Page 104 of I Ran Away to Evil 2
“Alright, what’s troubling you?” Rufus leaned heavily on one elbow resting on the back of the bench. “I knowsomething’sbeen weighing on your mind.”
“I just wanted you to hear this from me. You’ve been such a wonderful travel companion, and I would hazard to say, friend.” Maybe, one day, she would break down and ask if they could be more than friends.
She wanted to reach out and place her hand on his hand beside her on the backrest, but she resisted.
He stiffened almost imperceptibly. “That’s … It has been an excellent journey, and I would be proud to call you a friend.”
“So you will see how important it is that I let you know that … my uncle Derek is the leader of the Assassin Assembly of Peldeep.” Brownie stopped there, holding her breath.
Rufus’s eyes opened wide as she watched him start filling in the blanks. She released her breath and tried to get everything straight to talk to him without making a mess of it.
Not that she was deliberately lying. The second Jack had turned his intense, questioning gaze at her, she’d activated [Liar’s Palace] so fast … But when Rufus turned a similar curious stare her way, she wanted to bare her heart and soul to him.
Maybe he’d activated a perk? Even as the idea took hold, she ignored it. If Rufus used a perk on her, he’d ask first.
“The same Master Derek Stannard I’m scheduled to meet in three days’ time?” Rufus finally spoke.
“Yes.”
“And the same Assassin Assembly that’s tried to kill my king on multiple occasions?” he continued.
“Yes.”
“Those same assassins,” he added, “that you informed us were coming on boats and traveling through Servalt. The ones hired by Drendil to attack in a massive group that was close to a hundred people?”
“Technically,” she countered, “many of those were regular mercenary rogues on contract to act as a diversion for the army unit marching on the Black Fortressfrom the south, so there weren’t really that many true Assassins … And whocountsAssassins anyway?”
Slake snorted at her use of the saying but didn’t so much as twitch his tail.
She was trying to play it off with a light heart, but honestly, shelikedRufus. Brownie didn’t want him to suddenly turn strange because she was too close to the ones he was investigating.
Before he could say more, she added, “It’s just … I know my family tried to kill King Keith. But I did have my uncle check, and it was just a normal business transaction. No molten ash vane conspiracy. No deeper ploy. Whoever the great mastermind is out there trying to permadeath all of the rulers on the continent … I honestly don’t think it’s anyone frommyfamily.”
Rufus stared at her for a long time before saying, “Thank you for letting me know, Bronwynn. If it isn’t too much trouble, I do have some more … questions.”
“I’m ready.”
CHAPTER 63
Everyone and Their Human
Rufus
I stared at Bronwynn, whose apologetic rosy blush complemented her flame-tipped curls.
She was from a family ofAssassins. Not justrelatedto an assassin, no, but to a household which accounted for the registration and care for anyone and everyone in that class on this side of the continent. Servalt was a new kingdom with new leadership that had made a name for itself by creating a hub for merchants to gain power and status, which included a new Assassin’s Guild. But Peldeep was one of the oldest kingdoms on the map, and the families there had been in power for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.
So if Bronwynn was the direct niece of Master Derek Stannard … she might as well have been the young noble miss of an esteemed Peldeep household.
I realized I’d told her I had questions then sat there staring at her while I gathered my thoughts.
“How doyoufeel?” The words came naturally, but I kicked myself when I said them. That wasn’t what I needed to ask. Ineededto ask about her family members, if she knew how they’d slipped assassins past Keith’s golems, how to better deal with her uncle, and what exactlysheknew about molten ash vane.
I had ajob. But I just couldn’t bring myself to care about it at that moment.
“It’s just … an inconvenience.” She shifted in her seat uncomfortably. “Not my family, of course! I love my family, and they could never be an inconvenience. Especially when they’ve been so supportive and understanding about my own chosen path. No. It’s this blasted increase in molten ash vane that’s thrown everything for a loop.”
I found myself nodding. “It’s not helping.” Especially when no one, except maybe Duke Lector from Servalt, knew who the poisoner was. Even then, itwasn’t certain. The poisoner could have just been adding molten ash vane to all of their orders.
