Page 129 of I Ran Away to Evil
We approached the table. I took my seat right beside Keith, and there was a spot beside me for Bronwynn. Chloe and Julia were talking amongst themselves but shot us a nod. Rufus was sitting across from me and took one look at us before downing an entire glass of wine.
“Greetings, Minstrel Bronwynn,” Keith welcomed with a political air. Turning to me, his face loosened into a smile. “Ria, how was your afternoon?”
“Lovely! I—” It was then that I noticed something that stopped me in my tracks. It was terrible. It was heartbreaking. My eyes glued to Keith’s tunic and the atrocious button that was sitting against his throat. I coughed, pretending I needed to clear my throat. “I showed Brownie around the castle.”
“It’s a very nice castle,” Bronwynn added.
Keith’s pointed ears flushed pink. From the bard’s compliment or because I hadn’t stopped glaring at his chest, who was to say. I dragged my gaze back to his face and tried to get myself together. Of course he would repair his clothes sometime … I shouldn’t be so upset at the loss of a perfectly delightful clavicle.
I needed to calm down.
“Brownie is performing at Scowls. Do you wanna go?” I asked.
Rufus made a strange squeaking noise. We all turned to look at him, and he calmly picked up his empty glass and tried to drink. He put it down a second later and smiled thinly. “Don’t mind me.”
Keith waved at the man. “Minstrel Bronwynn, have you met General Rufus Triever? He’s the highest-ranking member of my army, and a lover of music.”
Brownie stared at Rufus for a long second. “Actually, youdolook familiar. Have you been to my show before?”
“I’ve had the pleasure,” Rufus replied, “of seeing your performance at the Peldeep Festival of Lights. What nights are you going to play at Scowls?”
I whispered to Keith while Brownie told Rufus her schedule. “Is something wrong with Rufus?”
Keith took off his glasses and cleaned them using his robe. “What makes you say that?”
“His tail.” The appendage was straight up behind him. The longer he spoke with Bronwynn, the more it started to twitch. “And is hedrunk?”
Rufus himself was stiff as a board. It was impossible to tell if he was flushed under all that fur, but one of his ears drooped. I had a feeling he might just fall over at any second. He leaned forward as he asked Brownie about her song lineup.
He knew the names of all her songs.
Keith chuckled and shook his head. “I don’t think he’s drunk. Not with his monstrous Constitution. He’d have to down a few barrels at least.”
“If you say so …”
Brownie laughed. “Ifthisis what’s for dinner, I’d behappyto perform at the castle anytime. If you have any requests, just let me know.”
“Truly?” Rufus asked.
“Hey, watch the tail, Rufus!” Chloe chided.
The beastman curled his suddenly violent tail in his lap and held it there, looking sheepish.
Julia laughed. “If there’s going to be a performance, then count me in. You rarely make it all the way up to North Sumbria, and I’ll have something to talk about at the Spring Ball.”
“I thought you’d be talking about our wedding?” Chloe piped in.
“I will. But I am a politician’s daughter, and that means I need more than five talking points for every event.” Julia shrugged. “So far I’ll have the war, our wedding, Dark Magician Keith falling in love with the heroine”—Keith made a choking sound at that—“and a private dinner with the bard herself, Minstrel Bronwynn. I’m one gossip short on spilling the tea, but I’m suresomethingwill pop up.”
Brownie bowed slightly at Julia. “It has been an honor.”
Ria tugged at his sleeve. “Would you like to go together?”
“Tomorrow evening?” Keith nodded his agreement. “How about we let everyone in the castle go early? Scowls could open the patio to accommodate the rush.”
Rufus breathed a shallow, “Yes!” under his breath. He was gripping his tail really hard, and I hoped he had a healing potion on him for the bruises he was giving himself.
“And feel free to put in a good word with the duchess”—Brownie winked at Julia—“I’d be happy to do a show for the Spring Ball if there’s time.”
