Page 19 of Slaying the Shadow Prince
‘I’m sure.’
‘You’re mighty defensive…’
Drue heaved a sigh. ‘And you’re a mighty pain in the arse.’
Adrienne simply sat on the end of her bed and waited.
Drue started checking the weapons she wished to bring, but couldn’t stand the pressure of her friend’s insistent gaze. ‘Fine. His dark magic… It’s affecting me more than I realised it would…’
‘Oh?’ Adrienne raised a single brow.
‘That’s all you need to know.’
Her friend laughed. ‘So long as you’re taking your contraceptive tonic.’
‘Not that I’ll need it, but yes. Always.’
‘Good.’
‘And you?’
‘Every day,’ Adrienne said seriously. ‘I’d rather fucking die than risk a pregnancy in this shithole.’
Drue agreed. ‘How did you get on with the other Warsword, Wilder?’
Adrienne offered a wicked grin. ‘Well, let’s just say that you might be dealing with the true beast of the two, but Wilder is by no means shy…’ She winked. ‘He’s an animal in his own right.’
Drue snorted at that. ‘Well, I’m glad you’re having fun while I deal with… whatever it is I’m dealing with.’
‘Just doing my duty.’ Adrienne winked. ‘So how many are we riding out with tomorrow?’
Drue shrugged. ‘However many you recommend. I want to stop at the first watchtower to check on Gus. See if there’s anything we can learn from there, then continue on to the steel source.’
‘And you think it’s wise? Showing a wraith where we mine the steel that kills them?’
‘There’s nothing to see. You’d have to be a miner to understand how it all works, and from what my father has told me, there’s no mining at the moment and hasn’t been any for some time. At least it should prove that I’m not meddling with their precious iron ore. Fucking Coltan was the one to report me, by the way…’
‘What?’ Adrienne stood, fists clenched. ‘What a bastard. He’s like a petulant child, Drue. He couldn’t have what he wanted, so he decided to take you out of the picture?’
‘It seems that way… I don’t know what happened to him. He wasn’t always like that.’
‘Your brothers would have strung him up for this. I have half a mind to myself.’
‘To what end?’ Drue asked, suddenly weary.
‘To teach the prick a lesson. He needs to leave you alone.’
‘I’ve got it handled, Adri.’
Her friend shot her a disgruntled look, but let it lie.
‘My brothers would be wetting themselves over the Warswords,’ Drue said.
‘So will Gus when he sees them,’ Adrienne laughed. ‘Did I tell you what he told me the other day?’
Drue nodded. ‘I was there.“When I grow up, I’m going to be a ranger like Dratos. And I’m going to eat as much cheese as I want.”Talk about setting goals.’
Adrienne snorted. ‘That boy, I swear…’
