Ramaro squirmed in Marc’s hold. “You can let me go!”
The captain slipped his hands beneath Ramaro’s armpits and held him aloft in front of him. “Now you see why I need to do this.”
“You’re the one who got us into trouble there!” Ramaro snapped.
“Minor details,” Marc mused as he turned to me and nodded at my oversized coat. “Open up.”
I reluctantly opened the coat and revealed a small hammock-like bag strapped around my waist. Marc dropped Ramaro face-first in there like it was a kangaroo pouch. The agama’s muffled voice came out of the cloth as he thrashed about, his tail stuck in the air.
“Curfe you! Damf stufid humans!”
I slipped my hands inside and turned him around so his head stuck out. “Is that comfortable?”
He grasped the front of the pouch with his paws and glared up at me. “What do you think?”
“You can always swim back and start your mousing,” Marc suggested.
Ramaro cast him one last dark look before he ducked into the pouch. His dampened voice floated out to us. “Just close the coat and get on with it before those fools come back.”
I drew the two sides of the coat over him and buttoned them together. A bump appeared, and I couldn’t help but grin at my appearance. I turned to the side and looked at my companion. “What do you think? Do I look pregnant?”
He folded his arms over his chest and grinned. “The look suits you. You should make it more permanent.”
A heavy blush accented my cheeks, but I cleared my throat. “I, um, I hadn’t really thought about it.”
My ‘baby bump’ was knocked from the inside. “You have time to think about it while walking!”
Marc offered me his hand. “Shall we, my bearing bride?”
I couldn’t have looked any more embarrassed, but I took his hand. We had to look the part. At least, that was the excuse I gave myself as I let him lead me down the winding streets. The fog had completely vanished, and a faint light in the east told me a new day would begin within a few hours.
The skyline of the city was always accented by that pointed tower. I felt mesmerized by that peaked edifice, so high above even the majestic homes and public buildings. Its white exterior shimmered even in the darkness, helped along by a soft glow of light that emanated from the base.
The street widened and revealed the large square occupied by the tower. The imposing structure split the sky like a knife, and the torches positioned on either side of the doorway at its base gave off a soft red light. Its appearance reminded me of a blade aflame.
A question popped into my mind. It seemed to be put there by some exterior force. “Who built it?”
Chapter 8
Marc lifted an eyebrow at me. “What makes you think it was someone other than the people who live here?”
I couldn’t take my eyes off the monument to someone’s ingenuity. “I don’t know. I just have a feeling it’s been standing here for a long time. A very long time.”
“You’re right,” he revealed as he sidled up close beside me and tilted his head back to survey the sight. “The tower was here even before the capital. That’s why the Admiralty wanted this place from the king. They saw the tower as a symbol of their power. It’s even on their crest.”
I couldn’t speak above a whisper. “Then nobody knows who built it?”
“Nobody.” He turned his attention to me, and there was concern in his eyes. “What made you ask that question?”
“I don’t know.” I swallowed hard, and some of the spell was broken. “Anyway, I suppose we couldn’t go inside tonight, could we?”
He tightened his grip on my hand. “Not this night. It’s almost over, and we need to avoid more of those Ironshores.”
I blinked at him as he skirted us around the southern part of the square. “Ironshores? You mean the men we met?”
“They’re part of the Ironshore Legion, the soldiers of the Admiralty who crawl on the land to do their bidding.”
I glanced over my shoulder. The dancing flames seemed to beckon to me.
