Malek wrapped his arms around Sabine, holding her tightly as her body went limp. Levin moved forward, taking a protective stance beside him with his weapon drawn. Malek didn't fully understand everything that had happened between Dax and Sabine, except she'd most likely saved everyone still inside the tavern. A number of people had fled the minute she stabbed Dax, but there were still too many onlookers. When Dax's eyes turned silver, Malek had thought he might have to abandon his subterfuge to stop the demon from killing everyone. He wasn't sure how, but Sabine had managed to bring Dax away from that dangerous edge. It only reinforced Malek's earlier belief that Sabine had been touched by the Fae, especially after hearing her speak words of power. No one with only a trace amount of magic could have such an ability.

Javyn, the man who had helped restrain Riven earlier, moved toward Sabine. Through the tusks jutting from his lips, he demanded, "Give her to me."

"Not going to happen," Malek retorted, refusing to release Sabine.

It wasn't simply a matter of his protective instincts when it came to her. Until he knew what Dax planned to do with her, he wasn't letting Sabine out of his sight. Right now, she was his best chance at finding someone with enough Fae magic to serve his purposes. If Dax intended to harm her, he'd have to go through Malek first.

Dax yanked Sabine's knife from his stomach and clutched his wound. Black blood oozed down his midsection, and he leaned heavily against the counter. Sweat trailed heavily over his obsidian skin, and Malek suspected she'd poisoned him just like the man who'd attacked her in the alley.

In a raspy voice, Dax said, "Let Malek bring her, and have someone locate Esmelle. She was downstairs earlier."

Without waiting for a response, Dax staggered toward the back rooms. Javyn motioned for Malek to follow him, stopping only to issue instructions to a few of Dax's people. Malek bent down and lifted Sabine into his arms. She was lighter than he expected, and he caught a faint scent of the night-blooming flowers he'd noticed last time she'd gotten close to him. Having her in his arms was strangely disconcerting, and a surge of protectiveness filled him as he breathed in her alluring scent. It was another indicator of the potency of her Fae magic if she could affect him this strongly even while she slumbered.

"Are you sure about this?" Levin whispered, still holding tightly to his weapon. "If you're wrong about her, we've just alienated our biggest potential ally."

"I'm sure," Malek said, prepared to come up with another plan if his beliefs were unfounded. He wasn't willing to allow anything to happen to Sabine. He wasn't sure why he felt so strongly about her, but he doubted the mark she'd left on his wrist had anything to do with it. Even before she'd marked him, he'd been drawn to her. It was why he'd searched for the burst of magic he'd felt that night. It had called to him.

"In here." Javyn led him into a large bedroom suite. A few pieces of highly decorative furnishings were situated in the room, but there were no personal mementos. It had the appearance of being a temporary room, and not one that was frequently used.

Dax staggered over to a chair and slumped down on it.

Javyn gestured to the bed. "Put her down over there."

Malek carried Sabine to the bed and gently placed her on it. One of the braids binding her hair fell across her face. He brushed it aside, allowing his fingers to trail over her soft skin. Looking at her in this unguarded moment made it easy to understand why even the gods had succumbed to the allure of the Fae. And Sabine was only part Fae.

"Take her weapons, Javyn," Dax muttered, dropping Sabine's poisoned knife on the desk with a clatter. "The key to the chest is on the table beside the bed. Lock it when you're finished and toss me the key." He rubbed his abdomen. "Fuck, this hurts. Where the hell is Esmelle?"

"Verin's bringing her," Javyn said, walking toward the bed.

Malek moved to stand in front of Javyn. Until he was sure they didn't intend to harm Sabine, he wasn't about to let them take her weapons. "I want your word you won't harm her."

Dax's eyes narrowed. "Sabine may want you alive for some reason, but you're in my den. I'll flay your skin from your body if you continue to interfere."

Levin cleared his throat. "Malek, maybe we should—"

Malek held up his hand to stop Levin's objections and turned back to Dax. "Your word, Dax. Or I won't allow your man to get near her."

Despite being wounded, Dax pushed up from the chair and his eyes flashed silver briefly before reverting to amber. "You're trying my patience, ship captain. Sabine is mine. You will allow her to be disarmed, or I swear by the last memory of the exiled gods, you won't leave this room alive."

Malek arched a brow, making it obvious he wasn't intimidated by Dax's threat. Dax may be a formidable opponent, but so was Malek. The warding necklace around his neck warmed against his skin, serving as a warning that his suppressed power was quickly rising to the surface.

