I quickly picked up the knife that Romina was smart enough to bring. I pushed her behind me, keeping her close as I could. She started to cry again, shaking.

"Two for one!"

Vincent jumped off his horse and reached out a hand. "Hand me the knife and no one has to be hurt," he said.

I shook my head and slashed the knife at him. He rolled his eyes.

"You're not a fighter," he said calmly. "And your little bodyguard is nowhere to be found."

Romina's hands tightened on me.

Vincent raised one eyebrow. "Give me the knife," he said lowly. "Or I will put that arrow I promised through your foot and make you walk south."

My mind was racing. "What do you want?"

"The knife."

I shook my head. "No. No, you want Slates. You wanted Slates. You're still looking for them. Ember. Ember put an ash arrow through the king of the south," I realized, recalling what I read in that boring book. "You've kept him alive. Now you just need someone to heal him."

Vincent clapped. "Brilliant. Now hand me the knife."

My hand was shaking. "I'm the only Slate powerful enough to heal him. I don't know why, but I know that's true. You don't need Romina."

Another soldier jumped off his horse and I twirled, keeping Romina away from them. I knew how this worked. I kept a firm grip.

"You're right. We don't need her. However, we were looking for her. Our last transaction wasn't as smooth as we hoped. A young member of the Three is always up for grabs," he said. "When you so conveniently yelled her name, we were hot on your tail."

"Why were you so close to the castle?" I tightened my grip on Romina's hand. Romina winced at my grip, but I didn't loosen up.

"Well, the spy that betrayed us made his way here and we were sent to finish the job. That job was canceled when we realized that he was in the Strapos castle. So, we were in the area."

"Glad we stuck around," the one still on his horse said.

My mind was racing. I took the knife and raised it to my throat. "Let Romina go."

Vincent laughed. "Or what? You'll slit your own throat?" The other two laughed.

"Yeah," I said sharply. I tightened my grip. The only way I could use my life as leverage was if I was willing to go through with it. I swallowed, feeling the sharp blade. "I lost my brother when I should have given up myself. I would rather die than do that again."

Vincent's tone changed. "You're too scared."

"I am afraid," I admitted. "There's a thing about fear, though. I can't be courageous if I have no fear. So, yeah, I'm terrified. But I'm idiotically courageous enough to go through with it. And you don't need Romina. You need me. You show up with Romina, you get a pat on the back. You show up with me, the king owes you a life debt."

The two laughed, but Vincent's eyes narrowed. He knew the power of a life debt.

"I don't believe you." He took a step closer.

I gripped Romina. "Tell Ember and Anthony, I love them." I dipped the knife into my skin.

"Stop!"

I could feel blood trickling down my neck. My resolve didn't shake.

"Let the girl run back home."

"Romina, go." She hesitated. "Go!" I shouted.

She turned and ran back the way she came. I could only hope that someone found her, and she was safe. I held the knife.

Vincent took another step. "See? In good faith."

I shook my head and tightened my grip. "Not yet," I said sharply. "Three minutes," I said. "Three minutes and then I'm all yours." One of them hooted while the other was grumpy.

"She wouldn't have done it," the one on the horse said.

Vincent smiled. "Yes. Yes, I think she would have." He glanced at me as I held the knife to my throat. "She's an idiot."

"Better a courageous idiot than a bleating fool."

He raised his hands in mock defeat.

We stood there in the cold. A few minutes passed and I contemplated whether I should just end it here. Knowing Romina was safe, I had to keep my end of the bargain.

I slowly lowered the knife. Vincent stepped up and opened his hand. I wanted to stab the knife through it, but simply set it in his hand.

Then, a pain exploded against my face, and he knocked me to the ground.

"Tie her up," he commanded one of his lackeys. "She'll ride with me."

My face burned as one of them began tying my hands behind my back. He yanked me up and together they managed to put me on the horse, Vincent directly behind me. He was close—his arms wrapped around me.

"Are you cold?" he asked.

"Yes," I bit out, shivering. Everything—the pain, frantic anxiety, and adrenaline was slowly fading, leaving me to realize that I was in way too far over my head.

"Good."