The world was a canvas of blinding white. The storm had dumped three feet of snow over the Oakhaven valley, burying the roads and turning the trees into frozen sculptures.
To a normal human, travel would have been impossible.
But Kael was not a normal human.
He trudged through the drifts, the snow reaching his thighs, pulling a makeshift wooden sled behind him with a thick hemp rope slung across his chest. He didn't gasp. He didn't slow down. Steam rose from his broad, bare shoulders, melting the snowflakes before they could touch his skin.
Valeria sat on the sled, wrapped in the velvet cloak Lucian had made, clutching a hot stone wrapped in cloth to her chest.
"You're going to catch a cold," Valeria called out, her voice snatched away by the wind. "Put your shirt on, Kael."
"I run hot," Kael grunted, not looking back. "The shirt restricts my shoulders. Besides, the cold feels... good. It reminds me I'm alive."
Valeria watched the muscles of his back ripple as he hauled her weight and the sled uphill. It was a stark reminder of the sheer physical power of a beastman. He was a tank engine made of flesh and bone.
"How much farther?" she asked.
"The logging camp is over the ridge," Kael said. "I can smell the sawdust. And the sweat of unwashed men."
"Charming," Valeria muttered.
She checked her pocket. The ledger she had found under the floorboards was tucked safely inside. It detailed five years of illegal timber sales from the Vespera estate to a man named Bram. The total outstanding debt for this month's shipment was fifty silver coins.
Fifty silver coins. That was a fortune. It was enough to buy food for winter, the ingredients for Silas's suppression potion, and maybe even proper tools for the farm.
"Kael," she said, raising her voice over the crunch of snow.
"Hm?"
"Why didn't you run?"
Kael stopped. The sled slid to a halt. He turned slowly to face her. The golden eyes were unreadable against the white landscape.
"Run where?"
"Anywhere," Valeria said. "I healed your leg. I unlocked the door. You're strong enough to survive in the wild. You could have left last night while I slept. Why are you still pulling this sled?"
Kael stared at her. He looked at the vast, open forest around them. Freedom was right there.
"Silas," Kael said simply. "He would die without me. Ignis would freeze. Caspian would dry out. Lucian... Lucian is too soft for this world."
"So you stayed for them," Valeria said.
"And," Kael added, taking a step toward the sled, looming over her. "You fed me. A beastman does not bite the hand that feeds him until the debt is paid."
"Is that all?" Valeria challenged, holding his gaze. "A debt?"
Kael leaned down, his face inches from hers. She could feel the heat radiating from him.
"You smell different," he murmured. "Elise smelled like rot and cheap perfume. You smell like... old paper. And rain. It's a clean scent."
He straightened up abruptly, turning his back to her.
"We're here," he growled, pulling the rope taut. "Get your game face on, Commander."
The Blackwood Logging Camp was a scar on the forest. The trees had been brutally clear-cut, leaving jagged stumps sticking out of the snow like broken teeth.
In the center of the clearing stood a rough log cabin with smoke pouring from a chimney. Around it, huge men in fur vests were hacking at logs with axes. They weren't beastmen; they were humans, but they were the size of bears, hardened by labor and violence.
When Kael dragged the sled into the clearing, the sound of axes stopped.
Twenty pairs of eyes turned to stare. They looked at the massive, half-naked man pulling the sled. They looked at the small, cloaked woman sitting on it.
"Well, look at this," a voice boomed from the cabin porch.
A man stepped out. He was enormous, with a beard that reached his belt and teeth capped with iron. He held a double-bladed axe that looked like it weighed as much as Valeria.
[Target Identified: Bram "Iron-Tooth".]
[Class: Bandit Leader / Lumberjack.]
[Threat Level: Moderate.]
[Crimes: Poaching, Illegal Logging, Assault.]
Bram walked down the steps, his men forming a semi-circle behind him.
"If it isn't the little Princess of Oakhaven," Bram sneered, spitting a glob of tobacco into the snow. "I heard the Garnetts got kicked out. I didn't think you'd survive the night."
Valeria stood up from the sled. She dusted the snow from her cloak.
"Bram," she said, her voice cool and projecting authority. "You look as ugly as the description in the ledger."
The men chuckled nervously. Bram's eyes narrowed.
"Watch your mouth, girl. You're a long way from your manor. And you don't have your daddy's guards."
