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‘Speak for yourself, Highness.’ Kipp was already striding towards the counter, signalling to the barkeep.
Wilder met Thea’s gaze across the table. ‘Now you have me, Apprentice, what exactly do you plan to do with me?’
‘I thought I made myself clear enough before,’ she said, her tone as cold as the lake’s ice. ‘You’re being taken to Vios for trial. After that, the rulers can do with you what they will.’
Wilder stared at her. She had looked at him as though she didn’t recognise him, but now he felt the same way about her… Who was this cruel woman? Where was Thea?
Beside Wilder, Cal shifted in his seat, awkwardly peering over them towards Kipp.
Toying with the chain between his irons, Wilder considered the woman before him. ‘If those are your intentions, surely you understand why I’ll have to decline.’
‘You’re not in a position to decline,’ she told him. ‘I’ll drug you and strap you to a damn horse if I have to.’
A tray of foaming tankards slid onto the table. ‘Who’s going to deal with his hulking mass lumped over their saddle?’ Kipp argued, already halfway through a pint.
To Wilder’s surprise, Thea reached for a tankard. ‘His horse is around here somewhere. He only needs to whistle, remember?’
‘Right.’ Kipp nodded. ‘Perks of being a Warsword.’
‘He’s no Warsword,’ Thea said coldly.
‘Semantics,’ Kipp replied.
Cal cleared his throat. ‘So, we drug him and take him to Vios. That’s settled, then.’
Wilder watched the exchange unfold between the trio, studying Thea for any signs of uncertainty, of hesitation. He saw none. Had he been arrogant enough to think that the mere sight of him would unravel her? That in his presence, upon meetinghis gaze, her magic would break through those walls in a tidal wave? He’d been a fool. He had to try to bring it back, bringTheaback, before he met up with Adrienne and the others.
He rested his chained hands on the table. ‘I have a counteroffer,’ he said, looking at only her, only Thea. ‘I’ll come with you willingly, if you give me a fair hearing.’
‘Furies save us,’ Cal muttered, downing his tankard and reaching for another.
Thea scoffed. ‘It’s not up to me to put you on trial. I’ll save that for the rulers. They’ll decide your fate.’
Wilder swallowed the lump in his throat. ‘I don’t mean for my crimes against the midrealms.’
A muscle twitched in Thea’s jaw. ‘What, then?’
‘Everything else.’
Thea’s hands clenched around her tankard, her knuckles paling.
Kipp, however, knocked his drink against hers. ‘Sounds like a fair deal to me.’
She shoved him off. ‘We don’t make deals with traitors.’
‘Of course not,’ Kipp continued. ‘But I for one don’t fancy lugging the likes of him from here to Vios. Come on, Thea. Listen, don’t listen. But for Furies’ sake, look at him. He’d be fucking heavy.’ He looked to Cal for backup.
Cal studied Wilder, seeming to weigh up their options. ‘Make him remove his armour. If he tries to run, if he tries anything at all… I’ll shoot him through the heart with a flaming arrow.’
‘Fair,’ Wilder agreed, offering one of his bound hands.
Kipp leapt to his feet. ‘Now that we’re all in agreement, I’ve had baths drawn for us —’
Thea threw her hands up in frustration. ‘Kipp, I said one fucking pint —’
Kipp levelled her with a firm stare. ‘AndIsaid, if you’ll recall, nothing of the fucking sort. We haven’t washed properlyinweeks.I’m not going another yard on the road without a bath, a hot meal and a nap. If you don’t like it, oh royal one, you can drug me up with your moody friend there and carry me to Vios too.’
Thea’s mouth fell open and Wilder fought to keep a straight face as Kipp scooped up as many tankards as he could carry and made for the stairs.
