Shae leans back against the cushions and prods his shoulder, seeking out the bruises. “Thanks for picking me up. I appreciate that.”
“Just paying it forward.” She sips from her tankard. “Reed here’s picked me up off the side of the road enough times, I need to balance out my karma.”
“You’renotwelcome,” Reed calls from across the room. The others laugh.
Georgia flips him a rude gesture. “Besides, the information you gave last time was good. We slew three vaidkos outside the town graveyard, so thanks for that, now we’re even,” she tells Shae. “Your horse is in our yard. You’re welcome to leave whenever you can walk out.”
To the point, no unnecessary questions. She doesn’t ask where his paladin friend is. She isn’t friendly, but she doesn’t hate him on sight either. This might be better, actually. Shae doesn’t have the strength to deal with friendliness right now. All his focus has to be on his mission.
But he can’t do it alone.
“Thanks,” he says again. “Are you still under contract to hunt vaidkos?”
She cocks her head. “Aye.”
Shae twists one of his rings. “I know where they’re coming from,” he says. “I can lead you to the source, in exchange for protection. But it’s going to be dangerous”
Georgia eyes him up and down, then yells over her shoulder, “Reed, sweetheart, another ale over here!” She turns back to Shae and says, “Tell me more, darling. I’m all ears.”
?
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Arthur
Arthur doesn’t watch Shae ride away, but every word of the conversation replays in his head. He can’t figure out where it went wrong. He was so sure Shae would agree to stay, just for a couple of days. Shae has his own regrets—shouldn’t he understand Arthur’s need to absolve himself?
As he heads back into camp, he touches his pendant. The metal is cold.
Freya catches him before he gets to Tanner’s tent. “The necromancer left?”
“He had business elsewhere,” Arthur says.
“Probably for the best.” She claps Arthur on the shoulder and grins at him, teeth bright against her brown skin. “It’s good to have you back.”
“It’s good to be back,” Arthur says, but the words feel hollow. They shouldn’t. This is where he belongs, serving Vara’s Radiance with his brothers and sisters in the order.
Bernard joins them. “Freya and I have the next patrol, and the captain said you should come with us.”
“Perfect!” Freya says. “You can tell us everything you’ve been up to over the past year. I’m sure you’ve got stories.”
His heart eases a little with their smiles. This is what he’s missed—this warmth, this connection. He wants Shae here too, but Shae refused. That’s not his fault. “Only if you catch me up on news from Ostaris,” he says. “Did you ever get with that guardsman you were eyeing, Freya?”
Bernard bursts into laughter while Freya groans, covering her eyes in both hands. “There’s nothing to say about that!” she protests.
“She forgot the guardsman,” Bernard says, still laughing, “as soon as she met hismother.”
“Radiance.” Arthur can’t help laughing with Bernard as Freya continues hiding behind her hands. “Yes, tell me everything.”
***
They move camp when the scouting party returns—two paladins Arthur knows from Ostaris, and a squire he doesn’t recognize. With his freckled, heart-shaped face and messy auburn curls, the boy looks young, though he has to be at least eighteen to start training.
“Who’s that?” Arthur asks, helping Bernard get his gear together. His own gear never got unpacked, and he needs something to do with his hands.
Bernard glances over. “The squire? That’s Karis. He has tracking magic, among other things.”
“Huh.” Sure enough, there’s a glint of blue and gold at the boy’s earlobe. A focus gem. “Is that why they recruited him straight out of the cradle?”