"I don't need guards," Valeria said. She pulled the ledger from her pocket. "I'm here for a business transaction. According to this, you owe the Oakhaven Estate fifty silver coins for the white oak you poached last week."
Bram laughed. It was a loud, booming sound. "Owe? I had a deal with Pa Garnett. I pay him half the market rate, and he looks the other way. I don't have a deal with you."
"The deal was illegal," Valeria said, stepping forward. "You were stealing from the Vespera family. Now, I am willing to overlook the past theft... if you pay the outstanding balance today. Fifty silver."
Bram stopped laughing. He gripped his axe.
"And if I don't?" he challenged. "What are you going to do? Hit me with a snowball?"
He looked at Kael. "Or are you gonna sic your cripple on me? I heard about the Tiger. Broken leg. Useless."
Bram turned to his men. "Boys, grab the girl. She's pretty enough. We can sell her to the mines. Kill the cripple."
"Wrong answer," Valeria sighed.
She looked at Kael. "Kael. Lesson one."
Kael didn't need further instruction.
He dropped the rope.
He didn't roar. He didn't shift into his beast form. He simply moved.
It was a blur of motion. One second he was standing by the sled; the next, he was in front of the nearest thug.
Crack.
Kael's fist connected with the thug's jaw. The man, who must have weighed two hundred pounds, was lifted off his feet and spun in the air before crashing face-first into the snow.
"What?" Bram shouted. "Get him!"
Three men rushed Kael with axes raised.
Valeria didn't flinch. She stood perfectly still, watching.
Kael caught the first axe handle mid-swing. With a sharp twist of his wrist, he snapped the thick oak wood like a dry twig. He kicked the man in the chest, sending him flying back ten feet into a pile of logs.
The second man swung low. Kael jumped, clearing the blade, and landed on the man's shoulders, driving him into the ground.
The third man hesitated.
Kael looked at him. His golden eyes flared. A faint, metallic sheen rippled over his skin—the first sign of his Metal Attribute awakening.
"Drop it," Kael growled.
The man dropped his axe and ran.
Bram roared in fury. "Useless cowards! I'll do it myself!"
He charged at Kael, swinging his massive double-bladed axe in a horizontal arc meant to cleave the beastman in two.
"Kael, duck!" Valeria warned, seeing the glint of mana on the axe blade. Bram was using a Skill: [Heavy Cleave].
Kael didn't duck.
He stepped into the swing.
He raised his left arm—the arm that had been broken for months. The metallic sheen on his skin hardened, turning his flesh into living gold for a fraction of a second.
CLANG.
The sound of metal hitting metal rang through the clearing.
Bram's axe didn't cut through flesh. It bounced off Kael's forearm as if he were made of solid iron.
Bram's eyes bulged. "What...?"
Kael grabbed the axe head with his bare hand. His fingers dug into the steel, leaving indentations.
"My turn," Kael whispered.
He yanked the axe from Bram's grip and tossed it aside like trash. Then he grabbed Bram by the throat and lifted him into the air.
Bram kicked and struggled, his face turning purple. Kael held him there, arm fully extended, looking bored.
"Commander," Kael called out, not looking at the choking man. "Instructions?"
Valeria walked over, the snow crunching beneath her boots. She stopped in front of the dangling bandit leader.
"Put him down, Kael. If he dies, he can't pay."
Kael dropped him.
Bram collapsed into the snow, gasping for air, clutching his bruised throat. He looked up at Kael with terror. This wasn't a cripple. This was a monster.
Valeria crouched down so she was eye-level with Bram.
"Now," she said softly. "Let's renegotiate. The price just went up."
Bram wheezed. "I... I don't have fifty silver... not here..."
"Liar," Valeria said. "System, scan for hidden assets."
[Scan Complete. Hidden Floor Safe under the cabin bed. Contents: 85 Silver Coins, 3 Gold Coins.]
Valeria smiled. "You have a safe under your bed, Bram. Open it."
Bram went pale. "How... how did you..."
"I know everything," Valeria said, leaning in. "I know about the poaching. I know about the bribes. And I know you don't want the Imperial Knights investigating this camp."
She stood up. "Get the money. All of it. Consider the extra a 'stupidity tax'."
Bram scrambled to his feet and ran into the cabin. He returned two minutes later, holding a heavy leather bag. He handed it to Valeria with shaking hands.
"Take it," he whimpered. "Just take it and go."
Valeria weighed the bag. It was heavy. Satisfyingly heavy.
"One more thing," Valeria said.
Bram flinched. "What?"
