Page 137 of Silverbow
“Bade, with me.”
Fear and fury boiled in Oryn like a kettle left too long over the fire as he raced toward the Flame Quarter. His own were so intense, he hardly felt Mosphaera’s. Surely Enya bloody Silverbow was not fool enough to face Drulouganthe Dread with nothing more than her bow. Surely, Colm would not have helped her to her death.
I will deal with him later.He and Liam both. The latter was lucky Oryn didn’t have time for him right now. He would strangle the stable boy, bring him back from the dead, and strangle him again.
He ought to strangle himself while he was at it for not piecing together her reckless plan from her sudden interest in dragons.Stupid, foolish, reckless.No sane person would attempt to enter Drulougan’s domain. It was exactly the kind of thing he should have expected her to do.
The streets around Blackash Keep were deserted, the revelers pulled elsewhere. An orange glow lit the dark sky near the castle, the flames ravaging the Gold Quarter.Holy gods.Oryn wasted no time marveling at Liam’s work. His eyes were fixed on the dark dome rising ahead. Bade watched over their shoulders for unwanted shadows. As they turned out into the street before the keep’s wall, a familiar hoot of an owl beckoned them to a dark alley with a view of the gate.
Colm waited there, casually leaning against the brick, his arms crossed as his gaze raked over Oryn. “For your sake, I hope you left the boy alive.”
“For now,” Oryn ground. “But I’m not certain you’ll leave this alley.”
Colm shrugged. “She has a bargain to fulfill. I’ve done what I can.”
Oryn waved at the black stone that seemed to gobble up light. “This is your idea of keeping her alive?”
Colm stuck out an arm, blocking his path as Oryn tried to push through. “If you barge in there, you’re likely to startle him and get both of you killed.”
“You let a girl walk into that keep with Drulouganat home?”
“The guards didn’t even notice.”
Bade let out a low whistle.
“And now?” Oryn spluttered.
“We wait,” Colm said coolly.
“For what?” He snapped, his heart pounding at a tempo that was far too fast for their short run. “Do you think Drulougan is going to sound the alarm before he rips her limb from limb?” It was an effort not to shout.
“You really should have chosen a girl with better instincts for self-preservation,” Bade muttered, but he too leaned back against the brick, content to watch the street. Oryn wanted to flay them both alive as he took up pacing.
“This is what her mother wanted?” He hissed, dragging a hand through his hair. It came away dark with the powered dye, but he hardly noticed. “To pay a visit to Drulougan?”
“To take from the keep what she couldn’t, I suspect,” Colm answered softly. “Her bond wouldn’t allow it.”
The clutch. Oh, light.He should have seen it. He should haveknown. Oryn had to brace a hand against the wall. “How many men have tried and barely escaped with their necks?”
“No one’s ever tried when he’s at home.”
“Because it’s madness.”
Colm scratched at the shadow of his beard. “Maybe, but it is technicallyherkeep after all. Sort of.”
“Herkeep,“ Oryn spat. “It’s no more her keep than mine, Colm. And even if it were, only bonded riders and the occasional keeper ever have been allowed to come and go.”
“Which is whyweremain here to wait. She is the daughter of the rider bound to Drulougan’s mate. He will know her on sight.”
“And if he doesn’t? His mate’s been dead twenty years and he’s never actually seen the girl, has he?”
Colm didn’t answer.Bloody wonderful.
“How long has she been down?” Bade asked calmly.
The flick of Colm’s gaze indicated longer than he would have liked. “Ten minutes.”
Ten minutes was more than long enough for Drulougan to be picking her out of his teeth. Half a heartbeat was all he would need to turn her to ash.
