Page 88 of I Ran Away to Evil 2
The two of us had retired to the lounge room in Keith’s royal suite with a bottle of fine wine and a cheese platter to discuss my trip. The place had previously boasted a scholarly atmosphere with bare shelves, writing materials, and notebooks lying about. Now, it had flowery cup holders and a small portrait of the king and queen smiling together on the mantle of the dark stone fireplace.
I swirled the wine in my glass, trying to resist a frown as I prepared myself for the worst.
Keith asked. “But you still don’t knowhowthe assassins crossed the border?”
“I was told to ask Master Derek of Peldeep.” I shrugged.
“And you spenthowmany days and nights with Minstrel Bronwynn? Because I’m surprised you haven’t mentioned her in your description of the birthday celebration or the Assassin’s Guild meeting.” Keith was trying to hide a smile, but I could see the pinch in his chin and the slight shake in his shoulders. “For someone who claims to be her biggest fan, you talked more about the grimalcat than the bard.”
“Minstrel Bronwynn is … There wasn’t any—Gods, you can just get on with it,” I ground out, dragging a paw down my face in frustration.
Keith obliged and burst into laughter. “The way you almost had a heart attack when you found out that she was Ria’s friend … I can’t believe you joinedMinstrel Bronwynnon the woman’s own wagon. That was not at all what I imagined when I told you to follow her.”
“I’ll have you know I never outright laughed atyouwhen you were struggling with your feelings about our queen,” I lied. I’d teased him incessantly, and we both knew I deserved what I had coming to me.
I wanted to sigh. Instead, I pulled out the small reading glasses I used for fine print and plopped them on my nose, glancing over the papers I was to submit one last time before handing over the pile.
Keith composed himself down to a light chuckle and accepted the copy of the contract with Guild Master Lina and a brief summary of my findings so far. “Rufus, come on. You can’t tell me you discovered nothing about the bard. You were literally with her from the time you left here until that assassin tried to unalive Duke Wyldon. She didn’t doanythingsuspicious?At all?”
“She literally just traveled around happily playing music … Though she was officially investigated when her purse waswrongfullyplaced in the assassin’s bedroom.” I knew that it sounded bad, so I rushed to say, “But that was Jack’s doing, since he’d noticed the same thing we did and wanted cause to interrogate her.”
Keith raised an eyebrow. “And?”
“Minstrel Bronwynn is just a friendly bard with a love for adventure and a bonded murder horse,” I stated confidently.
A look passed over my king’s face, and Keith asked, “So … you think it’s the horse?”
“What? No! Donna is …” I stopped, seriously considering the bard’s mare. She was an intelligent beast who could run as fast as the wind, pick locks, and wandered off into the forest sometimes. Still. She was ahorse.
“Donna is a more likely assassin than Minstrel Bronwynn,” I allowed.
“I was joking.” Keith shot me a look that questioned my sanity. “You’re seriously blaming the horse over your bard?”
“She’s not my—Listen, arockis more likely to be an illegal international undercover spy than Minstrel Bronwynn. The woman is as tall as I am, recognized by half the continent, and constantly facing off against her family’s cursedencounters. She doesn’t have time to—”
“Minstrel Bronwynn is under a family curse?” Keith interrupted, leaning forward and showing newfound interest.
“Not like that,” I groaned and took a gulp of my drink.
Keith pressed. “Not likewhatexactly?”
“Her mother is the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter. And her father is the seventh son of a seventh son,” I explained. For a second, I felt strange not knowing if Bronwynn herself was a seventh daughter since I already knew herbirthday, her favorite foods, her mannerisms, how she took her tea, and her shoe size … I dragged myself back to the conversation at hand. “And she has three encounters on every trip from inheriting their [Child of Seven] skill.”
“I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never met someone so tied up in the rules of magical engagement.” Keith sipped his drink. “Have you told her you love her yet?”
“What?No!” The question came out of nowhere, startling me.
“And she hasn’t figured it out?” my king pressed, obviously enjoying my suffering.
I put down my glass and glared at my friend. “What is there to figure out? I love hermusic. You know that.”
“Weren’t you the one who told me honesty is the best foundation for a relationship?” Keith pointed out, repeating something I’d told him over and over again. “If I recall, you told me that beastfolk just get married when they know.”
My magnanimous ruler had a bad habit of not sharing his thoughts until he was sure of them … which meant he often just went quiet and didn’t tell his wife what he was thinking until prodded. But he was trying to build better habits, and it was just the way things went with relationships: you worked at them every day, or you stopped having a relationship.
“Need I remind you thatI’m undercover, and following her around the continent on your orders?” I countered, the weight of my situation heavy on my mind. I felt like that one time Her Eminence Feliwyn sat on me, “I don’t think now is a great time to tell her how I feel, if I felt that way. Which I don’t. I like her, sure, but Ilovehermusic.”
“Technically, you’re following her around on my wife’s orders,” Keith countered.
