Page 47 of Thorns & Fire
‘And what part will the heir of Delmira be playing in your plot tonight?’Torj said, folding his arms over his chest.
He should have known it would be something outlandish by the glint in Kipp’s eye, and the way he grinned before he said, ‘Wren will be your wife.’
CHAPTER 17
Wren
‘A bond between two magical beings is a dance of wills and fate’
– Tethers and Magical Bonds Throughout History
‘WHAT?’WREN LOOKEDfrom the Bear Slayer’s flabbergasted expression to Kipp’s smug smile.
‘Warswords don’t have wives,’ Torj said between gritted teeth.
‘You’re not a Warsword tonight, my friend,’ Kipp told him, shoving a pack into his chest.‘You said yourself that this assignment must be covert.I’m sure you’ll make a fine nobleman, a handsome couple.Once you’ve bathed, that is.Right now, you both smell like horse.’
Wren didn’t have the energy to argue.She simply slipped into the adjoining room with her things, hoping that the water waiting for her was hot and that Kipp’s taste in women’s clothing wasn’t as scandalous as she feared.
The water was lukewarm, but it would do.As she washed herself, Wren’s mind drifted to Delmira: the verdant stretches of grass, the wildflowers dancing in the wind, the glittering lake...The once-fallen kingdom was practically a haven.How?The question plagued her as much as the complications with the dark alchemy cure itself.It seemed that every aspect of her life lately was a puzzle she couldn’t solve.
Towelling herself dry, Wren reached inside her bag, only to pull out a small parcel of salted caramel delights.She’d taken the wrong pack.The Bear Slayer had a sweet tooth, alright.
His dagger came next.It was the one he’d insisted on her holding during that awful riot in Elmridge.It had never been his favoured weapon, she knew that much, but she’d seen it sheathed at his belt, and had watched him sharpen it several times over the years.Annoyed that she would have to return it to him to fetch her own belongings, she shoved it back into the pack—
Her knuckles hit something hard.Frowning, she pulled out something she didn’t expect.
Abook.
What in the midrealms was the Bear Slayer of all people doing carting a brick of a tome around on his travels?The man she knew was far more practical than that.Wren turned it over, her curiosity piqued.
Tethers and Magical Bonds Throughout History.
She froze, the words blurring before her eyes.This was the volume Thea had told her about.Wren had never imagined that the Bear Slayer might actually have it with him.Blinking the spots from her vision, she turned to the table of contents.
Parental and Inherited Magical Connections.Sibling Bonds.Animal Telepathy.Fated Enemies.Seers and Subjects.Bonds and Magical Objects.Alchemical Connections—
The door of her room burst inwards and Wren shoved the book beneath her discarded apron, heart hammering, clutching her towel to her chest.Kipp strode in with a garment bag.
‘Disguises acquired!’he declared.
Wren’s hand drifted to the scar on her throat.In certain circles it made her easily recognizable.But before she could point out the problem, Kipp opened the bag and presented her with a beautiful emerald-green gown.
‘This comes with a choker piece that should do the trick,’ he said with a wink.‘And a mask, if you fancy it.’His eyes fell to the open pack before her, the dagger’s hilt peeking out.‘Did I mix up the bags again?’
‘Seems that way,’ Wren said as Kipp grabbed Torj’s pack.
‘Strange...It feels a tad lighter than it did,’ he mused, a glint in his eye.
‘Strange indeed,’ Wren agreed, only just managing to keep a straight face.
Kipp motioned to the formal dress.‘Get ready.We need to leave soon.’
When the strategist had left, Wren took the volume in her hands once more, running her fingertips over the title.
Tethers and Magical Bonds Throughout History.
Gods, she was dying to open its pages and read the damn thing cover to cover.But there was no time.With regret bitter on her tongue, she got to her feet and slipped the tome beneath her pillow.There would be time enough for reading on the ship back to Drevenor.When it came to Torj Elderbrock, she had no intention of remaining in the dark.
