Still, she seems like the type of woman who could spot a lie from oceans away. And without telling her anything, I doubt she has any inclination to help us.
From the ornate look of her furniture, it doesn’t seem as if she’s in need of the money. At least not in the way most would thinkin need.I suppose people in professions like this have a different sort of need for money—not for what it can buy, but for the thrill that accumulating it provides.
“What has a mother so eager to be separated from her husband and infant?” asks Kendra. There’s more than fear in her eyes. There’s curiosity. Perhaps even a hint of pity.
I swallow, hoping I can capitalize on that. If I’ve learned anything from the last time I was compelled under a bargain, it was not to underestimate the compassion of others.
I think about how I had not even considered asking Tink for help. How I would have rather died than turn her over. The ironyof it all had been that my sacrifice was the last thing she had wanted. She had rather us try together. Fail, together.
Kendra is not my friend, though. And I’ll have to be careful with my wording.
“I’ve been cursed since I was a child,” I say. “My entire life has been dictated by a bargain made by my parents with the hopes of saving me from an illness.”
“Ah yes,” says Kendra. “I thought your Mark looked familiar. You’re the girl promised to the Shadow Keeper. I’m assuming that didn’t work out well.”
I continue. “On the night I was to be handed over to him, my family’s manor was attacked.” I try not to look at Nolan as I say it, not wanting to give away that it was he who attacked us. “I struck a deal with the Shadow Keeper, hoping to save the lives of my brothers. But he didn’t tell me what he wanted from my side of the bargain. It was practically a blank check.”
At this, Kendra tuts in disapproval, but she doesn’t say anything.
“It turned out to be a mistake, as you can imagine,” I say. “I was seduced by the Shadow Keeper’s charms and thought myself in love with him. I suppose I was in love with him. Or who I thought he was. But he killed one of my brothers, and fearing I would discover the truth, he called in the bargain, forcing me to choose him. It wasn’t until after this that I discovered he was to blame for my brother’s death. Eventually, I escaped, though I won’t bore you with the details.”
“Oh, I highly doubt that boring is the most accurate word,” says Kendra. “Especially since the last time I saw Nolan here, he possessed both of his hands. But I imagine you have your reasons for leaving out the origins of your relationship.”
I bite my lip. Kendra smiles. “Don’t worry. I understand.”
“Nolan rescued me from my bargain with the Shadow Keeper,” I say. “But he did it at a price. He made a bargain of hisown. A bargain with a woman who loved him and wanted him for herself. She was to keep him a slave, a prisoner. But I couldn’t have that. So I offered her something she wanted more.”
Kendra glances down at my belly once again.
“A child,” she says.
I squirm, because it’s not the complete truth—though it’s not entirely a lie.
“I promised her our future son,” I say. “You have to understand. During the time I was with the Shadow Keeper, I never fell pregnant. I didn’t think it was possible.”
“I see,” says Kendra. “And now you’re compelled to give up your child to this woman as soon as you give birth.”
I nod, wiping a single tear from my lower lid.
Kendra glances at Nolan. “And you’re afraid of this woman?”
“She has my wife under a bargain,” says Nolan. “My child too. Why would I not be afraid?”
“Hmm,” says Kendra, looking unconvinced. She brushes the feather of her quill against her full lips, watching us. I can see her mind shuffling through the details, searching for loopholes.
“You know, I could make the child alone disappear,” she offers to me. “And then you wouldn’t have to lose your husband.”
“I know,” I say. “But it’s not my child’s fault that I’ve bargained him away.”
“No, I suppose it’s not,” says Kendra.
“I don’t want him to have to lose both of his parents,” I explain.
“That’s quite selfless of you.”
“Well, I don’t know that you could call it all that selfless,” I say. “Not when it was selfishness that put us in this position to begin with.”
Kendra looks as if she’s considering that.
