Page 44 of Wild Bond

A middle-aged man walked in, quickly shutting the door behind him.

I froze, not sure what to do. Then quickly decided to knock him out so Rake and I could try and slip out unseen.

But before I could even reach for my dagger, planning to use the hilt to knock the man out, he surprised me by saying, “I got your message, sir. Saw you come back here and thought I’d lend a hand if you needed it. Make sure no one followed you.”

It took me a second before I realized he was looking past me and speaking to Rake.

Rake relaxed as he nodded and sheathed his knife. “Thank you, D.” Rake met my confused stare and gestured to the man at the door. “Rin, this is D. One of my informants. D, this is—”

“I know who she is,” the man interrupted, grinning. “I was in the crowd that day in the square. Not something I’m likely to forget.” He bowed his head respectfully. “And I never forget a face, milady. Especially not one like yours.”

I took a second look at the man, not sure how to respond as I simply nodded.

He was of an average height and build, with brown hair and nothing too distinguishable about his features. Nothing memorable. Perfect for a spy, I realized.

“I need this body disposed of quietly,” Rake ordered, gesturing to Borden. “Take it somewhere outside the city and burn it. Get someone to help you.”

D gave no reaction as he took in the gruesome sight of the dead man in the chair. “Yes, sir. I think T is here tonight. We’ll see it done.”

D? T? They must be abbreviated names.

Rake came to stand at my side once again. “Let me know if you run into any trouble.”

D nodded. “Will do.”

Without another word, Rake took my arm and led me from the room.

“So,youbelievesomeonein the castle is behind this, then?” I asked. It had only taken us a few minutes to slip out of the tavern, and now we were back on the dark familiar streets outside.

Rake didn’t answer, but I didn’t think that was because he was ignoring me. He looked like he was weighing what we had just seen, and whatever conclusions he was coming to made him angry.

“Why was the color of the ring significant?” I pressed, nearly jogging to keep up with his much longer strides.

He halted abruptly, stopping with his back to a shuttered window that was lit around the edges from a soft glow within. His large frame looked rather menacing as he stood in the shadows before me. The sharp lines of his jaw and slanted cheekbones were even more pronounced, and his blue eyes nearly glowed. “Each member of the royal family wears a gold ring with a crest of the tree of Andor,” he explained, his voice low. He held up his fist so that his large, masculine-looking ring was facing towards me, the silver gleaming against his bronze skin in the faint light. “Every member of the council has a ring with the dragon seal. Each one is slightly different, as they are commissioned by each individual when we are appointed. But they are all silver.”

I could just make out the oval shape and the design of a dragon in flight, wings spread wide, before he lowered his hand. The weight of what he was saying finally hitting me. My eyes shot to his. “So, you’re saying that you think those chains were ordered by someone in the royal family . . . or someone on the Dragon Rider Council?” I swallowed hard at the mere thought. If someone that powerful was behind whatever this was . . . “But who?” I asked incredulously. “And why?”

“Your guess is as good as mine at this point,” he muttered. Then he gestured with his head. “Come on. We shouldn’t linger here.”

My mind raced as I followed after his long strides, mulling over all the implications of what we had discovered. Surely a rider couldn’t be behind the capture of that poor dragon. And what did this all have to do with why Borden had gone missing? What had been done to him? I tried not to think of the scene back in the tavern. What exactly had he died from, anyway?

A few minutes and several street turns later, Rake spoke. “We never did get back to why you were in Sal’s Tavern tonight,” he mused conversationally as he strode beside me. His tone was much lighter than it had been only moments before, and I couldn’t help but wonder at the sudden shift. “Though you are good at deflecting,” he went on, “I’m rather tenacious when I want to know something.”

Damn.I was hoping he wouldn’t remember that I hadn’t actually answered him earlier. Even though I knew I wasn’t getting around this, I couldn’t help but try. “Was there an actual question in there?”

He sighed, sounding almost beleaguered when he demanded, “Who were you looking for at the tavern, Rin?”

“I just wanted to take in the city. Visit my old hunting grounds, relive the not so glory days—”

“Rin!” he repeated, pulling me to a stop in the middle of the street. “You said you were looking for someone. Who?”

Looking up into his eyes, I knew that he wasn’t going to let this go. My shoulders finally sagged in defeat. “A friend.”

He waited, but when I said nothing more, he inquired mock-patiently, “And why are you looking for this friend? Is this why you’ve been sneaking out of The Tower for the last few days?”

I gaped. “You know about that?”

“Of course, I know,” he stated drolly, as if that should have been obvious.

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