Page 25 of Shadows of Winter

“And the rangers sent to guide them?”

“Per my captain’s orders. Rangers go where they must.”

A screech came from the tower window, and Kaylina and Frayvar jumped. Two huge bats flew out and sailed toward them, screeching again.

Kaylina stepped back, bumping into Vlerion this time, and irritation at herself flared. She fumbled for a sling round, not wanting to appear cowardly in front of him. But would the bats attack?

No, they flew low over their heads, but Crenoch let out a warning roar, and they flapped their dark wings to angle over the river and disappear into the night.

“Northern fang bats,” Vlerion said calmly. “They drink the blood of their prey.”

He hadn’t taken a step back or reached for his weapon.

“Are they edible?” Kaylina didn’t want him to think their presence concerned her. “We could put them on the menu.”

Frayvar blanched and rested a hand on his stomach. Maybe it took more than a special spice rub to make bats appetizing.

“I’ll head out tonight so I can reach Saybrook Manor by morning,” Vlerion said, not deigning to respond to her question. “Should you find your accommodations unpalatable, Headwaters Inn is two blocks to the east.”

Surprisingly, he rested a hand on Kaylina’s shoulder. Earlier, she hadn’t wanted him to touch her, but it was reassuring now, having him and his weapons at her side. She couldn’t bring herself to step away, even though his tone was smug, promising he expected to find them in that inn when he returned.

“That won’t be necessary,” Kaylina said, “but we’ll keep your recommendation in mind.”

“How much is a room there?” Frayvar asked wistfully, his eyes locked again on the glowing window. The bats’ departure hadn’t changed anything about it.

“Rangers don’t get charged, so I don’t know, but it’s not a ritzy area.”

Of course they didn’t get charged. The working-class owner probably had to suck up the expense of hosting them himself. No wonder people were rebelling here.

Hand still on Kaylina's shoulder, Vlerion stepped closer to her, leaning his face toward hers.

In the still quiet of the night, she felt her heart speed up, even more than it had when the bats had flown out. He was more of a threat than they.

“I doubt he wants me to share this warning,” Vlerion said softly, the words only for her as his warm breath whispered against her ear, “but if you decide to leave the city, you’ll find no shipmasters in the harbor who will give you passage. Captain Targon is making sure of that.”

That did nothing to calm her racing heart.

“Why? Is that legal?”

“Targon can do whatever he wishes for the safety of the kingdom.”

“We’re not a threat.”

Vlerion snorted softly. Derisively? “No, but he wants to use you.”

Her earlier premonition returned, that Targon thought their future meadery and eating house might become a gathering place and that Kaylina could share information they overheard with the rangers. Or did the captain want her to do even more than that? To actively seek out information? To become the spy Vlerion had originally accused her of being? But for the other side?

“Why us? There have to be dozens of inns and eating houses in town.”

“There are, but they are long-established with the allegiances of the owners known. Certain groups eat in certain places.” That had to be his way of saying the nobles wouldn’t dine with commoners. “Should you succeed in opening something new, boundaries won’t yet be established. Nobody here knows you. You might be recruited by the Virts.” Vlerion sounded indifferent to the idea. Because it wasn’t his plan but his captain’s?

“Or by the nobles? As you’re attempting to do right now?” Kaylina asked.

The hand on her shoulder that had briefly been reassuring now felt like a shackle, binding her to him—to them. The rangers. The nobility. She’d dreamed of serving her drinks to the king and queen, but she’d never thought a mead maker would have to choose sides.

“I am merely giving you a warning.” Vlerion squeezed her shoulder before releasing it and stepping back. After glancing toward the window, he added, “Enjoy your night.”

He leaped onto Crenoch, the taybarri swishing his wide tail, and rode in the direction of the mountains, their snowy peaks stark and visible even by night.

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