Page 19 of The Rook

She tossed a handful of dried nuts into her mouth and chewed. She could simply turn back, but that wouldn’t really do any good. Destin wanted her to infiltrate the rebels. He expected her to disappear for some time. She smiled wryly and took a swig from her waterskin. She was in the Jester’s domain now. No doubt, he’d find her eventually. She tipped her head back and eyed the faint light shining through the tops of thetrees. If she could get high enough, then she could spot the river and follow that. Perhaps, she could discover the village where Aspen and Rina lived until Pyre decided to show his rotten mug.

The hairs along her arms rose, and Tempest stopped chewing. The woods were now silent. She released the daggers from her wrist sheaths and slowly pushed to her feet, her eyes and ears straining to discover a hint of what had spooked the birds and woodland creatures into silence. Was it a friend, foe, or the Jester?

She heard a subtle but distinct shift in the trees behind her. Tempest spun around, cocked her head to one side, and listened intently. Nothing. Her lips twitched. Whoever was watching her was not very good at remaining undetected.

“Show yourself,” she demanded.

“You do not get to command me, dog,” an annoyingly familiar voice growled, dripping with displeasure.

Lovely.Tempest’s mood fell, and she straightened somewhat, daggers loosely in hand. “Brine.” The wolf shifter stalked from the trees, finally making himself known. “Where is—”

“Too busy to deal with the likes of you,” he interrupted, thrusting a small note toward her.

“What is this?” Tempest asked, frowning. She sheathed her daggers and eyed the prickly shifter.

“Read it. Or do they not teach your mongrel group how to?”

Tempest rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to punch Brine in the face. That wouldn’t help. Brawling with the wolf wouldn’t solve anything… Although, the satisfaction of hitting himwouldgive her immense joy, she was sure.

He huffed and waved the note impatiently at her. Tempestsnatched the note from him and opened it. She eyed elegant, slanted handwriting scrawled across the paper.

Temp,

Brine needs your assistance in retrieving my stolen property. His bark is worse than his bite.

Fox

P.S. I lied. His bite hurts.

She snorted and arched a brow. How typical of the Jester.

Tempest lifted her gaze and stared pointedly at Brine. “Apparently, I am supposed to help you receive his property from a thief,” she said.

The wolf’s lips thinned, but he said nothing, merely nodding before turning tail and walking through the trees, in the direction of the coast. She sighed. Why in the blazes would Pyre team her up with Brine? The shifter had no love for her. Chances were Brine would be happy to take her out and leave her corpse behind for scavengers. She’d have to keep an eye on him. The idea of finding Rina’s village still held appeal, but ultimately, the venture was pointless. While she did not want to dance on the Jester’s puppet strings, there wasn’t much of a choice. Perhaps, she’d gain more info tailing Brine anyhow.

She adjusted the sack on her shoulder and jogged to catch up with the moody shifter. “So, where are we going?”

He said nothing. For three bloody hours.

They broke through the forest edge and began winding their way north, up the coast, following the path that Tempest had originally taken. Annoyance pricked her. She’d wasted hours walking.Hours. She winced when her left foot slipped and a sharp piece of granite poked her ankle through the worn leather. “Is there an easier way of getting to wherever we’re going?”

“Giving up already?”

For Dotae’s sake. “No,” she gritted out. “But I’m not a blasted mountain goat. This side hill and shale is killing my ankles.” Her gaze moved to the steep drop-off. “One slip, and I’d be dead.” She paused. “Unless that’s what your goal is?”

Brine snorted. He glanced over his shoulder, amusement in his dark gaze, all the while still managing to avoid every divot and pointed rock. “That would be too easy.” The shifter faced forward. “To answer your first question, we’re heading to a northern port city.” He paused. “Can’t remember the name of it to save my life. I hate the sea.”

“So, can’t we cut across easier ground to—”

“Are you telling me, a wolf, how to best navigate the environment around me to reach a destination?” he growled.

Tempest bristled. “No, but if we keep heading this way, we’ll hit the docks outside of Demrias. Don’t you want to avoid the trading city?”

Brine barked out a laugh. “We can pass through the docks no problem. Just cover your hair. If we navigatearoundthe city, our journey will take hours longer than it should, and we’ll risk getting spotted by the perimeter guards. Now, shut up and walk, dog.”

Insufferable bastard.

Well, he wasn’t wrong about the shortcut, but she had enough bossy males in her life. It would be so easy to dig her heels in and fight him. But… it was clear that Brine was the Jester’s right-hand man, which meant it was important for her to try to make nice with the grumpy shifter, even if he had no qualms about killing her. She watched the tall, lithe man lope gracefully ahead of her, moving so quickly she had to jog to keep up with him.

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