Page 18 of Bounty Hunter

Someonewill be tracking the Tulips with the list Tryn is about to sell. Still, Ikar will have to be delayed, as it would put him in danger if he happened to find a Tulip and then attempted to protect the evil woman from one of the mercenaries.Ikar will simply need to be re-routed for a time, protected from the mercenaries. Just in case. But how?

I begin pacing the room. Tryn watches silently. Riches are always the best motivator. I’m almost positive it will be a mercenary who ends up with the list—brutal and savage. They will take care of the Tulip problem efficiently, no doubt, but I don’t want mercenaries after Ikar. They are loyal to none, so it’s too risky. And he too valuable.

Honestly, if Ikar wasn’t so noble and true, it would be much easier to get him home. In fact, he probably wouldn’t have even left in the first place.So true and noble. I laugh gently, remembering when, as a child, he was accused of replacing his tutor’s soap with a concoction that turned her skin purple for days. Of course, it hadn’t been him. Even then his strength of character was straight as the finest arrow. And then I freeze.Why not?I pace faster now, matching the speed of my thoughts. What if he’s accused of a crime? Temporarily, of course. He’s under a glamour, so people won’t know he’s the king. He would be dreadfully annoyed, but I imagine far into the future, when we’ll laugh over this ridiculous journey, happy that it brought us together like we always wanted. His laugh, deep and rich, near my ear as we sit beside the deep blue lake and watch the suns go down as we’ve done so many times before.

I sigh and return to the present, striding back to my writing desk and pulling out another crisp parchment and dipping my quill. I scrawl a lengthy note with a reward amount listed at the bottom. Then I touch the quill to the page and begin a rough sketch. After, I prepare to drop a bit of wax on the folded paper to seal it, then pause. Mind spinning, I lift the quill and look at its tip, considering the glamour Ikar is using. I’d heard him briefly mention it. With a bit of the same glamour appliedto the tip, I could quickly go over the sketch once more and it should come to match the glamour.

With that thought in mind, I pocket the quill and make my way to Ikar’s room. If luck of magic is with me, there’ll still be an empty bottle I can steal a drop from that he left behind.

It doesn’t take long to find a discarded vial, and with a bit of water on a dried bit stuck on the bottom, I dip the quill, hurry back to my office, and finish the sketch. I quickly jot out the reward amount for his arrest, drop a circle of hot wax, and press it firmly with a blank stamp I keep in my drawer.

“All ready now, I think,” I say, holding the two folded parchments in my hands.

I hold the first parchment up. “Have this list sold to the highest bidder.” I hold the second up, “And this one is for a legal bounty. My name is not to be associated, the funds for the reward are to be kept with the treasury in town. Make sure no trail leads back to either of us.”

Tryn keeps her expression carefully neutral. I can tell she begs to ask about what I’m telling her to do, but I keep my expression blank and stern, unwilling to offer anything. These things are best kept close.

Tryn nods respectfully and leaves the room.

Chapter 14

Vera

Ileft Mr. Edierren’s shop over a week ago now, and I’ve simply been waiting at home for Renna to return to celebrate the end of my Originator career before I leave to purchase the shop I’ve found. She should be back tonight. I’m already scheduled to sign a contract for the shop next week and the thought sets giddy butterflies fluttering in my stomach.

The evening sunlight shines warm on my skin, and I bask in it. I continue down the sidewalk toward my favorite tavern, and as soon as I enter, I catch a mouthwatering display of a variety of foods behind a wood counter. I wouldn’t normally splurge on a meal like this for Renna and me, but I want to celebrate, and this is exactly what I need. She’s no better off than I, so I know she’ll appreciate it. I hurry in, highly aware of how empty my stomach feels now that I am surrounded by food.

“Vera!” Maurine greets me cheerfully, coming around the counter to fold me into her motherly arms. “You’re skin and bones, m’girl. Let’s get you set right.”

Before I can ask for a bag of food to go, she bustles backaround the counter and proceeds to slice fresh bread, meat, and cheese while she jumps straight into the latest news. “The oldest Rismond twin married off last week,” then under her breath she adds, “much faster than I thought she’d be.”

I laugh, Maurine always fills me in on the news I’ve missed while I’ve been away. I let her continue,mm-hmming as needed.

“Jarne sold his carpentry shop to a new man in town, a good-looking one at that.” She looks up and winks at me, then continues filling my plate. I smile, but I’m not interested. No one wants a magical misfit, I learned that a long time ago. Right now, all I’m interested in is the hefty plate she places in my hands.

“Go sit, m’dear. I’ll get you some soup and some of the fresh cherry tart I just finished, and I’ll be back.”

Moments later, I’m sitting and trying my best to eat like a normal person, but it’s hard when food is scarce. Maurine sits down in front of me, spots from her busy morning coloring her white apron.

“I also forgot to mention the latest drama.” Her voice lowers as I sink my teeth into the delectable bread in a bite much too large to be considered ladylike, unconcerned about the usualdrama.

She continues in a hushed voice, “Word has spread that mercenaries are tracking down a Tulip, maybe more than one. Who woulda thought? Tulips haven’t been heard of inyears. Thought they were gone.”

The bread turns gluey in my mouth, and I gulp down the half-chewed, too-large mouthful with a choke and a swallow. “Excuse me?” I cough once more to clear my throat.

“It’s true.” Her brown eyes are wide.

“And what exactly are they doing with them… her?” I keep myvoice natural, but inside, I’m spinning. Why would someone be after us?

“No one knows, but they’re about to start disappearin’. I hear it’s for the reward money. Atrocious, isn’t it?” Maurine purses her lips and shakes her head. “Just served a man that looked like one of those dastardly mercenaries the other day. I shoulda shooed him out.”

“You couldn’t know for sure,” I mumble a half-hearted attempt at comfort, but my mind is elsewhere. Mercenaries after Tulips? A mercenary.Here?

“But on to happier topics…” Maurine continues chatting, filling the silence with her voice while I eat the rest of my meal, not in enjoyment now, but out of necessity. If a mercenary, the rough, blood-thirsty fighters, find out in any way who I am, and there’s reward money attached, I’m dead. And what aboutRenna? If what Maurine said is true, we need to be more careful than ever.

Once I finish, I give Maurine a big hug, smile at her reminder to stop in more often, gratefully taking the full bag of food she shoves into my hand and simply shrugging my shoulders at her chastisement to take better care of myself and “fill out those cheeks.”

I step out of the tavern, still waving to Maurine over my shoulder when I feel a shoulder bump mine and yelp in surprise. My heart calms when I see it’s just Rhette standing there with a grin. “I’ve been looking for you. Before you race off, I have something I want to talk to you about.”

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