Javyn studied Malek, considering him thoughtfully. "You have my word Dax does not intend Sabine any harm, and her weapons will be returned. If she's armed when she awakens, she may try to kill Dax again and she may be harmed accidentally if he has to physically remove them." He darted a meaningful look at Sabine's knife lying on the desk where Dax had dropped it. "This is only a precaution to prevent another... incident."

While he wouldn't blame Sabine for trying to kill Dax, Malek couldn't fault Javyn's logic. Stepping aside, he watched as Javyn began removing her weapons. The deference Javyn displayed while disarming her was somewhat surprising. He seemed to avoid touching her as much as possible, making each movement deliberate as though aware two powerful predators were carefully observing him.

Malek counted at least a half-dozen weapons, including a set of silver throwing knives. Each one appeared to be extremely high quality, and even the weapon sheaths were intricately designed. It wasn't something he expected to find among this band of ruffians, but then again, nothing was exactly as he'd anticipated.

Javyn opened the chest and placed Sabine's weapons inside just as a woman with an explosion of red curls and vivid green eyes ran into the room. Her clothing was equally bold, a kaleidoscope of colors that didn't quite fit in with the serious tone of the other tavern patrons.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

She gasped and skidded to a halt, her eyes widening at the sight of Sabine on the bed. "What happened to her? Should we call Bane?"

Dax scowled. "She's fine, Esmelle. I need you to figure out what the hell kind of poison she used on me. This one is stronger than the last."

Esmelle hesitated, darting her gaze back and forth between Dax and Sabine. After a moment, she took a step toward Dax. "Where's her weapon?"

Dax gestured to the knife he'd tossed on the desk. Esmelle walked over and picked it up, making sure not to touch anything other than the hilt. Holding the blade up to her nose, she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Her eyes flew open almost immediately, and she stared at Dax in shock.

"This is a lethal poison. It would have killed anyone else. Why would Sabine use this on you?"

Dax glared at her and continued clutching his stomach. "If one more person questions me, people are going to start dying. Can you create an antidote or not?"

"Not until I get an explanation, and if you even think about laying a hand on me, Sabine really will kill you when she wakes up," Esmelle snapped, a trace of temper in her green eyes. "I'm not going to get dragged into your arguments. If Sabine poisoned you, there's a good reason."

Malek arched his brow, fascinated by the argument. It would appear Dax deferred to Sabine, at least in part. That didn't quite fit in with what he'd heard about the demon.

Javyn sighed. "Esme, he's in pain. Just see what you can do. Dax had a bottle of Sabine's favorite wine drugged earlier. She wasn't pleased when she realized what had happened."

"She's going to kill you one day if you keep pushing her," Esmelle muttered, putting the knife back on the desk. "I believe this is one of her newer creations. But yes, I can probably craft an antidote provided Sabine didn't use anything too unusual. I'll need to run back to my shop for supplies. Can you hold out while I'm gone? Or do you need me to try to find something here that'll lessen the effects?"

Malek leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms. He wasn't inclined to help Dax, but Levin was right; they needed to keep their options open. If Dax took too long to recover from whatever Sabine had used to poison him, they might miss their window of opportunity to find the artifacts they were hunting. "What supplies do you need? I may have a few with me."

Esmelle turned toward him and cocked her head. "You're the ship captain, aren't you?"

"I am," he said, inclining his head in greeting.

"Hmm. I've heard about you." She studied him with a great deal of curiosity. "Sadly, unless you're carting around a full herbal regimen, I don't think you'll have what I need."

"Check in there," Dax managed, gesturing toward a large cupboard in the corner.

Esmelle appeared skeptical, but she walked over and opened the door to reveal dozens of glass bottles lining the shelves. She let out a low whistle. "Sabine left some of her supplies here? I thought she'd moved everything out when she left." Esmelle picked up a few bottles and placed them on the table. She opened one and sniffed at the contents. "Perfect. This is extremely potent. I should have what I need."

While the woman continued to pick up different bottles and sniff them, Malek glanced over at Sabine as she slept peacefully. It was difficult to imagine her living here. Although, it was slightly reassuring not seeing any of Dax's personal effects around. It made him even more curious about their relationship.

Javyn walked over to Dax and offered him the key to the chest. Dax waved him away and gestured to Sabine again. "Take her hairpins too."

Javyn's brow furrowed in confusion. "Her hairpins?"