"I need firewood," she said. "Seasoned hardwood. One cord, delivered to the Oakhaven estate every week for the rest of the winter."
"For free?" Bram protested.
Kael took a step forward, cracking his knuckles.
"As a tribute," Valeria corrected. "To ensure my Tiger doesn't come back to practice his blocking technique."
"Done!" Bram shouted. "I'll send a wagon tomorrow! Just leave!"
Valeria turned to Kael. "Load the sled."
"With what?"
"That pile of logs over there," she pointed to the stack the men had been cutting. "We're not going home empty-handed while we wait for delivery."
The journey back was slower, the sled piled high with wood and the heavy bag of coins tucked in Valeria's lap.
But the mood was lighter.
Kael was humming. It was a low, rumbling sound, barely a tune, but it was there.
"You enjoyed that," Valeria noted.
"I haven't hit anything in a year," Kael admitted. "It felt... necessary."
He glanced back at her. "You knew I could block that axe."
"I hoped," Valeria corrected. "I saw your skin change color yesterday when you healed. Metal Attribute, right?"
Kael nodded. "It's weak. I can only harden a small patch of skin for a second. But it was enough for a dull axe."
"It was impressive," Valeria said honestly.
They reached the ridge overlooking the estate. Smoke was rising from their chimney. It looked peaceful.
"We have money," Valeria said, patting the bag. "Tomorrow, we go to the city. We buy the ingredients for Silas. We buy winter gear. We buy seeds."
"The city is dangerous," Kael warned. "The Guild is there."
"We'll be careful," Valeria said. "We'll wear disguises. Lucian can make us something."
Kael stopped the sled at the top of the hill. He looked down at the farmhouse.
"Valeria," he said.
It was the first time he had used her name. Not 'Elise', not 'Commander'.
She looked up.
"Thank you," he said. His voice was gruff, awkward. "For not selling us to Mara. For fighting for us."
"I told you," Valeria said, her cheeks flushing slightly from the cold (or perhaps the compliment). "I need you alive."
"I know," Kael said. He looked at her, his golden eyes soft for a fleeting moment. "But no one has ever needed us for anything other than pain before."
He turned back to the slope. "Hold on tight. Going down is faster."
He leaned into the rope and broke into a run. The sled surged forward, picking up speed as they flew down the snowy hill toward home.
Back inside the farmhouse, the atmosphere was tense.
Ignis was pacing by the window. Caspian was sharpening a kitchen knife on a stone. Lucian was hiding under a blanket.
When the door opened and Valeria walked in, carrying a heavy bag that clinked, followed by Kael carrying an armful of wood, the room exploded into motion.
"You're alive!" Lucian squeaked.
"Did they fight?" Ignis demanded. "Did you see blood?"
Kael dropped the wood by the fire. He grinned, a wide, feral grin.
"We got the money," Kael announced. "And the Commander... she extorted a bandit leader."
Valeria tossed the bag onto the table. It landed with a heavy thud, spilling a few silver coins.
"Eighty-five silver," Valeria announced. "And three gold."
The room went silent. That was enough money to live comfortably for two years.
"We're rich," Caspian whispered.
"No," Valeria said, taking off her cloak. "We're funded. There's a difference."
She looked at Silas, who was sleeping by the fire, the brand on his neck hidden by the collar Lucian had made.
"Ignis," she said. "Prepare a shopping list. Tomorrow, Kael and I are going to the capital."
"The capital?" Ignis paled. "That is the Viper's Nest. If anyone recognizes me..."
"That's why we need disguises," Valeria said. "And why we aren't going as nobles."
She walked to the pantry, her mind already racing with the next plan.
"We're going as merchants," she said. "Merchants selling a very rare, very illegal commodity."
"What commodity?" Kael asked, frowning.
Valeria pulled a purple yam from the sack.
"This," she said. "And maybe a few of those Fire Blooms I grew for Ignis."
She turned to them, her violet eyes gleaming.
"We're going to disrupt the market. And with the profits, we're going to buy Silas his freedom."
[Mission Complete: The Debt Collector.]
[Reward: Library Level Up. New Section Unlocked: "Trade & Economics".]
[Item Unlocked: "The Merchant's Monocle" (Identifies true value of items).]
[Husband Affinity Updated: Kael (40% - Loyal).]
Valeria smiled. Forty percent. It was getting there.
"Get some rest, boys," she said. "Tomorrow, we go shopping."