Chapter 6 · Rust and Relic - Chapter 6: Nothing Free Out Here

"You're bleeding on my floor."

I looked up. The woman standing in the doorway wasn't Liv. Older, maybe forty, with gray streaks braided tight against her skull and rings on every finger. She had a crossbow slung over one shoulder and a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Sorry," I said. "Didn't mean to drip."

"Sure you didn't." She stepped inside, boots heavy on the wooden planks. "You the one everyone's talking about? The sky-marker?"

Liv moved between us. Fast. Her hand went to her belt.

"Greta."

"Liv Ironthorn." The woman—Greta—tilted her head. "Heard you were dead."

"Not yet."

"Shame. Dead girls don't owe coin." Greta's eyes flicked to me. "But live ones with wanted company? That's a different ledger."

I stood up. The shard pulsed hot against my ribs. "We're not staying."

"Didn't ask if you were." Greta walked past Liv like she wasn't there, stopped in front of me. Close enough I could smell smoke and something sharper. Resin, maybe. "But you're going to want what I'm selling."

"We don't have anything to trade," Liv said.

"Didn't say trade. Said selling." Greta reached into her coat, pulled out a folded square of leather. "Information.