Page 60 of Of Kings and Thieves

Scarlet rolled her eyes. “I would have kicked his ass long ago, but since he’s the only bard who’s stuck with us, Col says I need to be kind.”

Sylvius picked up a lute and winked at me, and I figured his good looks got him into trouble as much as out of it.

“Why are you the only one who stuck around?” I asked. “What happened to the other bards?”

Scarlet huffed. “The others kept dying.”

Silvius sat near the fire and strummed a few notes. “I have a talent for staying alive, much to Scarlet’s disappointment.”

“Isn’t the raven a symbol of Col’s house?” I asked, finding my own seat near Silvius. Here at last was a person who seemed interested in answering my questions. “Why are you called the Ironguard instead of Ravenguard?”

“Because we are sworn to Iron Deep, not the Iron Raven, though at this point, the kingdom cannot survive without its king.”

“Is that what you call the king—the Iron Raven? Is that Col?” I asked, pressing the opportunity to get some answers.

Melion glared at Silvius as he spoke. “You say too much, bard.”

“Oh shut the hell up, Melion,” Scarlet said. “Col trusts Samara, and so do I. She helped us out of a sticky spot yesterday.”

“So you say,” Melion growled. He scowled, and I was glad I was sitting between Silvius and Scarlet and not beside the dark, brooding man. He wasn’t as big as Magnus, but he looked strong enough to take my head off with the swipe of one hand. Looked like he was thinking about it, too.

Scarlet stood and drew her sword, then pointed it at Melion. “And I’ll have none of that backtalk,” she said. “You can take your broody nonsense elsewhere. Samara saved my life. So unless you are ready to fight me, you keep your jaws shut.”

Melion stood and clenched his fists as if he’d like nothing better than to take her on in a fight. He gritted his teeth and glared at her, and then he glared at me. “I’ve had people save my life and then turn me in to The Harrow’s soldiers in the next breath,” he ground out. “Traitors come in many forms.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “What’s your problem?”

“Probably because you piss them off, Melion,” Scarlet said. “You don’t play nice with people, even those people you are sworn to serve with.”

It was then I noticed Melion didn’t carry a sword or an ax, not even a dagger. Scarlet had said he was a shape-shifter, but I had never met one. Melion looked like he could tear someone’s throat out with his teeth, even in human form. That didn’t stop me from being angry at his treatment of me. But if Col had sworn Melion to his service, then I would not pick a fight with him… Not if I could help it, at least.

I glared at him along with the others. Only Sylvius sat back and plucked the strings of his lute, humming a low tune as if he didn’t notice the tension.

Finally, Melion huffed and sat back down. “Sheath that sword, you fool,” he finally said to Scarlet. “We all know that I can take you down before you get in the first blow.”

Scarlet laughed.

“Why do you provoke him?” Kolvar asked Scarlet, cutting off her laugh. He hadn’t drawn a weapon, but had been sitting very still.

“Don’t you start!”

Kolvar stood. “You are impossible.”

“I’m not afraid to call someone out for their bad behavior, Kolvar. If we let you have your way, Melion would bully everyone into chasing deer through the forest every day, just to see them run.”

At this, Melion laughed. The sudden change in his mood was alarming, and I wondered if he was a bit mad. He was still laughing as Kolvar shook his head. “Sit down, Scarlet. We’re wasting time. We have a task, and we have done nothing tonight but make a fire and sit around it insulting one another.”

Scarlet glared at him for a moment longer before finally sheathing her sword. “One of these days, elf…” But she didn’t finish her threat.

Silvius reached around me to nudge Scarlet’s leg, and after giving him a swift look, she sat. The bard handed her a flask and she took a long swig of something before handing it back.

He offered it to me, and I took a swig, recognizing the goblin whiskey I had drunk the night of the bathtub incident with Col. My cheeks burned at the thought, just like the whiskey burned all the way down. I offered to pass the whiskey to Kolvar, but he shook his head. Silvius reached for it, but Scarlet intercepted it with a swift motion.

“It’s my flask!” the bard said.

Scarlet shook her head. “We all know what your singing sounds like when you’ve had too much drink, Sylvius, and then how will I sleep with you screeching like a tom cat all night?”

Silvius looked like he might try to tackle Scarlet for the whiskey, but she was bigger than he was, and considerably stronger, so he backed off and watched her warily.

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