She’s cute!A voice spoke on his left.
Janus was precisely as described: a deeply troubled young woman who was charming enough in her own strange way once the ice she’d built around herself thawed.
And she was naive. Not once had Talon glimpsed a flicker of doubt cross her eyes. She had no idea who he truly was.
* * *
Two weeks into their ride, they arrived at the Altanese border. Four days later, the shadows of mountains loomed on the horizon. Gone were the fields of flat shrub lands and rocky earth, replaced with packed soil and thin pine trees.
The trip had gone well. Whoever attacked them that night at the inn had not returned. But would more be lurking in the city?
Indiscriminate chattering trailed after Talon’s horse, never more than a few paces behind.
Reaching into his satchel, Talon pulled a small hand mirror from his bag and studied his hair, hoping to distract himself from the voices. They were active today.
He’s always looking in mirrors.One voice taunted.
He’s vain.Another agreed.
Shoving the mirror back into his bag, Talon bit back his retort. What else could these bodiless voices be but the gods? Before he’d begun hearing the cefran deities, he had not expected them to be suchpiddling assholes. Nor did he understand why they chattered incessantly over his shoulder but no one else’s.
“Janus,” Talon called, glancing over his shoulder.
The girl had her nose in a book—a thick tome with slightly tattered edges. If she heard his voice, she ignored it.
“Janus!” Talon tried again.
Hearing her name this time, Janus looked up. “Hm?”
“Look.”
Pulling her paint horse beside his, Janus followed his gaze, only just noticing the city’s silhouette in the distance.
The road swerved through the pines, following a river before rising up a tall mountain. A town of simple wooden shacks gathered around the mountain’s base and outside its dark-gray walls. Hefty, wide stone steps led into the city proper, where buildings were carved into the mountainside.
The palace towered above, spires rising to the clouds. Green, red, and yellow banners waved from rooftops, mere smudges in the distance, painting a colorful aura over the stone.
“Finally!” Janus slumped in relief. “I think my thighs are going to fall off if I spend another day on this saddle.” She leaned forward. “It’s beautiful. The stonework looks positively ancient.”
Right. Talon had pretended to care about architecture whenever Janus rambled about it. He shifted in his saddle to face Janus. “Weisskopf’s fifteen hundred years old, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. Well-crafted, well-maintained, with centuries of history. Think of all the secrets hiding under the mountain.” Janus’s face lit up, the corner of her lips curling up between every word.
“Hoping to go exploring?”
“Could probably find some catacombs, collapsed escape tunnels. Maybe a few sealed-off personal chambers for revered ancestors.” Janus mumbled, more to herself than an answer.
The growing confidence Janus had exhibited crumbled apart as they merged with the crowd of travelers housing their horses and making their way into the city. She shrank into herself, glued between Talon and one of her guards.
Looking over at his traveling companion, Talon sighed. “I guess this is where we say goodbye.”
“What?” Janus blinked a few times. “Why?”
“I’llbe back for your tour in the morning, but I have to find accommodations of my own.”
“You don’t have to.” Janus blurted out. “You can stay with me.”
“Are you offering me free room and board?”
