Page 33 of Rune Assassin

“You’re awake,” Tegan commented as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

I moved my head far enough to give him one evil eye. “Conrad really should have warned us a little better about this hangover.”

Tegan chuckled as he moved over to me, and I saw he held our shoes and socks in his hands. “Speaking of him, he had Hugh return these early this morning.” He set them on the floor and took a seat on the edge of the bed beside me. “Besides the headache, how are you feeling?”

“I can’t feel anythingbutthe headache,” I retorted.

“It will pass with some water and food,” he reassured me. “And speaking of that, breakfast is ready.”

I buried my face into the pillow. “Go on without me. I’m done for.”

He rubbed my back between the shoulder blades and elicited a purr from me. “I would rather cut off my wings than ever leave you before.”

I gave a heavy sigh and flopped myself over. “Alright, you win. I’ll get up.”

He grinned. “Good. I’ll help you dress.”

I sat up and swatted away his eager hands. “You’d better let me handle this. If you helped we wouldn’t get out of here before sunset.”

CHAPTEREIGHTEEN

We ventured downstairs longbefore that hour but still found ourselves the last to arrive at the table. I was surprised to see not only Morrigan but Quinn and Conor seated with the others. Quinn sat opposite the senator with Conor on her right. They tried hard not to stare at us as we passed but I could sense the tension coming off of them in waves. If they could have jumped us then they would have, but right then it was all about optics.

We took our seats and I noticed our host was a little pale. He held his glass of early-morning wine with a hand that had a slight shake to it. “Good morning,” he greeted us with a tense smile. “I trust you slept well.”

“You’ve provided comfortable enough sheets for anyone to sleep well,” Tegan assured him.

“I am surprised to hear your sleep was without issue,” Beringer spoke up as he studied the two of us. “I had overheard from the gardeners that you had quite an eventful evening.”

Cordelia lifted one thin eyebrow. “Did they? Do tell.”

“We have other matters more important than them staying out late,” Lusio spoke up with a sharpness to his voice that made everyone sit at attention. “The next trial is tonight and we must decide who will be first.”

Cordelia folded her arms over her chest and smiled. “Well, I knowI’mnot going to go first.”

Fidel grinned at her. “Perhaps you wouldn’t mind doing it again?”

She scoffed at the young man. “Not a chance.”

“We will let fate decide,” Lusio announced as he rummaged in his pocket. He drew out a small object which he set on the table for all to see. It was a simple six-sided die. “Each of you will throw this cube down on the table. The lowest count will be the first to test their magic against the trial.”

He picked up the die and held the item out to Cordelia. “Would you care to do the honors?”

She sweetly smiled at him and shook her head. “I would rather go last this time.”

He nodded and offered the die to Beringer who accepted. The man gave the die a mighty shake before he tossed the shaker onto the table. The counter rolled to a stop and revealed a six.

Beringer chuckled as he passed the die down our line to Morrigan. “It appears luck is with me.”

I reluctantly gave the die to her, careful not to let her touch me, and she gave a brief shake before tossing the object onto the table. The gods of luck granted her a four. She had to stifle a wrinkle of her nose. “Well, it appears we are in the running for first.”

Fidel laughed as he scooped up the die. “Then we’ll see if I usurp you.” He tossed the counter and revealed a two. His face drooped and his chuckle was strangled. “Well, damn.”

Cordelia was all smiles as she took up the die. “Terrible luck.” She daintily tossed the die and the counter rolled to the center before coming to a stop.

On one.

A strangled laugh escaped Fidel and the rest of us had to cover our mouths to hide our amusement. Cordelia’s cheeks turned red and her whole body shook.

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