, and made my name sound like a stain.
Lysa: A month in a dragon's keep. You will come back bow-legged, or not at all.
The crowd laughed. My face went hot, and I kept my eyes on the rail.
Cedric counted gold onto the desk, calm as a man buying fish.
Lysa: The office does not refuse gold. It does not have to like the hand that pays.
Lysa: When he tires of you, the office will take you back. At a discount.
I reached for the pen, and a guard took my arm above the elbow and squeezed until I felt the bone.
Cedric: Take your hand off her. She is my lord's business now.
He let go. There would be marks.
I signed where Lysa pointed, and my hand was steady, because I made it steady.
Lysa: Enjoy your month, bought woman.
I walked out with my arm aching and my name sold.
Glasshold stood across the gorge, with a bridge thin as a thread and a great hearth burning at its heart.
Cedric walked beside me the whole way and never once touched me.
The hall was warm as a held breath. Vareth stood at the hearth with his back to the fire.
Dark coat, no ornament, amber eyes. He looked at me the way he had in court.
Under my sleeve, my wrist flushed warm.
Vareth: You came.
Sorrel: I was brought.
Vareth: Yes. I arranged that.
The floor felt solid for the first time all day, and I did not trust it.
Vareth: Your debt is paid. I can cancel it tonight, and you walk home free.
Sorrel: For a price.
Vareth: One month in my keep. The debt was never the point. The month is.
Sorrel: One month for a debt that size? You are a poor bargainer.
Vareth: I am not bargaining for coin.
His eyes went to my wrist and stayed a beat too long. I put my hand behind my back.
Sorrel: And Fenn? Does his bond come with mine?
Vareth: Fenn is not in this room. When you name your terms, name them properly.
Sorrel: Then I have terms.
Vareth: Not tonight. I will not take a yes from a woman with her back to a wall.
I opened my mouth to tell him I was not cornered. The words dried up, because we both knew I was.
Vareth: Do not run from me in the night. The gorge is deeper than your pride.
It was a warning, and it was almost gentle, and that was the worst of it.
Sorrel: How long have you been watching me?
Vareth: Long enough to know you would rather starve than beg.
The scale in my lining had gone warm again, and I had all night to wonder why he had counted me at all.