“Always someone to fight, even with Lukain dead. The Grimsons are destitute and we still have a job to do.”
“So you keep them as your property, just like Lukain did.” I spoke with more force than I’d meant.
He pumped his beefy hands. “Easy, girl. I’m not the enemy.”
“Never have been,” Jin pointed out from behind us.
“What’s this job you’re talking about?” I pried.
“Same as it ever was, Seph. Got to keep mouths fed and lads and ladies alive.” He scoffed, waving the torch behind him the way we came. “These whelps have only ever known suffering and fighting, eh? They got no skills outside of the Firehold. Free or not, they got nowhere else to go.”
We stopped and I frowned at my old friend who I used to take surface-outing walks with. “You can change that, Antones. I know how much you like the dresses from that one tailor in the bazaar. Put some girls up there, selling. Get the boys into trades—carpentry, butchery, leathermaking.”
Antones shook his head. “It’s not so easy. Jobs are scarce. Might not seem like it on the Floorboards right now, but people are scared. More and more bloodies been encroaching our grounds.”
I scratched the back of my neck, feeling awkward as I ran my hand through my hair.
Ant studied my face. “How is it in Olhav with the Buvers, huh? I see they ain’t turned you yet.”
“Fuck no they haven’t. And I won’t let them.” I grew quieter then, more reticent. “I’ve made . . . friends.”
“Same kind of friends Lukain made?”
His point was well taken, and I shut up. We continued on. I wasn’t sure where he was taking us or if he was just giving us a guided tour of our old home.
I finally broke the silence, feeling anger rising inside me. “No one told me Lukain was going to try to kill Ska—Lord Ashfen.”
Antones’ brow lifted to his creased forehead. “No one told me anything about that, neither. Is that what they have you believing up in the mountains?”
“I don’t know what to believe, Ant.”
He chuckled as we stopped at a door—one of the only lockable doors in the Firehold, the boss’ chambers.
“What’re we doing here?” I asked.
“Well, I’m assuming you ain’t staying?”
I shook my head. “I have things to do in Olhav. Turns out I can make more of a difference up there than I can down here.”
“True tell it true. No one can make ashitof difference down here on the Floorboards.”
It was at that moment I realized I wasn’t going to stay—I hadn’t even considered it until Antones asked. Keffa’s words from last night rushed through me.
“You need to find your own purpose, as I’ve found mine here. Recover the Relic, put yourself on even footing with our adversaries. You might even find your place in this mad, mad world.”
I dropped my chin knowingly as Antones opened the door. “So?”
“I’ve got something for ye.”
I eyed Jinneth behind me, who shrugged, and we walked inside the dark room. Antones kept it alight with his torch. He scrounged around looking for something, rustling papers at a table.
Making a sound of approval, he rose up holding a crumpled piece of folded parchment in his hand. “Figured you’d want to see it.”
“What is it?” I unfolded the paper and slowly read the scratched words—just a matter of a few lines roughly scrawled in mismatched handwriting.
“I’ve got my own eyes with the Buvers up there,” he explained, nudging his chin vaguely. “Got inside men in the vampire courts, leftover from Lukain’s work.”
I gasped as I finished the letter. My eyes widened and I read it again.