Esmelle dumped some herbs in a mortar and began crushing them. "Mm-hmm. She's been using hollowed out needles filled with poison and braiding them into her hair. Rather clever, if you don't mind me saying. If you're trying to remove them, be careful. I'd rather not have to craft a second antidote if you stick yourself."

"Great," Javyn muttered and walked back over to Sabine. He carefully started unbraiding her hair and pulled out several pins, placing each of them on the nightstand.

Malek walked over to take a better look at them, surprised by the elaborate carvings at the end of each one. They were made of some type of wood, and each pin appeared to have a different design representing a facet of nature. He picked up one of them, holding it up to the light to better see the carving. The handle had an intricately carved leaf that was astounding with its realism. It wasn't painted, but instead the artist had used the natural shading of the wood to give it more depth. "These are extraordinary."

"Careful you don't end up dead," Javyn advised, removing another pin and placing it beside the others.

Dax removed his shirt, wiped the blood off his abdomen, and gingerly touched his injury. "The poison in her pins isn't lethal."

"No, it's not." Esmelle dumped the crushed herbs into another vial and added a few more items to the mix. She swirled it around and added, "Sabine uses a paralytic in them. It won't kill you, but you'll be unable to move for at least an hour."

While Javyn finished removing all her hair pins and headed back over to the chest to deposit them, Malek turned back to Sabine. The effect of seeing her hair loose around her face was dramatic. It gave her a softer appearance, and her delicate features were even more Fae-like. It was difficult trying to reconcile the peaceful sleeping woman before him with the fierce warrior he'd first met.

Esmelle handed Dax the concoction she'd crafted. "Drink and let me see how bad the wound is."

Dax swallowed the brew and put the bottle back on the table. While Esmelle kneeled down to assess his injury, Dax turned toward Malek. "Are you still interested in smuggling your goods regularly into Akros?"

Malek paused, the question taking him off guard. Dax had been intrigued when they'd delivered a chest of rare items to the tavern, but he hadn't brought up the business side of things until now. "I'm interested."

"Good." Dax leaned back, allowing Esmelle to poke at his injury. "I'm willing to grant you rights to dock in the port as often as you need. My people will circumvent customs and help distribute your goods. One of our warehouses will also be at your disposal for storing your merchandise."

Malek arched his brow. He wouldn't be opposed to having unfettered access to Akros, especially given what he'd discovered so far about their residents. But he hadn't heard the price yet. "And in exchange?"

Dax's expression became calculating. "As previously discussed, I retain first rights to your merchandise and an equal cut of all profits. You will also agree to transfer Sabine's mark to me."

Esmelle froze and Javyn tensed. Their reaction was telling in itself, but Malek wasn't sure why Dax would request such a thing. The mark was trivial, little more than a formal acknowledgment of a barely negligible debt. Dax was giving it far more weight than he should, unless he knew something Malek didn't. The mark on his wrist tingled, and he resisted the urge to rub it. Malek wasn't in a hurry to get rid of it, least of all to someone like Dax. He didn't know everything about debt markers, but he wasn't inclined to agree until he knew the possible repercussions.

"While I appreciate the offer, I must refuse your terms. The mark simply represents a debt. The terms have already been agreed upon."

Before Dax could respond, Esmelle blew out a breath. "You'll live, Dax. You consumed enough of her magic that you're healing without my interference." She picked up his discarded shirt and wiped off her hands. "Although, if Sabine finds out you tried to buy her mark, not even my efforts will save you."

Dax didn't reply. Instead, he motioned to Javyn. "Take a few men and go down to Terrance's gambling hall. I want him brought back here for questioning before Sabine wakes up."

"And if he resists?"

Dax narrowed his eyes. "Make it clear this isn't a request. I want answers, and I don't particularly care how I get them. If he wants to survive the night, he'll cooperate. Otherwise, start cutting off limbs. He doesn't need hands to spill his secrets."

Javyn inclined his head. "I'll grab Verin and we'll leave immediately."

Malek frowned. He didn't want to leave Sabine, but Esmelle was currently checking on the sleeping woman. He suspected Esmelle wouldn't allow anything to happen to her, and he needed to learn more about this plot. Right now, Sabine was the most promising candidate to fulfill his purposes, but Javyn and Verin had Fae in their bloodlines. It would only prove beneficial to his purposes if he helped them resolve the situation. "I'll accompany you."

Javyn paused, glancing over at Dax with a question in his eyes. Dax scowled and tossed his shirt back onto the table. "Fine. Take him with you."