One to share, even nicer.
But he wouldn’t push his luck. “That’ll do for now.”
She scurried off.
Gisela turned toward him with an arched brow. “You certainly know how to handle others.”
Whenever she said things like that, he suspected it was to get a rise from him…in more ways than one.
It had to be. She wasn’tthatinnocent.
Little did she know, one of the rises happened almost every time she drew near him.
Sighing in unspent irritation, he downed his ale. “Did you find out anything interesting in your sweep of the room?”
“Only that we’re a day and a half out from reaching Cryxa. The docks there are where we’ll supposedly find Marauder ships in port.”
So nothing he didn’t already know. But he wasn’t about to tell her that. She didn’t like it when she didn’t feel useful.
“Our information better be right.” It seemed a little pat for a merman to be in love with a Marauder. But then it made sense. Who better to fall in love with a fish than a human who spent most of their life on a boat?
Pat or not, it made logical sense.
She sat beside him and leaned in close. “Have you spoken anymore with your real brother?”
He shook his head. “I don’t want the other one to get suspicious.” He cut a meaningful glance toward the Masakage in the corner, laying out cards. Something his Masakage didn’t do. He read coins and tea leaves.
Masakage had always claimed the cards took a price he wasn’t willing to pay.
While Xaydin had been curious about that, he hadn’t been curious enough to pursue a more definitive answer. Not that he was even sure Masakage would answer under torture. His brother cherished secrets.
She took a sip of her ale. “Do you think word has reached Ronan yet?”
He shrugged. “I won’t know until he appears.”
“That’s unfortunate. One would think with all the magic that there was an easier way to stay in touch.”
“There are other ways.”
That surprised her. “Such as?”
“I can use a mirror to talk to Candara anytime I choose.”
“Really?”
He nodded. “Or any shiny object, really.”
“How would you do that?”
The hairs on the back of his neck rose. But that was just his suspicious nature. He doubted if she’d ever use the information against him.
Then again, that was the point of betrayal. It always came from a trusted hand. The one you’d never believe would do such a godawful thing.
Gisela offered him a kind smile. “I understand. I wouldn’t trust me either. It was a thoughtless thing to ask. I was just curious is all.”
And that only made him want to trust her more. Because she understood and backed off without his having to explain it.
She was a rarity in this world, and he was jaded enough to appreciate her unique insights.
