Page 121 of Wanted: Rogues and Bards

Unfortunately, Plan B had even less of an impact. Lirion took three steps into the fog and was immediately ejected in the same rough manner the rest of them had been. Fenric had to scramble to catch his flying body so he didn’t crash into the ground, hurting himself and his lyre.

A growl of frustration rumbled from Lirion’s throat.

“Well, that didn’t work.”

Fenric clenched his teeth, holding back a growl. So close. So fucking close to having his mother’s jewelry box and more of her treasures in his hands, but he was being thwarted by a bunch of slimy finfolk and their frustrating magic. He wanted to shout. Draw a sword and charge into the fog. To stab and impale some physical adversary, but all there was in front of him was fucking fog.

Lirion turned to him with a grimace and a smile rolled into one. “Apologies. If I can’t think of a way in, are you going to toss me aside?”

A small amount of his frustration subsided and he managed to unlock his jaw to reply, “Not on your life.” The response was so immediate, Fenric’s cheeks burned with heat. Fuck, could he make it any more obvious how he felt for this man? Clearing his throat, he muttered, “We’ll figure out another way.”

“Hm, yes, let me study it a bit longer.”

It was late enough in the day that making camp wasn’t a bad idea. Fenric turned and called to everyone waiting, “He wants to think for a while. Set up camp?”

“A sensible suggestion, to be sure,” Rain responded. “Let’s retreat a bit, as I do not fancy sleeping near the fog. We’ll stay close enough to be in shouting range if you need us. Join us whenever you wish.”

Fenric waved them on. He liked that Rain didn’t expect him to leave Lirion’s side. Standing here was standing near danger, so it was better to have someone to help safeguard the bard while he studied the problem.

Hapi turned the wagon around, and they retreated a good two dozen paces. Fenric let them handle everything as they set up camp along the road, turning back to Lirion.

Lirion stared at the fog hard, brows beetled together. “I do not think we’re looking at magical fog, per se, so much as a type of ward. This smacks of it. In that case, luring someone who has the right clearance for the ward and using them as a guide through it would be the most surefire method.” He paused and scratched his scalp. “Not sure how to do that, offhand.”

Neither was Fenric.

Lirion turned his head, and the way he looked at Fenric was piercing, as if he wanted to see right through to the back of his skull. “Is the stolen jewelry rare? I mean, other than the fact it all belonged to your mother?”

Ah. Shit. Fenric hadn’t told him everything, but that was mostly because this was hard to talk about. Still, he was asking Lirion to put himself in danger for this job, and yes, that was the bargain, but it felt wrong to send the man blindly in. Lirion had been upfront about his sister, right? Fenric should reciprocate.

Lirion’s tone gentled. “I’m not saying we should give up because the task ahead of us is so difficult.”

Fenric shook his head slowly. He knew that wasn’t what Lirion meant. But the danger was extreme. Much like rescuing Lirion’s sister. At least that had been for a living person. Would this group take the same risks for jewels? Particularly, something Fenric wasn’t willing to split up and sell? Normally, Fenric would look at this job, weigh the obvious risks, and then walk away. Yet, this was different. Not because of what the prize at the end was, but because of who those shiny trinkets had once belonged to. And he wasn’t the only one who would risk everything to have them.

Fenric swallowed hard and cleared his throat before he finally spoke. “My mother…my mother was a saintess.”

Lirion nearly fell forward, having to catch himself on Fenric’s shoulder. His jaw hit the dirt hard enough to bounce off it. “What?!”

“Hard to imagine, right? With her son being a wanted rogue.” Fenric let out a low sigh, eyes staring forward. Really, his mind was going back to memories part of him didn’t want to remember. “She served from eight until fourteen, the standard ages for a saintess. After, of course, she was given the usual payments and trinkets. She stayed out of politics, didn’t try to stay in the social circles, just retired, then later had me. But when I was barely an adult, Lance and his group of heroes wanted something from her; I don’t know what. They waited until I was away to attack. She either didn’t have it or refused to give it to them, and they murdered her for it.”

Lirion wrapped his arms around Fenric’s waist and pulled him into a tight embrace. Fenric wasn’t expecting the gesture, but a hug sounded good just then. He sank into it, letting his head rest on Lirion’s shoulder, absorbing the comfort this man offered.

“I’m so sorry,” Lirion murmured against his ear. “The heroes are assholes. I’m not surprised Lance murdered her, but I wish he hadn’t.”

“Me too,” Fenric said into Lirion’s shoulder. He didn’t look up as he gave Lirion the last piece of the explanation. “They auctioned off most of the valuables they stole from my mother. One of them is in Lord Mire’s possession.”

“Fuck. All right, it makes sense why you’re so adamant about getting in. If this were just a job, you’d have walked away by now.”

Fenric couldn’t argue. That was absolutely true.

The sound of someone sniffling brought his head up, and he startled when he realized Maxie was only ten steps away.

And had clearly heard the last part of the story.

Tears rolled down those cheeks. The devastation and guilt on Maxie’s face were palpable. Which didn’t make sense? Why would Maxie feel guilty? It wasn’t his doing.

“I am so, so sorry,” Maxie managed, his voice threadbare. “To think you suffered like this all because of those who should have protected you. And your mother. A saintess! A holy servant of The Box. How could anyone dare to lay a hand on her? She should have spent her long life being revered and protected. If only I could turn back time, I’d do whatever I could to reverse this fate.”

“Hey, why are you talking like you did this?” Fenric pulled out of Lirion’s arms to give Maxie a quick hug because, apparently, his adopted younger brother needed one. “You didn’t kill my mother or steal from her; this isn’t your fault.”