Rune didn’t want to hear an apology from me. I was an assassin who had been sent here to kill him. Even though I’d decided against it, that didn’t change the truth about who I was.
All I could do was give him a nod, then dash into the trees. The forest swallowed me whole.
16
RUNE
“What in fate’s name was that about?” were the first words out of Lilia’s mouth when I’d collected myself enough to step through the door. The scent of stew filled the room, but my appetite was shot now. I couldn’t eat when I knew the guild had finally sent someone for me—someone I’d wanted to believe was too good to be one of them.
I heaved a tired sigh, thundered over to the table, and collapsed into an open chair. It was just so fucking disappointing. Frida’s sweet smile, the light in her eyes when she gazed upon the world with pure delight. All of it was fake. Assassins didn’t look at anything that way.
“You remember the Assassin’s Guild?” I asked Ragnar.
His face instantly clouded over. “How could I forget? They used to be in league with the Mercenaries Guild. When I first visited the Isles a few decades ago, they chased me here and triedto make me pay my brother’s debts. Why? What does that have to do with Frida?”
“I was in the guild before I came here.”
“That’s right. I always forget you were a member,” Lilia said, frowning. “Sorry Rune. You’re just nothing like the others I’ve met.”
“Neither is Frida,” I said quietly.
Ragnar straightened. “That sweet elven lass we just met? Surely she can’t be.”
I held up the ball of parchment she’d tossed to the ground, then passed it over to Ragnar. I’d read the words outside while she’d been collecting her pack from the cottage. It corroborated what she’d told me. This was her first assignment, and she’d originally come here thinking she had to steal a dragon.
I was more relieved than I should have been. When I’d caught her out there with a messenger owl, I’d braced myself for a fictionalized tale good enough for a Silva Sweetwater novel. And at first, that was all it had seemed to be. A sad story about her family provided a good excuse.
But then she’d gone to ground, and I’d read the note she’d left behind, and a part of me wanted to believe every word that came out of that pretty mouth.
Ragnar quickly read the message and loosed a low whistle. Grimacing, he passed it to Lilia. “Looks like they finally figured out a way to get around the island’s magic.”
I nodded. “If they send someone who doesn’t know why they’re coming here, it’s the perfect trick. Of course, it’s not easy to replicate. They needed someone who was new to the guild and didn’t know better. Also someone willing to go on a nonsensical assignment. Who in their right mind thinks they can steal a bloody dragon?”
Lilia pursed her lips. “Do you think Frida believed she’d be successful?”
“From what she told me, it didn’t matter. She was desperate enough to try.”
“Why?” Lilia asked.
I ran a hand along the top of my head, sighing. “Her father is Erik’s right-hand man. She’s a Rurik. They’re all guild members and always have been.”
Lilia looked to Ragnar, who nodded. “They’ve been a part of the guild for a very long time. I’m surprised Frida is joining so late. Family members tend to join young. Too young, if you ask me.”
I quickly filled them in on the rest of Frida’s story. And as I recounted her words, an image of her tear-stained face flashed in my mind. My stomach twisted. Either she was an excellent actress, or she truly regretted ever considering a life in the guild.
After I’d told them what I knew, Ragnar frowned. “Rune, surely you don’t mean for her to return to the guild empty-handed. We both know what they’re like and the lengths they’re willing to go to in order to get what they want.”
“What are you trying to say?” Lilia asked, alarmed.
“If this is Frida’s induction assignment, that means she’s not an official member of the guild yet, which means she lives outside the bounds of their protection.”
I shook my head. “Her father would never let Erik punish her in that way.”
“You might be right,” Ragnar conceded. “But I wouldn’t be willing to stake gold on that. Would you?”
“You should tell her to stay here,” Lilia said. “They won’t let her join if she doesn’t complete the assignment, so she has no reason to go back to Vilmar.”
“They’ll send someone else if she never returns,” Ragnar said.
