My head is already shaking before she’s even finished. “Any blacksmith in Ranhold would know right away you’re stealing from the king, and they’d sell you out quicker than you could blink. You know it’s true.”
Her mind seems to fumble, knuckles going white where they’re braced at her sides. She drops her hands and walks away from me, pacing the empty room as if the shuffle of her steps will help her mind work out the new path I’ve laid down.
“I can get you gold,” I say again, my eyes following her. “But you have to promise not to do anything with it until you’re far away from Ranhold.”
“Fine,” she grudgingly relents as she comes to a stop. “I can see the merit of that. It would be a risk to pay off a blacksmith and try to trade for coin, and I don’t have connections here like I did in Highbell. I don’t want to risk being ratted out. I’m far too beautiful to waste away in a dungeon.”
My lips twitch. “Definitely.”
“You do realize that the saddles are always guarded, don’t you? You’re saying I can’t buy out my contract, but then how do you expect me to leave without being caught?” Her tone is wary, rife with disbelief, but I’m one step ahead.
“I’ve found a way into the royal library,” I tell her. “And every royal library always includes the blueprints of the city. Including the castle itself.”
Understanding floods her ocean blue eyes.
“It might take some time for me to search, but I’ll find the blueprints and chart a path out of Ranhold. Every castle has fail-safes and secret escape routes. It’s just a matter of finding them. While I do that, you’ll have to be the one to figure out a form of transportation. Something clandestine and inconspicuous.”
She thinks for a moment. “The saddles are allowed trips into the city. I suppose I can try and find a way to arrange travel.”
“Good.”
Rissa’s blue eyes scour me. “Just because I’m agreeing to this change of plan doesn’t mean I completely trust you. I still want gold. At least a couple of pieces per week.”
I open my mouth to argue, but she holds up her hand. “That’s non-negotiable. Think of it as paying me for my continued silence.”
“Fine,” I say reluctantly. “But you need to have a good place to hide it. We can’t be caught, Rissa, and if any gold is found, I’ll be implicated as well as you.”
“I have a spot,” she assures me, tone tinged with confidence.
“You’re sure?”
Irritation crosses her beautiful face. “Don’t patronize me. I’ve lived with a gaggle of saddles nearly all my life, always sharing a space. I know how to keep things hidden that I don’t want others to steal.”
Fair enough.
My feet shift beneath me. “There’s one more thing to our new deal.”
Her teeth grind. “What now?”
This is the part I’m really worried about.
“I’m going with you when you leave.”
Silence drops between us like a sudden rockslide, boulders landing at our feet in a heavy plummet. Rissa rears back with shock. “Are you out of your mind? You’re the gold-touched favored. King Midas will never let you go. We couldn’t possibly pull something like that off.”
“We can,” I argue, hoping like hell that I’m telling the truth, speaking with more conviction than I actually feel. “We go together. That’s the deal,” I say firmly, brooking no room for argument. “We get out of here together, and I’ll make sure you never want for anything ever again. It won’t matter if you run out of gold, because if I’m with you, I can get you more.”
She doesn’t look convinced, but I see the flash of rapaciousness in her gaze. “You can steal his power like that, even from a great distance?” she asks dubiously. “Because I assure you, I won’t be staying anywhere near Sixth or Fifth Kingdom. When I leave, I’m getting on a ship and sailing as far away as it’ll take me, where I never have to see a single speck of snow again.”
“Let me worry about the gold-touch magic. All you have to do is stay quiet and get us transportation out of the city.”
She looks me up and down. “You don’t blend in, though. You’ll give us away.”
“I’ll keep myself covered and figure something out,” I promise her.
She stares at me long and hard, while I try not to bite my bottom lip or wring my hands. If she turns me down, if she sells my secret to the next highest bidder instead…