A horrified gasp came from behind them and the collective held their breath. Waiting. Watching.
Roi held Killian by the front of his shirt and snarled in his face. “You bastard. Your father did so much for you. Took you in off the streets and gave you a home, a family, andthisis how you repaid him?”
Roi was spitting as he yelled. Drops flew out of his mouth and landed on Killian’s face.
Disgusting.
“He wasn’t perfect, but he tried. He was a soldier. And he tried to be a good husband, a good father. For Pella and Kade. For you. Tyr is a war hero. Show some respect.”
Killian licked his teeth, the tang of iron bursting on his tongue, and laughed. He couldn’t stop it. It was all so predictable. No matter what they knew of Tyr, no matter what they’d seen or heard him do, no matter how he’d really been in life. In death, he was different. He was ahero. In death, he was good. As if. “Not everyone who fought in a war is a war hero. Tyr certainly wasn’t. And neither are you.”
It maybe wasn’t the best thing to say.
Roi screeched and lunged forward, throwing the entirety ofhis weight at Killian. They stumbled, knocking into the tables around them. Those spectating jumped out of the way, grabbing hold of their drinks so they wouldn’t tip onto the floor as the tables toppled.
Killian heard both of their names being shouted. Neither one of them paid it any mind.
Roi was weaker than Killian, and shorter. It had been centuries since Roi’s time in the army.
Killian had little trouble gaining the upper hand. Slamming the older elf into the wall by the door and pinning him there with an arm across his chest, Killian’s dagger pressed firmly under his jaw.
“Get your filthy hands off me,” yelled Roi. Killian only pressed the dagger that much harder into his skin. “You can’t do this. You can’t kill me. Get off—”
“Why not?” Killian tilted his head and smiled at Roi, a fierce thing that showed his sharp canines. “You wouldn’t be the first good for nothing drunk I’ve killed in this town. You attacked the Captain of the King’s Guard, Roi Finnes, it is my right to retaliate. No one would blink an eye at your death. Not ifIcalled for it.”
Roi gulped and it was like he was seeing Killian for the first time. Seeing Killian for who he was now and not who he had been. Killian wasn’t someone he could push around anymore, someone who would stand and take a beating.
“What? Got it all off your chest, then?” Killian taunted, voice soft. “Nothing more to say?”
Steeling himself, Roi didn’t back down. “You deserved to have your head separated from your neck.”
Killian bared his teeth. “You—”
The door burst open next to them, a boy barely forty ran in, panting; calling for Kade. Kade del Torau. Healer. “Kade, thank the gods! You weren’t at home or at the river. You have to come quick. It’s Mylla. He’s hurt bad.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
KILLIAN’S EYES FOLLOWED the boy over to Kade, who was standing stock still back by the bar counter, horrified. Sila had come around at some point and was holding him back with a hand on his shoulder.
Kade’s expression was blown open, his eyes wide and distressed.
A spark of shame swirled in Killian’s chest. This wasn’t who he was meant to be around Kade.
Noticing the tense atmosphere, the boy turned and flinched when he caught sight of Killian and Roi; frozen where they were. Now stiff and scared, the boy turned and gently tugged on Kade’s sleeve. “Please. Kade. We need to hurry. My grandfather won’t last much longer.”
That got Kade moving. Shaking off Sila’s hand, he motioned for the boy to lead the way, his eyes never leaving Killian.
Sliding his dagger slowly across Roi’s neck, Killian applied just enough pressure to break the skin. Blood pooled in the cut and trickled down the older elf’s neck.
Regrettably, it wasn’t enough even to scar, but it would stand as a reminder.
Killian let Roi drop.
Roi took a gasping breath and they glared at each other, neither breaking eye contact as Killian moved to follow Kade out of the tavern.
“We’ll take my horse,” Killian called as he untied his stallion from the post outside the tavern.
Kade had been about to jump up behind the boy on a dappled grey mare. He hesitated, then patted the boy’s leg. “It’s alright, Tora, we’ll be right behind you.”
