But I sought Aiden’s gaze.
His smile was quieter than the others, more reserved, but his eyes glowed with admiration. Somehow, I knew that he’d guessed my game and stayed silent while I hustled the cursing oaf behind me.
I pried the knives out of the target and waved them at Beady Eyes. “These are my prize.”
He clenched his fists. “You cheated.”
“No. I simply have more skill than you.”
He growled, stalking toward me, but stopped abruptly when two pillars of muscle flanked me.
“Careful, cow herder,” Maz warned.
“Touch her,” Aiden growled, “and we’ll strap you to the target where she’ll show you just how much skill she has.”
I blinked at such rage, such violence, on my behalf. Only Renwell had ever been so protective of me. But it felt different coming from two men who knew me so little. The sensation was uncomfortable, yet not altogether unpleasant.
Beak Nose tugged on his friend’s arm. “Let the girl have my cheap old knives. Come on, there’s more sport to be had atThe Broken Coin.” With one last nasty look over his shoulder, Beady Eyes allowed himself to be dragged from the tavern.
Another round of cheers went up, and Iris filled everyone’s cups.
More contenders offered to play me, and before another hour had passed, I had a small purse of coins, a few free drinks, and a jaunty, feathered cap from a fletcher who nearly beat me. Maz kept stealing the hat from me and belting out drinking songs with the ridiculous peacock feathers bobbing in his face.
Flushed with success and Sunshine, I pressed a few coins into Iris’s palm. She tried to wave me off, saying Aiden had paid her already, but I insisted. I hadn’t realized how good it would feel to pay for something.
As others competed against each at throwing, I settled onto a high stool next to Aiden, who hadn’t thrown once. He nursed a single mug of mead as if he couldn’t have another.
I brushed my sweaty hair off my forehead and smiled at him, jingling my purse. “Care to challenge me as well?”
“Maybe some other time. I would like to offer you a job instead.”
My eyebrows arched. “You’ll let me work with Ruru?”
He nodded slowly, as if still coming to terms with his decision. “I have a job I could use some help with, but in the meantime, I’m sure Ruru won’t mind sharing the work he picksup around the city as a courier. He’ll show you the ropes, and the two of you can work side by side until you’re ready to be on your own.”
I flipped one of my newly won knives over and over. “You realize you’ll have to tell me what your business is.”
“I work in shipping. I send and receive cargo, which is then distributed to its buyers.”
Shipping. I blinked at how easily he divulged his work. But shipping made sense. He had a warehouse full of crates. He’d mentioned “his” captain. Skeevy or Skully or something. People seemed to come to him for things.
But it seemed so... ordinary for a man who’d snuck into the Den and killed Shadow-Wolves.
“Do you ship things for Melaena?” I asked, piecing together more information.
“Yes, she’s my main business associate. A lot of what is in the warehouse is hers.”
“Does that mean I get to visit it without a blindfold this time?” I teased him.
But his expression hardened. “Let me be clear, little thief. I’m offering you this job because you’ve shown you’re capable. And you were right. I don’t want to always assign a guard to you to ensure that you are behaving yourself. You may help Ruru with his work, but you are not privy to all parts of my business. If I feel that you have endangered my operation or my people in any way, I will have Skelly drop you on the farthest island in Eloren with only snakes and rats for company.”
“Death, then,” I said flatly, clutching my knives.
“A chance to survive.” His words echoed my earlier ones.
Without warning, he stole one of my knives and whipped it between the two men currently throwing. It slammed into the bullseye dead-center.
Everyone turned to stare. Maz chuckled and shook his head, the peacock feather drooping into his cup.
