The Wish Granter (Ravenspire #2)(74)
The food she’d eaten was a rock resting in her stomach as Ari said, “I’m not a prize.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, my dear.” Teague’s cold voice filled the room. “You are intelligent, intuitive, and are showing signs of being good at finding ways to trim the fat off my business and make me a far richer man. Plus, with you as my prisoner, the king has no choice but to advance my interests in the other kingdoms however I instruct him to. I’m pleased with my choice to spare you, but now I must weigh that choice with this boy’s actions.”
Sebastian unfolded the parchment he held and cleared his throat.
“How much has he taken from me? How much work has he cost me by incapacitating my employees?” Teague stared at Ari, and she tried hard not to tremble beneath the icy rage on his face. “Is it more than what you bring to the table? An investment is only worth keeping if it continues to pay dividends.”
He was going to take her soul. She could practically see the plan forming in his mind, the intent spilling out of the icy, unreachable part of him that showed its face whenever he thought she might try to cross him.
Her knees shook, and there was a strange ringing in her ears as he locked eyes with her and opened his mouth. She grabbed for the table with shaking hands and dropped to the bench as her legs refused to hold her.
“Aegeus Pappos. Pipe weed shipment. Thirty kepas.” Sebastian’s voice was steady.
Teague frowned.
“Nico Alferis. Weekly protection fee for his smithy. One hundred kepas.”
Teague broke Ari’s gaze and looked at Sebastian instead. Ari wrapped her arms around her stomach.
“Zenia Demataki. Four drams of lily root to treat her daughter’s illness. Two hundred seventy-five kepas.”
“What is this?” Teague rubbed his thumb and forefinger over his ivory pipe and reached for the bag of coin with his free hand while Ari struggled to breathe past the noose of panic that had wrapped itself around her throat.
“That is the payment due from everyone on your collection list.” Sebastian met the fae’s eyes.
“And how did you get that list?” Teague’s voice was far too quiet for Ari’s comfort.
“I stole it.” Sebastian seemed to take up more space than he had before. Maybe it was the grim confidence in his voice or the way he flexed his (still unfairly distracting) shoulders. “I beat my way through Felman and his guards, took the list, and then beat anyone who tried to take it from me. I’ve spent the last five days collecting every debt owed to you. It’s all in the sack.”
“And you think this is going to buy the girl’s freedom?”
Sebastian shook his head. “I think this is going to get me a job. I no longer work at the palace. I’m not interested in being a runner or in guarding a street boss. I want to be your new Kosim Thalas collector.”
Ari pressed her hands together to keep them from shaking as she stared at Sebastian. He’d stepped back into the world he hated. The world he’d escaped from.
For her.
The panic around her throat eased, though the expression on Teague’s face kept her heart racing in fear.
Teague leaned back on his heels, his thumb feverishly rubbing the pipe as he contemplated Sebastian. “You did all this to apply for a job?”
“Not just any job. The top job. You don’t get a position like that without proving that you’re capable.” Sebastian threw the list onto the table and gestured toward the sack of coins. “I’m capable.”
Teague took a long moment to count the coins and study the list. “It’s all here.” He sounded surprised.
“I’m not interested in double-crossing you.”
“Then you’re a different breed from your brother.” Teague flicked a glance at Sebastian’s face. Sebastian’s expression remained unreadable, though his body took on the wary stillness that said Teague had probed too close to something that mattered deeply.
Ari frowned. What did Sebastian’s brother have to do with Teague?
“I need a job that matches my skill set. Who else is going to hire a boy from east Kosim Thalas who managed to lose his job at the palace?”
“And the fact that this job would put you in close contact with the princess is simply a nice bonus?” Teague asked.
A muscle along Sebastian’s jaw tightened, and Ari heaved a dramatic sigh, grateful and terrified when Teague’s attention immediately swung to her.
“You and Maarit, I swear. Always so suspicious. Why shouldn’t we have the bonus of being with each other? You hold all the power. One word and you end me. What are you afraid we’ll do to you when we know you have that sword hanging over my head?”
Teague smiled slowly. “You really are quite the negotiator.”
“I’m just using logic. It doesn’t hurt you to give Sebastian the job. He’s already done most of it for you, by the looks of it. It strengthens your business.”
“Especially when I now know that if he does something that displeases me, I can punish you, and that will be sufficient punishment for him as well.” Teague’s voice was chilling. “Very well, Sebastian, you are my new Kosim Thalas collector. We will sign an employment contract. You collect every debt that comes due and give me the full amount. If you fail even once, the fast-talking princess will pay the price.”