Page 103 of The Dragon Queen

“What?” Draven’s voice was transformed. He’d adopted the affected tone of someone wanting to be seen as important rather than one who actually was. “But I promised my friends a little jaunt in a boat.”

“Not sure what that’s got to do with me,” the guard said, then looked over our shoulders. “Next.”

“Are you telling me its too late in the day to charter a ship?” Draven asked, stepping into the gap between the two guards at the gate. “After we got up especially early.”

“You wouldn’t charter a ship,” the guard we’d been talking to said. “A boat?—”

“We’re here to ensure people with legitimate business in the city are allowed through the gates,” the other guard said, grinding each word between his teeth. “Not act as unpaid guides, sir. Now enter the city or not, but I’m going to need you to move aside, now.”

I stiffened as his hand came to rest on his sword hilt.

“Well, that was terribly rude.” I turned around and, to my surprise, that was Brom talking. “Come along, I know a fellow down the docks who is far more agreeable.”

He steered Draven through the gates, Flynn doing the same for me, as Soren and Ged slunk in behind us.

“Nobles, eh?” Ged said as he passed.

“You have my condolences,” the first guard muttered.

“Well, that was a wash,” Draven said. “I thought we might’ve gotten something from the first guard, but the second shut him down pretty quickly.”

“Almost as if he was instructed to keep quiet about such things.” Brom pulled away from Draven, looking down the main road of the town, not seeing the look our king shot him. I knew what Draven was feeling. He wanted to feel the warm weight of our lover’s arm on his shoulders, like I was enjoying Flynn’s. “Let's head down to the docks and see if we can find someone who’s more likely to talk.”

“What about The Siren’s Tits?” I had pulled out a piece of parchment I kept folded up in one of my pockets. There was no reason why I should trust Marcus, but I would have to assume his knowledge of places of ill repute was impeccable.

“While I like the sound of it, it does not sound like the kind of place to take a lady, let alone a queen,” Ged said, scratching at the back of his neck.

“And yet, it’s also likely to be our best bet for information,” I said. Brom came closer, his warmth, his woody scent filling my nose as he looked over my shoulder. “This map, where did it come from?”

“Marcus Lighthands gave it to me.”

“Marcus?” Soren spluttered. “How the hell did he get within ten feet of you, let alone pass a map along? We’re not going anywhere listed on that piece of paper. At best, it’s a list of places not to go, at worst, a trap.”

“No, I know Holdfast Bay.” Brom’s eyes flicked over the map. “And I know my own duchy. What’s on here, it looks accurate.” He looked over at me. “I know the pub you’re talking about. Soren’s right, it’s no place to take a lady.”

I tugged my cap down over one eye.

“Well, lucky I’m not here as a lady.”

My bravado came backto bite me on the posterior the moment we walked into the pub. This was definitely Marcus’ territory. Men lurched about drunkenly, not noticing the stench of piss like I did, hitting us like a wall as soon as we walked in.

“Definitely not a place for a lady,” Flynn said, wrinkling his nose. “Or me either. Does no one use a privy in this place?”

“There.” Ged pointed to a table where men were sitting and playing cards, several walking away in disgust. The man remaining hauled the coins left on the table towards him with a self-satisfied smile. “A bloke that’s flush with money, thinking Lady Luck is with him.” He pulled a pouch of coins off his belt. “Sure he’ll win more. He’s the one we need to talk to.”

I grabbed the money out of his grip and strode over to the table, then took a seat. The winner looked up at me with bleary eyes, a grin spreading across his face when he saw the coin pouch.

“Ready for another game?” I asked.

“Ready when you are, lad.”

Chapter 50

“He doesn’t know what he’s doing,” Ged said, shooting me a meaningful look as he sat down beside me.

“I’m willing to teach ‘im,” the gambler said, and I fought the urge to recoil as his yellow teeth were bared at me. “I could teach ‘im a whole lot if you like, pretty thing like that.”

“This ‘pretty thing’ belongs to me.” Flynn sat down at my other side and then tilted my head his way.

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