Page 29 of Lake of Sorrow
“That sounds like a reason for me to stay out here with you,” Kaylina told Vlerion, though she didn’t truly want to remain in the preserve. She’d helped them find the tracks. Her duty was done.
Maybe she could ask Jankarr to help her locate an unguarded catacombs entrance so she could return unnoticed and start gathering evidence to prove her innocence. But he needed to get the injured woman to a doctor, not take side trips with Kaylina.
“You will return with Jankarr,” Vlerion told her.
“Maybe stop giving me orders, my lord.” Kaylina didn’t mean the honorific to sound sarcastic, but she was still bristling from his earlier command.
“You are a ranger trainee. It is your honor to dutifully obey orders from your superiors.”
“Oh, bite a snake, pirate.”
His tone always remained calm and detached, but his eyes narrowed at this last. He really hated that appellation, didn’t he?
“Look.” Kaylina lifted an apologetic hand. She didn’t want to irk Vlerion. He was just being a stick. “I’m sorry. You’re a noble ranger, not a pirate, but I didn’t sign up to be your trainee. You were there when Targon foisted that on me, so you shouldn’t have trouble remembering that. I’m a mead maker.”
“Targon—”
“Can bite an even bigger snake,” she snapped.
The woman groaned again.
Kaylina closed her mouth, regretting starting an argument while someone was injured and needed medical attention. Struggling for a reasonable tone, she said, “Jankarr needs to take her straight back. He doesn’t need to be distracted, worrying about guards spotting me.”
Vlerion clenched his jaw, a muscle ticking in his cheek. It made the scars that ran down from his eye more noticeable.
He glanced at the woman, then back at Kaylina. Annoyed with her for being difficult? Maybe, but he looked more like he was worried and wanted to get her out of danger. Maybe it had also crossed his mind that Kaylina could easily have suffered the same fate as this woman.
Jankarr cleared his throat diffidently and surprised Kaylina by suggesting, “She might be safer out here with you, Vlerion.”
“Doubtful.”
“Who better to protect her? You’re a beast in battle.” Jankarr smiled, clearly intending it as a compliment.
Vlerion looked sharply at him.
Confusion creased Jankarr’s brow. Kaylina had to remind herself that Jankarr wasn’t in on Vlerion’s family secret and hadn’t meant his comment to be literal.
“There would be many better,” Vlerion said softly.
Jankarr tilted his head, further confused.
Vlerion sighed and waved in the direction of the city. “Go. Take the woman to Penderbrock, and tell Targon to round up more men and send them out to join us in the hunt. Someone will also need to collect the dead and find out who they were.” He pointed at the two fallen men. “Probably people caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, but it’s possible there was some significance to the Kar’ruk choosing them.”
Kaylina shivered, again thinking how she and Frayvar had nearly been in the wrong place at the wrong time too. Maybe she was a fool to want to stay out here with Vlerion, but she’d helped him, damn it. He hadn’t seen that archer taking aim at the back of his head. She was sure of it.
Admittedly, she wouldn’t have seen the archer, either, if that vine hadn’t twitched. It had been dumb luck. Even so, with enemies possibly lurking around every tree, two sets of eyes had to be better than one.
“Go,” Vlerion repeated softly since Jankarr was hesitating. His tone left no room for argument.
“All right. But don’t you dare get yourself killed while I’m gone.”
“You’d prefer to be present to witness my death?” Vlerion helped lift the woman onto Jankarr’s taybarri.
“You know what I mean.” Jankarr climbed on behind the woman. “You’re a horrible partner. You’re always going off without me.”
“After my death, you can tell Targon I requested you be assigned a more amenable soul as your next partner.”
“You’re a bastard.”