Page 22 of The King's Sword
“I can wait below deck while you fix it,” she suggested. She’d never been to an inn before and had no idea what it entailed.
He eyed her. “I have to get the part. I don’t want to leave you alone on the ship.”
“But you’ll leave me at an inn?”
A smile slid over his face. “I’ll leave you at therightinn.”
She had no idea what he meant by that. However, she was too cold to argue with him. Besides, if going to an inn meant seeing Avoni, she would do it. “Fine.” She gestured for him to lead the way.
Evander headed along the dock toward the land. Turning to the left, he walked along the road parallel to the water. Sabine followed him, taking in the small town. Most of the buildings were brown and black single story structures with oddly shaped green roofs. There were people out and about as if it weren’t raining, heading to the docks or in and out of the businesses.
After three blocks, Evander stopped before a building with an odd sign hanging over the door. It had symbols instead of words, so Sabine had no idea what it said or meant. There was an odd similarity to the papers she’d gathered from the Avoni delegation’s rooms. “Do people in Avoni use another language?” she asked. The members of the delegation had all spoken the same language as her, so she never thought to ask about it.
“Some still speak an ancient tongue. However, everyone knows the common language.” He went to the door, holding it open for her.
Sabine stepped into a rectangular room with only a counter on the one side, a young woman standing behind it. There were no pictures, no furnishings, and no decorations. Just dark brown wood walls and a ceiling to match.
Evander went over and spoke to the woman so softly that Sabine couldn’t hear what they were saying even though the room was rather small. When their whispers became harsh, Sabine wondered if there was a problem. She was just about to ask when Evander came over and took hold of her elbow, pulling her toward the back wall. He reached out and touched what looked like a knot in the wood, and a door swung open, revealing a long hallway.
“What’s going on?” Sabine asked, her heart beating quickly, sensing something amiss.
Evander ushered her into the hallway, closing the door behind them. He led the way down the corridor, stopping at the third door on the right. After unlocking it, he grabbed the handle and slid the door sideways, gesturing for her to enter the room.
Evander came in after her, closing and locking the door before dropping their bags on the floor. He began pacing, his hands on his hips.
Since Sabine had never been to an inn before, she ignored him and observed her surroundings. A large bed took up the middle of the room. But it wasn’t like the beds she was used to because this one was on the floor, leaving no space beneath it. No other furniture was in the room. The pale yellow walls held no artwork, and there wasn’t even a curtain at the window. She imagined this was what the servants’ rooms at her parents’ castle looked like—simple, small, and clean.
She removed her wet cape, setting it aside so it could dry. While she wanted to change, she refused to do so with Evander in the room. She sat on the edge of the bed and watched him, waiting for him to finally tell her what was bothering him.
He stopped and looked at her. “We have an issue.”
She’d gathered that. When he didn’t extrapolate, she asked, “What is it?”
“About an hour ago, a man was here in town asking about someone matching your exact description.” He folded his arms.
“It probably doesn’t mean anything,” she assured him. “Or it wasn’t even me he was asking about. We hadn’t even planned on coming here, so no one would be here looking for me.” She reached down and removed her wet boots.
“He’s from the Black Daggers,” he said as if speaking to a child.
She had no idea what that was, so she shrugged.
“It’s one of the five assassin guilds here in Avoni.”
“Are you certain?” she asked as terror gripped her chest.
He tilted his head and looked pointedly at her.
She hadn’t realized her question was that stupid to him. “Do you think it was the man Lottie sent after me?”
“That would be my guess.”
“I thought he would be following Anton and the decoy.”
“He probably was. When he realized it was a decoy, he changed course and set out after us.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “We did spend that extra time in port, so it makes sense he would have arrived here before us.”
“But why here?”
“Because this is a major trading port in Avoni. It’s a place we’d stop for food or supplies. He knows I prefer sailing over walking.”
