The Teppin daughters do not take the news of their parents’ new duties well.

I didn’t expect them to. Aside from the fact that they’re family, and family is incredibly precious in times of crisis, I bet there is still a childish voice inside them that hopes mommy and daddy can save them from the nasty woman that stole their house. The younger sister has only managed so far because of her mother physically shielding her from the worst of their new reality. She isn’t eager to lose that support. Rather, she’s completely devastated. It physically pains Lady Teppin to leave her wailing daughter, but she has no choice in the matter.

More interesting is the older daughter’s reaction. Villarey. Her name I’ve endeavored to remember. It would be a bit too rude not to seeing as I’ve ordered her death. Something that has affected her much more than I thought. I’ve experienced dying myself. Experienced fatal wounds where I thought I would die until I remembered I’m immortal as far as we can prove.

The point is that dying isn’t that big of a deal for me. I understand being afraid in the moment, I was terrified when I was bleeding out on Crowley Cain’s cold stone floor, but once you wake up whole and healthy, it’s a bit ridiculous to dwell on the fact that you came close to death. If anything, survival is cause for celebration. Honestly, I expected Rey to be grateful for her second chance, if a bit hesitant to throw around her snappy comebacks.

She is not at all grateful. She’s quiet, which was the point of my demonstration, but to a startling degree. As in, I haven’t heard a peep out of her since the day of her very brief death. When I’m near her, she tries not to make any sound, going as far as to hold her breath. The loud spoken and crass woman has turned into a ghost of herself.

One who’s similarly devastated by her parents’ leaving. She isn’t as vocal as her sister but the stark fear on her face is poignant. If this were a few weeks earlier, putting such an expression on the face of an innocent, if not very pleasant, woman would have been uncomfortable. Now, I don’t have enough care left to bother.

Once the carriages Geneva found for the two of them, mounts included, which is incredibly impressive given the state of the city but I expected nothing less, are gone, I take the sisters to the living room and seat them on the couch. The younger one shakes like a frightened puppy while Rey does her frozen, not breathing thing. That’s not sustainable.

“Breathe,” I demand, and they both draw in a sharp breath. “Good. Now, I’m sure everything was a little hectic earlier so I’m going to explain why your parents aren’t here in a little more detail. There’re two reasons they’re leaving the city. The first is that hunters are idiots. Throughout this whole mess, they’ve proven that they cannot be trusted to act in their own, or anybody’s, best interests. As such, your parents are going to do a little diplomacy to stop what happened to Quest happening to any other cities or large villages. Whoever those idiots might think to drag into this mess. Think of it this way. They’re working to save lives.”

Amusingly, my little joke calms down the younger sister. I suppose it’s better to think the Teppins are doing heroes’ work rather than facing saints know what. “The second reason. I didn’t want them here.” I hold up a hand to forestall whatever nonsense their panicked brains are in the middle of concocting. “There aren’t any unsavory reasons behind that. Think about it. There’s nothing they could do to stop me anyway even if I did have bad intentions. When I say I don’t want them here, I mean that in the sense that it annoys me having them around. Why should the man who caused me so much trouble, who worked against me, live a comfortable life? You all didn’t appreciate it, but I treated you, especially your father, incredibly well for conquered enemies. Treatment you don’t deserve.

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“The way I see it, your father was complicit in the guilds’ plots against me. He, and by extension the Teppin family, owe me a debt. Again, you should consider yourselves lucky. The hunters will have to pay with their lives. Your parents, on the other hand, have the opportunity to pay their dues with a few weeks of rough travel and some fast talking. Which of course brings me to you two.”

The panic I managed to forestall comes back full force. “Breathe,” I have to demand again and Rey draws in air, letting it out in a shuddering sigh. “In case it isn’t obvious, you two are leverage. Your parents do what I tell them, and they do a good job or, well.” I shrug. “Which now that I’m doing it, I’m not exactly thrilled about.” Reminds me of the hunters who did the exact same thing to me.

“I’d rather not, but unfortunately, I can’t trust you people. So, hostage taking it is. Again, if it isn’t obvious, neither one of you will be leaving this estate. I don’t care if the saints themselves come to rescue you, don’t run off. I won’t kill you, since I need you alive to keep your parents in line, but you will hurt. Or maybe I will kill you. As you’ve seen, I can always bring you back.”

This time, I do nothing to stop the fear. I let it build within them, hunching their shoulders and twisting their lips into frowns. Good. They should be afraid of me. Since they clearly lack good judgment or deductive reasoning, fear might be the only thing that keeps them alive.

“Which brings me with what to do with you two. The servant thing was amusing, but I’m done laughing. The truth is, both of you are useless. You mean nothing. Oh, no. Don’t take offense. This is good for you. It means I’m going to leave you alone. You are confined to the servant’s wing. Everything you need will be provided. There is only one rule. You are not to be seen or heard. Don’t cause trouble. Seriously, that’s it. Don’t. Make. Me. Deal. With. You. And I won’t. You’re free to amuse yourselves however you like. If you want to send me a message, you can do so through my pet when she brings your meals.”

I spread my hands. “That’s it. Generous, right?”

The two young women stare at me.

“Answer.”

“V-v-v-very generous! T-thank you, Lady Tome!” the younger sister stutters out.

Rey offers a strangled peep of a noise. Her face is a mask of strain as she tries to speak but nothing but choking gasps and more peeps come out. Saints bless her, we really broke something. I thought someone with her spine would be made of sterner stuff. Ah, well. Hopefully, she’ll take her house arrest as a time to heal. “I know, but it feels nice to be appreciated. Alright, your house arrest starts now.” I clap. “Come on! Get out of my sight! Ah, wait.”

The younger sister pauses, having jumped to her feet and reached for Rey. “Y-y-yes, my lady?”

“What’s your name?”

“…Leena.”

“Right. Well, Leena. Take care of your sister. I’m making another rule. If one of you acts out, I punish both of you.” In her current state, I don’t think I can trust Rey to be responsible for herself. This will give the girl the incentive she needs to keep a firm grasp of her sister, though I don’t think she needs it. She’s done an admirable job so far.

“Of course, my lady. Thank you, my lady.”

Oh, that was good. She didn’t even stutter.

I watch with amusement as Leena manhandles her sister out of the room. Once they disappear, Talia slips into the room. She sidles up behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist and laying her head on my shoulder. “Well?” I ask.

“Fear and obedience. Not a trace of revolt in their thoughts.”

“Good.” I raise one of her hands to my lips and kiss her fingers. “Keep an eye on their thoughts. The moment they step out of line, saints, the moment you think they might step out of line, throw them at Geneva. Or do whatever. I figure you’re due some vengeance.”

“If I wanted it, they would not be my target.” Slightly cool lips brush my neck. “Kierra asked me to fetch you.”

“Ah. Better not keep her waiting.”