Elric nudged him with his hammer. “Apologize to the lass.”
“Forgive me,” Cassiel mumbled and cringed at how difficult it was to say. Apologizing wasn’t something he did often, but in this case, she made him want to change that.
“Louder, so we can all hear you!” someone in the crowd hollered. Several agreed in loud cackles.
He might have spat a curse if he hadn’t noted a smile pulling on the corners of Dyna’s lips. Well, if it would make her happy, he’d gladly comply.
“I’m sorry,” he announced. A collective cheer and laughter went through the crowd, and they clapped in approval. She allowed him to adjust the sleeves of her dress and right her tousled hair behind her ears. “I left in a hurry to find the others, but I assumed you followed. I did not intend to leave you. That is one thing I would never do.”
Dyna’s eyes lifted to him and held.
“Now kiss her!” another hooted.
The people whistled and jeered with mocking laughter. Cassiel rolled his eyes. They were out of their bloody minds.
The orc chuckled. “You said she’s yours. What man doesn’t give his mate a kiss?”
Dyna’s eyes widened. Well, it wasn’t as though he spoke a lie. She was his, in a manner of speaking. In an unauthentic, insignificant, meaningless manner of speaking.
“Husband,” Dyna said, her voice sending a tingle down his spine. A small smirk played on her mouth. She startled him when she rose on her toes and lightly pressed her soft lips to his cheek. “Come, I’m tired and would like to retreat for the evening,” she said aloud for others to hear, and linked her arm through his.
Their audience erupted in protests.
“Enough!” Elric parted the throng of drunks aside with a threatening wave of his hammer. Cassiel led Dyna after his rumbling steps until they reached the stairwell at the other end of the tavern.
“Thank you, Master Orc.”
Elric grunted. “Think nothing of it. Have this teach you it won’t do to leave a lady unescorted in this city or any other.”
It was the same warning given to him that day. Cassiel instinctively tugged Dyna closer to him.
“You’ll do well to keep yourself out of sight as well, divine one.”
“Unfortunately, he knows my secret,” Cassiel told Dyna at the jolt of her alarm. “He nearly tore off my coat.”
Elric winked at her. “Aye, we were in a bit of a scuffle. Not that he didn’t deserve it, mind you. If he was any other bloke, I would have felled him.”
Dyna smiled. “Thank you for your help.”
“You’re welcome, lass. You tell me if he makes you cry again. I’ll teach him to mind his manners.” Elric gave Cassiel a warning glare before heading back into the crowd.
Once the orc left, they idled in the stairwell, with the tumult of the busy tavern between them. His cheek tingled where her lips had brushed.
“Did you find the others?” Dyna asked.
Cassiel scratched at his neck, feeling her stare. “No. They must have retired. We don’t know what rooms they are in, and there is no way to contact them. I suppose this means …” He swallowed; his throat suddenly dry. “We will share a room tonight.”
“Oh …”
“There is no other choice.” He climbed the stairs, struggling with a sudden bout of nerves. There wasn’t anything else he could do about the situation.
What would the others think of this? The question sprouted a layer of sweat along his back. What choice did he have? If Rawn and the others had been in the lobby, they would have found them. No one could have missed the spectacle they had made.
All he could hope for was that Zev wouldn’t kill him.
Chapter 42
Cassiel
