Page 25 of Null & Void

“Sneaky. Fine, since there’s no point in guessing yours, two younger sisters and an older brother. Favorite color,” he demands pointing at me with narrowed eyes, like it’s the most important question and not giving me a chance to ask anything about his siblings.

Knowing I have to take a stab in the dark, I try to think of something he might like. “Yellow? A buttery, creamy, sunshine yellow?” I flail my hands about, gesturing vaguely at the sun, and finish with a smile as I bite my lip. Riley stops in his tracks as he watches me, and I almost bump into him. I won’t admit it, but this is fun.

“Yes,” he breathes, looking at me in disbelief.

I squeal like a child. “I got it right? That’s your favorite color?”

“I can think of no better.”

My stupid grin becomes self-satisfied, especially when he demands, almost in a whine, “What’s yours?”

“Oh, you’ll never know, because I was right.” And I dance off, spinning around to poke out my tongue. I don’t even cringe this time.

CHAPTER TWELVE

We reach Teorann a few days later, slightly behind schedule. Teorann is sprawling, yet somehow doesn’t have much to offer except for the pier with a massive inn and tavern on either side of the Teorann waters.

The pier has a barge that ferries people across during the day, which is the only way to cross between Nemoris and Erdu. The neighboring countries named their towns Teorann on both sides of the river, working cooperatively to ferry people across.

Unfortunately, we missed the last barge across for the evening, so we will have to wait until the morning. Wanting to be on the first one across, Beans suggests it would be best if we camp on the edge of the forest. We wouldn’t be the only ones. Many people crossing between the two countries choose to camp instead of staying at the inn, which is often full.

Another good thing about the Nemoris side of Teorann is their enormous supply store, which is run out of the tavern. It’ll take a few hours for our order to be ready, so we sit in the back and share a quick meal.

Beans, Riley, and Tovi are still in the tavern when Bitty and I leave to set up the camp for everyone. We finish our cups of tea as Riley and Beans arrive.

“Anyone want to come back to the tavern for a game of cards? A group of Erduborn claim they’re the best at Talamu,” Beans says mischievously, his freckles making him look particularly roguish in this light. He winks at me but is clearly directing the invitation to Bitty.

“Let’s go kick some Erduborn ass,” Bitty responds, rubbing their hands together.

Riley is already reclining on his bedroll. Not wanting to be alone with him, I follow the other two. We pass Tovi, who nods at us as she continues toward camp.

In the tavern, a group of four waves at Beans to join them in the back. They offer to find me a partner, but I politely decline, only wanting to watch. The place is dark, despite the dirty-looking lanterns dangling precariously above the tables. All four are Erduborn, three men and a woman. The tavern itself is mostly Erduborn, with a handful of Nemorisborn. A table of Patrons, a mixed group like us, are the loudest here.

Beans and Bitty weren’t being cocky—they do in fact annihilate the other four at Talamu, several times each. I had trouble even following along. Bitty leans over to me and whispers that they’re going to let the others win a couple, so they don’t start a fight. I can’t help but laugh.

The sun has set, and our supplies surely can’t be that far off, so I say goodnight to everyone at the table and enquire about our supplies at the front bar. The man behind the counter says they’ll be a few more minutes, but he will bring them to me if I wait here. I thank him and then have to stifle a yawn—I’ll be going straight to sleep tonight.

“You’re that little Silent Assassin, ain’t ya?” I hear a drawling drunk say from my left.

I don’t even bother looking at them. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I say, reining in my surprise at being recognized by a group of non-Patrons, in the middle of nowhere.

“Sure, ya do. I seen ya with the big reds, they’re taking you to King Oferdu, right?”

“What the fuck are you on about?” I spare a look over my shoulder at his table of five, all invested in our little chat. They’re Erduborn brutes with lanky brown hair and beards, with cheap-looking metal jewelry all over them. The man harassing me snorts and spits onto the floor before an ugly smirk shows his teeth. Teeth that are stained a greenish-brown color from chewing what I assume is drogalyf. Chewing the herb instead of smoking is said to result in a more sustained buzz.

“Ya. King Stol has wanted the cute assassin Null as a doxy for revs, but Osraed always said you weren’t for sale. He worked out some deal with the reds and boom, here ya go!” He looks around until his entire table laughs and bangs their table like he told the best joke they’ve ever heard.When he joins them, his laugh sounds like a duck quacking, and I have to resist the urge to laugh at him, choosing silence instead.

They must take my silence and the slight curl of my lip as an invitation to continue. “Didn’t you wonder why ya got the moteliest crew of losers as ya official escort?” another man says.

I narrow my eyes at him before calmly saying, “I still have no idea what the fuck you drunks are talking about.” Then I turn back to face the bar and continue waiting for our supplies.I drum my nails on the counter. Sometimes, I wish it was socially acceptable to beat the living snot out of people for no other reason than because I think they deserve it.

The original man tries again to continue the conversation like I haven’t made it clear I wasn’t interested. “Ya ya, you got the weird Laguzborn kid, the Erduborn bitch, and the Ofnemoris drunk prince! I mean, at least they gave ya the commander so they could actually close the deal with ya still alive, even if he is only a Junky.'' Everyone at the table laughs again. One man, with a piece of stew stuck in his beard, devolves into a coughing fit.

The Ofnemoris drunk prince.Riley. Riley is the fuckingprince?

I’m not entirely sure if the rest of what they’ve said has any truth to it, unless Beans and Riley are the only ones who know it’s a ruse. It could explain why Riley has been such a pain the whole time, not taking anything seriously.

Before I could finish my thought, the barkeep returns with the package I was waiting for.“Here you go, love. Big Red’s already settled the account. Do you need a hand with it?” He throws a wary glance toward the table of men, before looking back to me with an unspoken offer of support.

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