I was in a black contract?

That was the last thing I wanted to hear. Black contracts were the black-market deals administered by the Sanctifier Guild. The deals so shady they were kept off the Guild's records.

I searched Reed's face for the lie. It was a beautiful face.

Focus!

"Jacob, listen to me. Rugar wanted to kill you, but Alden intervened. We have plans for you."

"I know."

"They came to an agreement and sealed it with a black contract. Rugar was ordered to bring you to High Sanctifier Alden alive. In return, he is free to do whatever he wants to your party and any object in your possession."

A cold chill ran through me.

"He would kill my party and steal the gold I need to pay back my debt. Alden gets his servant, and Rugar gets revenge."

"He wouldn't stop there. Rugar only has to bring you to Alden alive. There was no clause for your condition. Alden would prefer you to be broken. It would make it easier to mould you into his ideal servant."

A spike of fear made my stomach twist.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I wasn't lying to you. The only safe place in the world is next to me. I can protect you from Van Lagos... from Rugar—from all of them."

I wanted it to be true. I wanted to be safe.

"How?"

"After you retrieve Isla, I'll escort you to the capital, where you'll turn yourself in to the High Sanctifier."

"And the gold?"

"You'll pay your debt and sign a new contract to serve me. You'll be my agent—not Alden's, not anyone else's. With what we achieved here, no one could refuse my request."

I frowned, opening my mouth to refuse.

She chose that moment to push my head between her breasts.

She smelled like Gren's stew. She felt soft and warm, like my bed in Sin's mansion.

I understood.

This was the magic of the hearth. Reed was surrounded by the feeling of safety and comfort that came from being at home. And now she was extending that feeling to me.

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I wrapped my arms around her butt and lower back, sinking into the flood of sensations washing over me.

I missed this.

I needed this.

"Do you remember the story of the fisherman's wife?" Reed asked. "It wasn't a lie. I've never lied to you, Jacob. I am the youngest Inquisitor in the history of the Guild and the youngest ever to be raised to Special Inquisitor. Usually, that's as high as someone like me can climb, but why should their rules stop us."

"Us?"

"I'm building something, Jacob, and I want you to be a part of it. I want you to be family. Do you want to be my family, Jacob?"

Family…

I was abandoned by one family and threw my other family away. This was a third chance in a world where people rarely got two.

"Yes," I whispered. "Yes!"

Reed pulled me in closer, wrapping an arm around my back. She rested her chin on my head, whispering her next words.

"You don't know how long I've waited for you to say that."

The sensations intensified. I was back in my bed in Sin's mansion, Cynthia's weight on top of me—grinding against me. The flash of blonde hair reminded me of something.

"What happens to my friends?"

Reed's body stiffened.

I blinked.

"Reed, what happens to my friends?!"

"Rugar needs his pound of flesh. Isla, we can save, but the others…"

"Tools to be discarded."

"It's a necessary sacrifice."

Images of Isla, Castille, Dugan and Thor flashed through my mind. I clenched my teeth and, with a surge of strength, pushed Reed off me. She stumbled back, her calves slamming the low table and making it shriek against the stone floor. The golden sceptre rolled forward, dropping off the table and clattering at our feet.

The effort left me panting, sweat trickling down my face.

How much will did I use?

Beside me, Shay let out an intrigued hum at our exchange.

"You're making a mistake," Reed said, anger slipping into her voice.

I caught my breath.

"We're done! After I save Isla, I never want to see you again."

Reed blinked at me, her eyes moist and a pained expression on her face. She lunged forward, grabbing my locs by the root and snapping my head back to meet her eyes.

"What's stopping me from tying to you my bedpost and making you obey?!"

She stared down at me, her mouth fixed in a snarl.

I smiled.

"Then I would stop being the man you wanted."

Reed blinked, and then her face went eerily calm. Her mask was back in place.

She let go of my locs and walked back to her desk, keeping her back to me.

"Goodbye, Jacob. You're dismissed. Shay..."

"Yes, Apprentice?"

"No witnesses."

"As you wish."

Shay stood up on what I could only assume were feet hidden by his wide lavender pants. He smoothed out the wrinkles in his matching robes and the creases in his well-defined stomach.

"Come, child and don't leave your toy behind."

He fluttered past me, leaving me dumbstruck on the sofa. I glanced from Shay to Reed's back.

Did I make a mistake?

I bent down and picked up the sceptre, slipping it back into my belt sash. I stood up and took slow steps to the door, checking over my shoulder to look at Reed. She stood straight with her back turned, her hands clasped behind her in a parade rest.

Was that it? Was I finally free of her?

Each step to the door made me feel emptier inside. I'd given up something precious. The one thing I didn't know I wanted: a family.

Was it worth it?

I thought of Isla and her long-winded lectures. The cute faces she made when she was angry or surprised. I thought of Castille and her sarcastic wit. How her sisterly advice was somehow always right. I thought of Dugan and his dependable nature. How he was always there with a helping hand or an ear to listen to my problems. I thought of Thor.

Well… Thor, I just tolerated.

At that moment, I realized the truth. I already had a family. They were outside waiting for me.

Shay reached for the doorknob. He glanced over his shoulder and gave me a sour look.

"Step faster, child. We have a princess to save."

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