This time, she wasn’t exaggerating. We rounded a bend in the passage and found ourselves facing a plain, unmarked door, which she pushed open. We followed, Octavian positioning himself in front of me as if to protect me from whatever waited inside.
On the other side was a large, surprisingly high-ceilinged room that currently contained at least a dozen people—and, oddly, nearly twice as many small birds. The birds flitted about, alighting on bits of furniture or the natural ledges that occurred in the room’s rough-hewn walls—or, on occasion, on one of the room’s human occupants.
The room itself was unexpectedly cozy, with layers of carpets on the floor and plush, well-worn couches and chairs along the edge of the room. The stone walls were draped with patterned fabric or painted with more murals—and while these paintings weren’t as detailed or as technically perfect as the other ones we’d passed, there was a vibrancy to their strokes that filled the room with energy.
At the far side of the room was a long table of aged gray wood, where most of the people here were clearly enjoying the remains of their breakfast. Their laughter and voices died off when they saw the girl—and us.
“I’ve brought you all a surprise,” she announced to the room, practically bursting with enthusiasm. “We were right. He’s back.”
Several of the men and women had risen, but one in particular caught my eye—a broad-shouldered fellow about Octavian’s age. His dark, wavy hair had a single golden streak sprouting from just above his brow, and the kohl he wore around his eyes made his dark irises pop against his golden brown skin. He wore his facial hair short and trimmed in that way that gave him perfect perpetual stubble—well, perfect except for the scar that slashed across the right side of his jaw. Everything about the guy gave me killerrock starvibes.
Like the girl who’d led us here, he ignored me completely in favor of my large, muscular companion. And even though Octavian still wore his hooded cloak, only a few seconds passed before recognition flashed in the other man’s eyes.
He stepped forward. Everyone else remained quiet, unmoving, and even the birds had fallen silent, as if they knew something important was happening. One of the birds—a swallow, I think—swooped down from the ceiling and landed on the approaching man’s shoulder. The little bird cocked its head as if studying us, tweeted a few strains into his perch’s ear, then flitted back up to the ceiling again while the man never broke his stride.
“Take down your hood,” the man said to Octavian.
Octavian did as he was commanded, lowering the fabric so that his face was clearly visible.
The man—ithadto be Talon—came closer, a dozen emotions playing across his face at once. Unlike Octavian—or all three of the brothers, really—he either had no ability to or interest in masking his expression, and his dark eyes danced like there were living flames inside them. I couldn’t have said whether he was overjoyed or suspicious or pissed at our sudden appearance.
And then, faster than a blink, his fist shot out, straight for Octavian’s face.
I jumped back instinctively, startled by the sudden movement, but apparently Octavian was ready. He skillfully dodged Talon’s first attack, and the one that came after—and within seconds, the two were striking and dodging in what frankly looked like a practiced routine.Up, down. Left, right. Down, up, down—
Octavian’s arm arced down from above, aiming for the place where the other man’s neck met his shoulder. But both of Talon’s hands came up, blocking Octavian’s blow and trapping his hand in both of his.
And then Talon’s face spread into a wide grin, and he let out a great laugh. “So it’s true—the legendary hero of Therador has returned to us!”
Legendary hero?
I looked up at Octavian. Given his size, musculature, and aggressive protectiveness, I wasn’t especially surprised to hear that he was considered a hero. Iwassurprised, however, that this had never been mentioned to me before. And to find, as I glanced around the room, that everyone else in here was looking at him like he was some sort ofgod.
Everyone except Talon, who spread his arms, still laughing. “Aren’t you going to greet your old friend?”
Their little scuffle had apparently shattered all of Octavian’s reservations.
“Talon,” he said warmly.
The pair clapped each other on the back in a classic man-hug, and though both were clearly trying to keep their cool, it was obvious that this reunion was a meaningful one.
“You’ve gotten taller since the last time I saw you,” Talon said, stepping back and looking up at his friend. He wasn’t a small man, but he was dwarfed next to Octavian. He rubbed his chin. “Broader, too. Have you been off training in a cave somewhere?”
“You’ve changed, too,” Octavian rumbled in response. “I don’t remember you being able to grow a beard.”
Talon tipped his head back and laughed again.
“A lot can happen in ten years,” he said, his eyes bright with mirth but his tone growing serious. “But I’m sure you know that better than anyone, old friend.” His gaze flicked past Octavian’s thick arm, landing on me for the first time. “And I see you’ve picked up a new little friend along the way. Good. I never thought I’d see you get over Esmerine.”
“Who?” Octavian asked.
Talon gave him a funny look, then shook his head, his smile returning. Three different birds flapped down from the ceiling and landed on his shoulders, two on one side and one on the other. “Never mind, I’m just glad you’ve returned to us. Come, both of you. Have you had breakfast yet? We’ve plenty to share.”
At the wordbreakfast, my mouth began to water, and I was more than happy to follow Talon over to the long table. If Octavian had decided we could trust these people, that was good enough for me.
“Over here.” The cheerful girl who’d led us here waved me over to a chair next to hers, and I was too hungry to be picky about where I sat. I slid into the chair and stared at the tempting spread in front of me—meat, eggs, crusty bread, and an entire bowl of colorful, unusual fruit.
I took a little of everything—just a little, because even though I was starving, I was still very aware that Octavian and I were guests. These people seemed friendly enough, but I didn’t want to inadvertently break any Theradorian etiquette and make things weird.
