Page 9 of By the Horns
Aspeth—no, Sparrow—keeps writing. “And did you have to reach a certain pain threshold? Were there certain applications of pain that weremore useful than others? Perhaps we can narrow down what brings effectiveness in case this occurs again—”
“Just pain,” I say, blushing. “I wasn’t too focused on what kind or how much. There was a lot going on.”
“Hmm.” She doesn’t seem convinced. “Perhaps other stimuli might be listed in the archives. Things like smells, or perhaps even certain visuals. I’m not certain how much the records here go into mancers, but I’ll see what I can find. Give me a few weeks to see what I can dig through.”
“I don’t want to be a bother.”
“You’re no bother. You’re my best friend.” Sparrow beams at me. “Give me time to work on this and I’ll see what I can find out.”
“No rush. I’m not going anywhere,” I joke. It’s true, though. I’ve got one month left before recruitment day, and I’ll be damned if I give up my chance to become a fledgling again. I’m not spending the rest of my life cleaning windows and tossing chamber pots. I’m not.
My friend looks up, and then her countenance changes to a soft delight as she slides her notes underneath a blank sheet. “Oh! Hawk! I didn’t realize you were coming by, darling.”
Uh-oh. I jump to my feet, anxious as the big russet Taurian strides into the cramped quarters. “Master Hawk! Hello.”
He gives me a distracted smile. “Gwenna. Good to see you.”
Is it? He doesn’t know why I’m here yet. I watch nervously as he moves to Sparrow’s side and presses a kiss atop her head. She leans into him, her mien one of pure contentment. They look good together. Hawk is large and forbidding, while Sparrow is softer. Gentler. She reaches up and nudges the golden ring through his nose, and they share a secretive smile.
It’s time for me to leave. These quarters are far too close for me to stay comfortably with a pair of starry-eyed newlyweds. Even though my friend initially married the big Taurian for practical purposes, it didn’t take long before they were both in love. Good for them, but I’m not jealous. The last thing I need is a man dragging me down. My ambitions don’t include relationships, not right now. I want to join the guild, become an artificer, and make some real coin.
“Well, I should get going,” I say, moving away from the desk before they start making kissy noises at each other or something embarrassing.“I promised I’d cover Kerta’s nestmaid shift, and I need to go home and change out of these sweaty clothes. Thanks for the chitchat, Sparrow. I’ll get out of your hair.”
Her face glows at my use of her name. She gives me a quiet thumbs-up and I know she’ll keep my secrets. My relief feels intense, as if I can suddenly breathe again.
At her side, her Taurian husband is sniffing the air. “Did Raptor come by?”
I freeze in place. Damn Taurians and their elite senses. I scrubbed at the mess the big white Taurian had left between my thighs earlier, but perhaps I didn’t do enough.
“No, why?” Sparrow glances up at Hawk.
“I’m picking up his scent.” His bullish mouth pulls into a frown and he eyes the room, nostrils flaring.
I decide to play dumb. “Is he an oversized sort of bull with a white face and vicious horns?” I wiggle my fingers by my temples in an imitation of horns. “There’s a big male like that in the hospital. I was cleaning in his room earlier.”
Hawk relaxes. “That must be it.”
“Well then, I really had best be going,” I chirp in a bright voice. I need to bathe again once I get back to the nestmaid quarters to ensure that no one picks up the scent of Taurians—or sex—on me. “See you soon, Sparrow!”
One more month, I remind myself. I just need to lie low for one more month.
Surely I can manage that.
Four
Raptor
Weeks Later
It’s never agood sign when I’m called into the head guild master’s office. I like to spend my time on the fringes, because you can get away with a lot more. Unfortunately, it seems that I’ve caught Rooster’s attention in some way. Lucky me. It means he’s about to assign me a muck-ton of extra work, or someone important has gotten lost in the tunnels and every single Taurian in the guild is being called to action, even the more recently injured ones like me.
But when I get to Rooster’s office, I’m surprised to see that there’s no one else waiting except for Hawk. Master Hawk, I remind myself, proud of my friend. Took him a long mucking time to get some recognition, and I’m glad for him…but the fact that we’re here alone with Rooster means nothing good.
Rooster is seated behind the heavy, ostentatious wooden desk of the head guild master, his short arms resting on the surface. “Please close the door behind you, Artificer.”
Well, that’s not a bad sign. He doesn’t know my name. To him I’m just another Taurian, another set of hooves to send into the tunnels to do the hard work. I glance over at Hawk, who’s seated on the other side of the desk, but his expression is impossible to read. I shut the door behindme and then move forward to take the seat next to Hawk, opposite the head of the guild.
“Your wounds look like they’ve healed well,” Hawk says, nodding at me in greeting. “How are your eyes?”
