AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“The same age,” Rilion repeated soberly.
Thea grinned to encourage them to go on.
Gil fixed his eyes on the horizon as they worked their way north. “The princess was content to entertain Aleron and Lucan, but she didn't care to entertain a child as well. I was twelve at the time, I believe, and I had recently acquired new... skills... in my training.”
The emphasis he put on that word made her lean forward in the saddle. “Do I dare ask what sort of skills those were?”
“He picked every lock in the palace he could find,” Rilion said.
A logical skill for an assassin, and one she could see a boy using irresponsibly, too.
“Specifically, I picked the lock to a library.” Gil smirked at the memory. “The king's private library, filled with all manner of political secrets. The last place I should have been, and yet, I wasn't alone.”
Rilion scratched the bridge of his nose. “I, ah, wasn't supposed to be there, either. When the door opened, I thought I was about to lose my head.”
Thea's amusement drained. She knew little about the sort of training Gil had endured, but she'd seen him fight. She could guess.
“He attacked me first,” Gil said, confirming her fear it had ended with violence.
“I thought he was a spy.” Rilion chuckled at the memory. “I'd been in the library all morning and hadn't seen our guests arrive.”
“So you fought,” Thea said slowly. It pained her to think of the outcome, but it couldn't have been that bad. Both of them rode alongside her. “Who won?”
The prince grinned at her. “Both of us, I'd say.”
“We stopped as soon as we realized we'd be better allies than rivals,” Gil said. “We stole fourteen books from his father's library and hid in the attic to read them.”
Thea couldn't help but laugh. “And let me guess, you've been friends ever since.”
“Well, sort of. He doesn't enjoy books anymore.” Rilion sniffed. “I suppose I have to forgive him for that.”
“I still appreciate literary pursuits, although I admit I've come to find historical documents and regional legends less than engaging.”
Rilion gave a shrug. “He does not share my ebullience for research.”
“Few probably do,” Thea said. “I appreciate your passion for it, though. It's quite evident.” It was something she understood, too; not because she shared the same field of interest, but because her family had often rolled their eyes at her enthusiasm over textiles and fashion.
“Passion is often admirable,” Gil said in a murmur, “but I suspect now is not the time or place. Look. There may be trouble.”
Both Thea and Rilion shifted in their saddles to look farther north, where the hard-packed dirt road wound into the mountains.
Somewhere ahead, still a few miles off, smoke rose from the hills.
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
Several miles to the north,they found the burned-out remnants of a small village. Little more than a farmstead, Thea thought, though the number of buildings and their shapes made it obvious there had been several houses.
“What happened here?” Rilion asked no one in particular as he slid from his horse and dropped its reins. It shifted in place, but did not wander.
Thea was not sure she could dismount on her own. Before she could try, Gil appeared at her side. She slid down into his arms, grateful for the assistance.
He released her as soon as her feet were on the ground. “The buildings are too far apart for the fire to be accidental.”
“So it's arson, but...” Rilion trailed off. He scanned the smoldering remnants of buildings for a time, then trudged toward the ruins. He found a farmer's hoe along the way, miraculously unburned, and used it to scrape through the ashes and glowing coals. “That doesn't seem right.”
“What doesn't?” It looked like the site of any other fire to Thea. There was little left of the houses, only fallen stone and charred wood.
Gil stalked toward the ashes. “No remains.”
