Page 48 of The Assassin's Bride

Hedidn'tknow what to do. Whether he should pace or be still, whether he should rejoin her or stay where he was. She solved that part for him, crossing the room to lean her hip against the counter and wait. “A boy as a messenger, hmm?”

“Children are unthreatening and easily trusted. He will get much farther in delivering that message than you or I.” He propped his hands against the counter as he watched the cobbler take the broom and continue cleaning.

Thea watched, too. There was something charming about the simple tedium of keeping a shop. The rasp of the broom was soothing, pleasant, and she let it fill the air while they waited.

Outside, night deepened, and just when Thea began to wonder what they were waiting for, the boy returned.

“They're coming,” the child announced before his father chased him into the back room.

The cobbler paused in the doorway and started to speak twice over before he shook his head and said simply, “I'll lock up after you're gone.”

Gil nodded. “You have my thanks. We won't be long.”

“Won't we?” Thea asked softly. The words had scarcely left her lips before a chorus of booted footsteps and the rattle of heavy armor flooded the street outside. A group of armored guards passed the window with lanterns in hand and a moment later, the door slammed open and she clapped a hand to her mouth.

All of a sudden, the familiarity of Gil's informant's name made sense.

It was not a mere informant named after a legend that stood panting in the doorway.

It was Rilion, Third Prince of Ranor.

CHAPTERSEVENTEEN

“I am late,”Gil announced.

The prince looked as if he might choke. “By the One, you're alive!” He crossed the room in a rush and greeted Gil by clasping his arms. Relief made his shoulders go slack, but a moment later, his lip twisted. “What's happened to your face?”

“I've been forced to admit that between the two of us, you are more handsome.”

Now it was Thea's turn to choke. The statement was thick with the sarcasm of some long-running joke, but it fit with what she had heard. Prince Rilion's looks were the whole reason she knew who he was. He was dark-eyed, dark-haired, and bore such strikingly attractive features that half the women in Kentoria fantasized about somehow finding themselves his royal match. Elia had gone through a phase of it; she was of distant relation to some royal on her mother's side, and in her teenage years, she'd thought it possible. Thea kept her hand clamped firmly over her mouth to hide her smile. What her cousin wouldn't give to be in this random Ranorsh cobbler's shop now.

“I always knew you'd come around to it someday.” Rilion exhaled hard and raked his hands through the hair at his temples. “Light, how could you do this to me? Getting to that outpost was no small feat, and then when you didn't arrive—”

Gil held up a hand to forestall him. “I don't fault you for leaving. I only feared you'd try to take things into your own hands. We have need of shelter, somewhere to hide while I evaluate the situation and prepare for the next step. Are you able to host us?”

“We?” Rilion repeated. His eyes darted to Thea.

She didn't know whether to bow or merely greet him, given the informal way he spoke with Gil. In the end, she gave an awkward curtsy and bowed her head.

“A Threadmancer,” Gil said. “I will tell you everything, but you know we have little time.”

Rilion straightened as if the title impressed him. “That explains your face. I can give you someplace to stay, but my father must not know. You'll be restricted to one of the guest houses. One of my personal guards will escort you there, and I will join you after I've supplied a sufficient excuse for why I am not at dinner.” His mouth twisted with a caricature of a smile.

Gil snorted. “Be hasty, then.”

The prince stepped away, but not before sharing a rude gesture.

Gil waved a hand and moved to Thea's side. Rilion gave orders to his men with just a flick of his fingers. One remained while the others fell in beside him on their way back to the palace.

“Now you see why trying to reach him at home was a poor idea,” Gil said dryly. He fished the last of his Ranorsh currency from his pocket and left it on the counter before he nodded to the one guard who remained.

Thea could have laughed at the absurdity of it all. “And you didn't think to warn me?”

“The fewer people who know what we're up to, the better.”

The guard led them from the cobbler's shop and Gil closed the door securely as they left. His statement had not been posed threateningly, but it left her unsettled, so Thea remained silent as they followed the guard through the city's streets.

A few curious people stopped to watch them pass, but no one lingered long. Thea worried their guard escort would draw unwanted attention, but the one leading them was not the only guard wandering the city. After she spotted two others speaking with people on the street and giving directions, she relaxed. Bothering members of the guard with something as menial as navigation was unthinkable in Kentoria; it gave the armored men here a softer image.

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