Without further ado...
The Assassin and the Captain: Part 2
Chaol’s eyes
flicked from her face to the head in the saddle bag, then back to her, the
frown deepening. “You’re three days late.”
She
shrugged, and didn’t wait for his permission to begin walking up the sloped
path to the castle itself. No, she
didn’t need any sort of permission anymore—not as King’s Champion. But Chaol
stiffened nonetheless.
She
chuckled under her breath. “You try going to the foothills of the Ararat
Mountains in the dead of winter and see if you make it anywhere on time. I
almost lost my fingers and toes to the cold.” She wriggled the former in his
face. “You don’t even want to know how I managed to keep warm.”
Nothing.
Not even a hint of a smile.
She
sighed and looked skyward. “Will it be a whipping, or the rack, or shall I just
be forced to attend the Queen’s Court for an afternoon?”
He
didn’t react to that, either, but merely fell into step beside her. “I’m not
the one you have to explain yourself to.”
She
gave him a sidelong glance. “Were you worried I wouldn’t come back?” When he
didn’t respond, she said, “How long before you sent out your dogs to hunt me
down?”
He
looked at her this time, his golden-brown eyes fierce. “A week. I’d have given
you a week before I sent out my men
to make inquiries. But you were lucky—news of Sir Carlin’s death reached us
fairly soon after you…took care of him.”
Killed him. Slit his throat and cut off his head. Dumped his body in the Ararat
River. She watched him silently, daring him to say it, but he had already
looked away.
They
were halfway up the long path before he quietly said, “Were you hurt at all?”
She
snorted. “Killing men in their beds doesn’t involve much risk.”
His
eyes narrowed.
And though she knew she
shouldn’t, she added, “Or involve much honor. That’s what you’re thinking,
right?”
A
muscle feathered in his jaw. “I know what your position entails.”
But
she still wondered if he’d somehow forgotten until now—as if the Yulemas ball
and the duel with Cain had made him think she was someone else, someone
harmless. A wolf with no fangs.
More
silence, the castle growing ever-nearer. “I suppose His Majesty knows I’m
here?”
“He
wants to meet with you immediately. And bring your…proof.”
She
made a face. “I knew he wanted the heads,
but… He wants to see them in the meeting? Who will be there?”
“What
concern is it to you?”
She
shrugged again. Every detail of that meeting was a concern, especially Chaol
with his too-keen eyes and ability to sniff out even the whitest of lies from
her.
“I
just want to know how candid I can be.”
“In
front of the king? Do you want to wind up back in the mines?”
She
gave him a sweet smile. “And here I was, thinking he and I had become such good
friends.”
A
flash of teeth. “Don’t you even think
of—”
“A
month without me and you’ve returned to taking me seriously? We’re back to that
already?”
She
hadn’t realized just how deep that question ran until he had stopped walking.
Continue reading this
scene tomorrow at 12:00pm on Paranormal Indulgence!
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Huge thanks to Sarah for taking the time to write these extra scenes!!
What a cool thing to do! Great idea!!!
ReplyDeleteIt was a lot of fun to participate in!!
DeleteThanks for reading!!
I seriously have to read these books! Eventually! When my TBR calms down. And if August doesn't kill me... Then, I will add these to my list!
ReplyDeleteYou have to read these ASAP. They're in my top 5 series EVER and I don't normally care for high fantasy.
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