The corners of his lips lifted. “Like I said, I’m looking for someone. A certain dragon slayer.”
Insides clenching, she turned her back to him, pretending to be completely unaffected by the male’s words as she continued to polish the row of freshly washed mugs.
“I was told he frequents this tavern. Nyro is the name that he goes by, I believe. Perhaps you’ve heard of him?”
“Hmm.” Her mind swam.Shit.“What do you need a renegade dragon slayer for? I thought the Crown had their own men for taking care of unruly beasts?”
The Captain chuckled, the sound so unexpected that it got her spinning to face him. “So youhaveheard of him.” A knowing look passed between them. Straightening, he threw a pair of gold coins onto the counter, his two drinks left almost completely untouched. “Tell your friend that Linus was looking for him, and that he would like to proposition him for a certain job. If he accepts, his record will be wiped clean, and he will be a free man once more. He knows where to find me.”
Heart hammering away, she could only stare after the warrior as he adjusted his weapon, and without a second glance, sauntered out of the establishment.
The cloth in her hand felt heavy, her breaths coming in short, shallow gulps as she struggled to breathe, the room around her tilting on its axis. She bolted, desperate to get some oxygen into her failing lungs.
Crashing through the back door, she let the cool autumn wind sweep over her, calming her ragingthoughts. As fresh air entered her shaking body, the looming panic slowly began to subside.
“Nyra?” the cook’s melodic voice reached her. “What are you doing out here?”
Inhaling deep breaths, she faced the stout woman. “They found me.”
A loud clang erupted around them as the clay pot in her hands came crashing down, lying in shatters around their feet. “What!? How?! What are you going to do?!”
Nyra sighed, dejected, her mind swarming with possibilities. What, indeed, was she to do? She had been on the run for so long now, hiding from the authorities and the very man that the Captain represented, always two steps ahead of them, had even come to a point when she had naively thought herself to be finally safe.
It was risky, her flighty way of life, but luckily for her, she didn’t have any living family members, and so didn’t have to fend for anyone but herself.
Her delusions of safety had come crashing down the moment the middle-aged warrior walked into the tavern that day, the reality that she would never be truly free laying heavy on her over-exhausted mind.
“I don’t know, Margot.” She palmed her face. “There’s no point in running away again. If they’ve found me here, they’ll find me anywhere.”
There was only one obvious solution to her never-ending problem. Perhaps it was time that she finally accepted her fate, whatever it may be, for she was sick of living in constant fear, of thinking that at any given moment someone will come and take her away only to be locked up in some dark dungeon, never to be seen again.
“Oh, honey.” The copper haired woman’s arms went around her, holding Nyra close to her ample bosom. “Maybe it’s for the best. This was no way to live. Besides, I’m sure they will understand once you explain everything to them.”
Nyra wasn’t so sure, but she really didn’t have a choice, for deny it or not, her time was up.
“I’m to meet with the Captain of the King’s Guard. He wants to offer me a job. Margot–” she mumbled as the cook pressed Nyra firmly onto her chest, “–you’re suffocating me.”
The woman released her, muttering apologies under her breath. “Seems to me like you’ve already made up your mind. Better to get it over with then, I suppose. Come now.” A chubby arm hooked under Nyra’s as they made their way to the kitchen. “The dishes aren’t going to wash themselves, my dear. Best get started.”
?
The smell of ash and cedar reached Nyra Haldane as she stood in front of the temporary military barracks, the wind blowing her long red hair around her face, its vibrant hue of ripe raspberries making it appear as if her head was ablaze.
All night she had tossed and turned, her mind not allowing her even the slightest break before she finally gave up on sleeping and prepared herself. There was no point in prolonging the inevitable, she might as well get it over and done with.
So, while Margot and their guests were firmly sleeping in their warm beds, she had stolen out at the break of dawn and made her way down to the encampment.
The Captain’s tent stood twenty feet from her, its ivory flaps swinging on the wind, beckoning her to step into the unknown.
You can do this, Nyra.
She remained standing.
“You know,” the Captain’s voice came from behind her, “it might help if you actually moved your feet. That is what walking entails.”
Cursing under her breath for being caught in her moment of weakness, Nyra followed the warrior into his tent, anxious to get the formalities over with.
A large oak desk was planted at the far end of one wall, with piles of papers and a pair of brightly lit lanterns decorating its top. A makeshift bed lay a few feet away from it, covered in an array of brown furs, making it appear as if a huge bear had collapsed onto the soft mattress and was taking one of its deep slumbers on it. An adjoining room could be seen off to one side, which Nyra could only assume was a bathing chamber.
