Page 58 of To Kill a King
“So, Stephen,” Elessan said, his voice a little more harsh than necessary, “where’re you headed?”
The minstrel shifted in his seat. “Oh, you know. I travel here and there.” He waved his spoon around. “Making my living as I go. One day, maybe I’ll be lucky enough to play at the castle.”
Aliya froze mid-bite before catching herself.
Stephen smiled as he caught her gaze. “And you?”
She swallowed.
“We’re takin’ Princess here ta the elves in Filathas for magic training.”
Aliya choked and started coughing. Elessan thumped her on the back. The alternative was leaping across the fire and throttling Zadé. “Shut your mouth,” he snapped in Elven. Now the bard definitely had to die.
“Filathas, huh? What kind of magic do you have?” Stephen tilted his head to the side as he studied her.
Aliya stared at Elessan like a deer frozen in a hunter’s sight.
“Do you know The Bear and The Hare?” Elessan asked.
The human focused on him and blinked, like he’d forgotten the elf’s existence.
“What? Oh, yeah, sure.” He set down his empty bowl. “Let me answer the call of nature first?”
Elessan frowned but nodded as Stephen pushed himself to his feet and made note as to which way the man headed. He gave the musician several heartbeats to get out of hearing range then turned on Zadé. “What in god’s teeth are you doing telling random people we’re bringing a non-elf,” he hissed as he gestured to Aliya, “to Filathas, for training? Humans with magic are rare enough to be notable, and mages aren’t well-received here. There’s every chance that information would make it back to his King before we reach the elven lands.”
Zadé waved her hand in front of her face like she was swatting a mosquito. She tilted dangerously to one side, kicking her leg up into the air to rebalance.
He leaned sideways to avoid being kicked in the face.
“Relax, Elsan. He’s no spy, jus’ a harmless bard.”
“You may be willing to bet our lives and the war on that, but I’m not.”
“The war?” Zadé chortled as she fought to not tip over. “Think a lot of ourselves, do we?”
He clenched his teeth. Ancestors save him from drunken stupidity. “Valek, Zadé. I meant—”
“Guys,” Aliya interrupted.
“What?” They both turned to her.
“Shouldn’t he be back by now?”
They stared in the direction Stephen had disappeared.
“Don’t think so, Princess.” Zadé waved to the abandoned seat. “He left all his stuff. Even his lute.”
Aliya grabbed the bag, frowned, and spilled its contents on the ground. Several fist-sized rocks rolled toward the fire. She dropped the backpack and picked up the instrument. “It has a huge crack down the back. No way this would play.” She focused on Elessan.
Valek. He unsheathed his sword and stepped out into the night to find the minstrel.
Studying the scrub brush and dirt for signs of the human’s passing, he utilized all his skills to follow in the dark, a silent shadow in the night. He placed his feet carefully, ducking around branches to avoid rustling them and giving away his position. When Elessan found him, Stephen would breathe his last breath. Not only for the less-than-honorable intentions, but to protect Aliya. He’d throw Zadé’s corpse in a ditch too, for endangering her, if they didn’t need her access to Filathas.
How could she be so stupid? And with an enemy, nonetheless. That thought brought him to a sudden stop. He was being idiotic, too, though his budding romance with Aliya was hardly on the same scale. And she wasn’t really human.
The man’s footprints emerged from the forest and disappeared into a well-trodden road. He’d never find him now. A ball of ice settled in his gut.
“Valek!” He kicked a small rock into the middle of the path. He should’ve followed the bard as soon as he got up. Now, who knew where Stephen had gotten to, or what he intended to do with the information he learned.