Page 101 of Ruthless Scoundrel
She rolls her eyes and holds the skein up, then shakes it a little when nothing comes out. I can’t help but laugh again as I pass mine over. She takes it with a panted “Thank you” and then drinks it dry.
She closes her eyes and moans a little at the first drink. Warmth swells in my groin from the sound. I shamelessly watch her sweaty throat work and her chest heave with every swallow.
“How much longer until we reach Hammon?” she asks, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
“Another week or so. We’re about to pass the final fork on our journey and only Anthony and Gizelle are heading the same route as us.”
I’d taken time every night to speak a little with the other travelers, Anthony specifically. It’s interesting to learn about them and what they do.
It’s good to see the goodness in Ki’ah Ohn.
But all that talk was mainly for getting valuable information. The merchants going down our route know of Erik Vansen and his bid for a powerful wife. Some of the other Illyan island territories will be sending their strongest magi.
It seems that the unrest has grown since I was last here, and seeing someone with power able to fight off the Illyan royal navy not once, but three times…
It’s making dissenters bold.
If I were the king and queen, I’d be sending my own assassins to this “royal” function under the guise of a marriage prospect. If that’s the case, we may not end up with bloody hands after all.
I can only hope it will be that easy.
If Reina and I can focus on finding and freeing my people, that will be enough. I said I would save them, not avenge them. While I would love to sever the false king’s head and carry it around on a pike for a few weeks to let everyone know what happens when you fuck with a selkie, what’s most important is getting them out, and safe.
And home.
“I need more time than a week,” she says once she’s caught her breath.
I shake my head. “I’ve been keeping track of the days to the eclipse; it’s soon after we arrive. We’ll have a few days in town to get properly dressed and find forged paperwork, but then we’ll be on our way.”
She scowls at me. “Forged paperwork? I thought you were presenting me as I am?”
“I’ve had a change of heart,” I say, picking up our magus lights. “I don’t think it will be in our best interest.”
“Why not? Won’t it be the fastest way to get a private audience?”
Because I don’t want you to have a private audience.
“I’m worried that the crown will be sending their own assassins to handle him. From the discussions I’ve had with the other merchants, it appears that’s likely.”
“And? What if they fail? We need to be certain.”
I sigh. “We’ll wait until the evening when he’s properly drunk and his guards are weary.”
She crosses her arms and takes on that defiant stance she gets. “If an attempt is made and fails, they’ll take him to a safe location, warded and locked. We won’t be able to get to him. We need to stick with our original plan.”
“We don’tneedto kill him to free my people. If he’s locked away safe with all his guards, that will mean my people areunguarded. It may even be better for us to be able to get them—”
“But you said you remember them being under some kind of spell. What if the king is the one in control of it? What if you have to kill him?”
I run a hand through my hair and walk past her as I pace.
She’s not wrong. I remember the nets the metal-headed men used to capture my family. It rendered their magic inert, and then controlled them somehow. I don’t have enough details to knowwhatis generating that control.
I mutter a curse.
If only I’d been able to spy more effectively, but there were only so many places I could get to as an octopus and a dog, only so many whispered secrets I could hear.
Reina’s warm hand lands on my back. “It’s okay, Jasper. We can do this. Let’s stick to the plan.”
