Reed paused and turned to examine me, calculating my value over the value of her and her guards' lives. Her slight smile remained, enjoying my discomfort as her eyes worked their way up and down my body. After a tense moment, she spoke.

"No deal."

Van Lagos' jaw clenched.

"See sense, Inquisitor. Your contract is complete. Your business with the elf is done."

If only he knew.

"What kind of reputation would the Sanctifiers have if we stood by and watched our clients get robbed?"

She shook her head.

"No, while this party is in my sight... they're safe."

Van Lagos frowned, sliding his scimitar off the saddle and into a ready position. His image warped. His horse whinnied. The heat radiating off his body was distorting the air around him.

Lira pulled up her horse between Van Lagos and Reed.

"Van! Please... Think of your brother... Think of me."

He huffed, shooting steam out of his nostrils.

"You're right... My brother wouldn't want to destroy what we built. My brother…"

Van Lagos stared off into the distance.

"I will have him cremated. Where is his body, Jacob?!"

"The sinkhole… H-He's near the sinkhole..."

"Then I will go and see where your lies begin and end… If you hurt him..."

His face crumpled, squinting to hide the moistness in his eyes. He wheeled his horse around and rode off in a gallop.

"Out of my way!"

The crowd of Lagos cartel riders parted. They looked around, unsure whether to attack the wagon or follow their leader. One by one, the guards broke off to ride after Van Lagos.

Lira glanced at Reed, who dipped her head in a slight nod at her secret ally. She was the last to leave.

When Lira was a safe distance away, I finally exhaled, dropping the lines of the wagon and leaning back into the driver's bench. Beside me, a single bead of sweat ran down the side of Reed's otherwise calm face. She wiped it away with her right hand, staring with contempt at her damp fingers as her body betrayed her true feelings.

The scout that reported the Lagos cartel riders pulled up to Reed's side of the wagon. She leaned toward him while keeping her eyes fixed ahead.

"Take two guards and follow them."

"Yes, Special Inquisitor."

"Jacob, let's get moving. Jacob?"

"Yeah... Right..."

I picked up the lines and drove the horses into a faster trot.

Beside me on horseback, Castille sheathed her sword and kept pace.

"Not bad, Inquisitor."

Reed smiled at Castille over my shoulder.

"I'm a Sanctifier at heart. Deals and negotiation is what we do. Jacob?"

I jolted at the mention of my name.

"Yeah."

"What actually happened to Finnick's body?"

My stomach twisted into knots. I paused, unsure what to say.

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I chose the truth.

"I stabbed him in the head and left him sinking in a pit of mud."

"Good riddance," Castille said.

Reed cupped her chin between her thumb and index finger.

"Then it will be difficult to fish him out. That will give you time...

Her mouth twisted like she tasted sour wine.

"It was a mistake to kill him…"

"It was self-defence!"

She grinned.

"Admit it. You were impulsive and made a bad move. When Van Lagos finds Finnick's body, and he will, he'll hunt you down and kill you. Unless... you stay in my sight."

I scowled at her. Even now, she was trying to get her hooks into me.

"Or we get Isla, pack up and leave town before he notices."

She laughed.

"When will you learn? The safest place in this world is next to me."

I gave her a long, hard look.

Why did I believe her?

# # #

I breathed a sigh of relief when we caught sight of Steeltown. On the wagon ride back, I expected an ambush—for Van Lagos and his riders to hide among Del's ruins and bide their time. The cartel leader hadn't done that. Yet, the dread twisting my stomach remained. Right now, he was looking for his brother's body, and when he found him, Steeltown would burn—starting with me. Maybe Reed was right. Maybe I shouldn't have killed him.

I shook my head.

The past is the past.

There was nothing I could do now but add it to my growing list of mistakes. What we needed now was a plan and the long wagon ride had given me time to think. I confirmed with Reed that I couldn't repay my debt at Steeltown's Sanctifier Guildhall. We would be forced to drag all our gold back to the capital. That would slow us down, even if we bought Reed's wagon and horses. I snapped the wagon's lines to make the horses run at a canter. The faster we picked up Isla, the faster we could leave. There would be no time to say goodbye.

