her, I’d done the right thing, hopefully.
She dropped her bag and hugged me. That was a big thing from someone from Xest who didn’t touch. Then she turned to Hawk, arms outstretched. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
He took a step back before she could get her arms around him. “Don’t thank me. I did nothing.”
“You called for me?” she asked, the smile starting to fall as panic replaced it.
“I called for you,” I said, smiling and nodding, trying to convince her that everything was still good. She was not going back. The damage was done now, but it would not be for nothing.
She paused for a moment, squinting slightly. “You did that?”
I nodded, feeling suddenly self-conscious.
“How?”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure, but you’re here, and that’s all that matters, right?”
It didn’t take more than another second for her to snap back to normal. She wrapped her arms around me again as I wondered what I was going to have to do, if there was anything I could do, that would persuade Hawk to let her stay. She wouldn’t be going back, no matter what I had to do.
I looked over Rabbit’s shoulder to Hawk, who stood behind her.
Please, I mouthed. I’d start off nice, but I wasn’t afraid to dig in if needed.
He didn’t move an inch. It was long enough to feel steel harden my spine. He couldn’t make her leave. I’d walk out right beside her and we’d see what happened. This was my line in the sand, or snow, as that was all that was available here.
Rabbit backed up a bit, looking at both of us and sensing the mounting tension in the room.
Hawk had said everyone had a price. I’d found mine. He wanted to keep torturing me every night with failure? Wanted my full cooperation? This was what I needed. “Our discussion the other night? This is my price.”
He crossed his arms, measuring me. “I already paid yours,” he said.
“Are you sure about that?” We both knew he hadn’t, not really. I’d been biding my time, waiting for an out. I had a feeling that when the truth of what he really wanted from me came to light, there might need to be further negotiations. If he was smart, which I knew he was, he’d take this deal now.
He dipped his chin, staring me dead in the eye for a few tense seconds.
“Give her the room to the right of yours,” he said.
“There’s a room beside mine?”
“There is now.” He nodded in Rabbit’s direction. “Get her settled, but be ready in a half-hour. We’ve got work to do.”
I grabbed Rabbit’s hand and dragged her after me before he changed his mind.
21
Rabbit ran a hand along the wall as she followed me up the stairs.
“I can’t believe you’re really living here.”
“You are too now, so don’t sound so in awe.” Coming from the factory and barracks, it was a step up, until she met Belinda. Rabbit might rethink her opinion after that.
“I am living here,” she said, as if she couldn’t quite believe it.
I glanced over my shoulder, smiling. “Still a lot of awe. Trust me, it’s not all good.”
“Yeah, I live in the broker building. No big deal,” she said, swallowing back any awe she might’ve wanted to inject.
We made it to the platform outside my door, and there were now two doors. He’d said the room to the right, so my bedroom door had shifted left somehow. By the time I was used to this place, I was going to be gone.
Her room was exactly half the size my room was, or used to be, probably. It had the same setup, bed, and fireplace. She’d even gotten a bathroom that looked like it would’ve backed up to mine. I guessed even magic tried to use the easiest plumbing accommodation.
She walked in, and then spun around, taking in every little detail. “This is amazing. Is he really going to let me stay?”
I grabbed her half-empty bag and tossed it on the chest of drawers.
“He’s going to let you stay. He wouldn’t say it if he didn’t mean it.” I sat down on her bed as she touched everything in the bedroom, from the chest, to the walls, to the window. I bounced a little. The mattress felt exactly like mine.
“So what do you do here all day? Is there a job for me?”
I ran down the details of my normal day, including the practice for something yet to be determined.
“You don’t know what you’re practicing