I winced at a pang of guilt that wracked my body. It was strange to think that I would miss this place. No. I wouldn't miss this spirits-cursed rathole. I would miss the people: Cassandra, Arwen... Spirits below, even Tom.

I glanced at Reed.

Would I miss her?

More feelings poured into me like ingredients in Gren's stew: Admiration. Lust. Shame. Reed was a cold, calculating monster, and yet, I liked her. What did that say about me? I was trying to change. To be a person—for Isla, for myself. Reed was nothing but trouble. Another dangerous woman who wanted to use me as a weapon for her ends. And to make matters worse, she knew things I didn't.

Over a month ago, I pissed off a wealthy blacksmith and merchant by the name of Rugar Centovian. A wealthy blacksmith and merchant who happened to have his own private army. Rugar made a deal with the Sanctifiers. One that involved me. Reed knew the details but was holding the information in return for Isla's identity.

I sighed.

Was this another mistake? Running away from one fire only to jump into another. If I revealed Isla's identity as the King's bastard daughter, I would have more time to think—more time to plan for Rugar. I just had to betray another person who trusted me. Kirk, Cynthia, Van... What was one more victim?

I sighed again.

Being a person was hard.

"Finally, no place like home," Reed said.

I blinked. The wagon was rolling to the fortified perimeter of our makeshift base in Steeltown.

How long was I daydreaming?

I tugged on the lines to make the horses slow to a walk.

"Jacob, are you alright?"

"Yeah... busy day."

"I did warn you."

The entrance opened. A black-clad guard waved us in.

We filled into an empty square. Most Steeltowners had left to repair their shops and homes while Kateen and Tom's guards were busy patrolling their territory. I rolled the wagon to a stop in the front of the Pit.

"How much for the wagon and horses?!"

Reed quirked an eyebrow.

"One of your gold bars should due."

"Deal!"

I jumped off the wagon, almost running into Castille and Dugan's horses.

"Hey, watch it, Jacob."

"I'm going to get Isla! Can you pay Reed?"

Reed stood up from the driver's bench, slinging her club over the shoulder.

"No need. One of my guards will collect the payment. Goodbye, Jacob. I'm sorry to see you go."

"I'm not."

She smirked, stepping off the wagon.

I bound up the first few steps of the Pit, stopping to look up at the sky. We made good time. The sun was still high overhead. If we left now, we could be a fair distance away from Steeltown by nightfall.

I burst through the doors to see a handful of Steeltowners nursing mugs of ale at the tables. Cassandra and Denise were wiping down the bar with the tattered remains of an old shirt. Tom waved to me from a table where he sat next to Arwen. I charged across the Pit's floor to speak to them.

"Jacob! How'd it go?" Tom asked.

"Bloodier than I expected."

The hulking man's eyes lit up.

"Sorry. No time to explain."

I grabbed Arwen by the shoulder.

"You were right. The Sanctifiers have it out for you."

Arwen frowned.

"What do you mean?"

I leaned in and whispered.

"Lira was working with the Inquisitor. Reed tried to frame you for the attempted murder of Van Lagos."

He paled, looking down into his ale.

"Oh..."

He cocked his head.

"Well... I guess I'm doing something right."

"Hey, what's going on?" Tom asked.

I exchanged a look with Arwen.

"Tommy, from now on, you need to be more careful. You hear me, boy?"

Tom screwed up his face.

"I hear you, Uncle."

I patted Arwen on the shoulder, turned on the balls of my feet, and bounded up the stairs to the second floor. A smile plastered my face. I had done my good deed for the day, and the warm sensation that flooded into me washed away the creeping dread.

Is this how people feel all the time?

Maybe being a person wasn't so hard.

I reached the room I shared with Isla and knocked on the door.

"Isla! Are you awake?"

I opened it.

"Isla..."

The red sheets of our master suite's bed were crumpled on the floor. Bare pillows rested against the headboard. Something was missing.

"ISLA?!"

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