AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Thea watched with quiet amusement as the men spoke about Marise’s famous Dead Red event with great intensity before Wilder turned to the actual topic at hand.
‘We have need of a discreet entrance and private meeting room tomorrow evening,’ the Warsword began slowly, seeming to mull over his words carefully. ‘The guests… Well, they’re of a controversial nature.’
‘Say no more,’ Everard said. ‘You’re a friend of Kristopher’s. When it comes to that lad, we have ano questions askedpolicy.’
‘Surely, to protect your business you must —’
Everard waved him off. ‘The sister taverns of the midrealms have withstood every terrible moment in history thus far. They are the safe havens for the drinkers and thinkers of our age. Kipp is one of the best of them. He’s the reason this place is still standing.’
‘What did he do?’ Thea asked, curiosity piqued. How was it that her friend had garnered such a reputation across the lands when he’d spent much of his life at the fortress?
‘Ah, that is top-secret information,’ Everard replied with a wink. ‘But his friends are our friends, and what you need, you get.’
Warmth bloomed in Thea’s chest at the man’s loyalty, at his faith in her friend, who was so often overlooked or deemed ‘useless’ by the commanders. It was a strange and wonderful world where Kipp Snowden was more legend than the legends of Thezmarr.
‘Thank you,’ she said earnestly.
Everard bowed his head. ‘It’s an honour to serve the midrealms. So, tell me what you need, then I’ll see about this delay with the boar.’
Wilder still seemed a little stunned by the whole scenario, and he sat back with his wine as Thea took the reins. As succinctly as possible, she told Everard of their need for a private meeting room, with space enough for more than a dozen people by her count. That they would need to be able to arrive and leave unseen by other patrons. And, where possible, there would be several overnight rooms required.
When she had finished, Everard simply nodded. ‘Consider it done.’ He walked away, promising their food would be with them shortly.
She felt Wilder’s gaze on her again. ‘Something to say, Warsword?’ she asked, picking up her own wine and taking a sip.An explosion of red fruit met her tastebuds and she closed her eyes, savouring the flavour. It wasn’t anything like the wine she had tried at the masquerade ball; it was more complicated, more layered somehow.
‘Nothing to say, Princess,’ Wilder told her, voice low. ‘Not yet, anyway.’
Thea was about to press him, but the food arrived in a flourish more befitting of a royal family than two ragged travellers. Any concerns went out the window along with Thea’s manners as the steaming plates were set down before them, the aroma of delicately spiced roast boar wafting through the air making her mouth water.
Suddenly, she was starving. Hot meals had been few and far between in the long winter months past, and so she decided to take a leaf out of Kipp’s book and make the most of it. She wondered if he’d ask for her king’s coin to pay for it all – not that she minded; she’d happily run King Artos’ treasury into the ground at this point.
She and Wilder ate together, leaving the curtains of their booth open so they could watch the rest of the tavern, quietly observing all the goings-on.
‘I like it here,’ she said, watching a minstrel with a lute swagger through the crowd, and a rowdy group of women tossing back tankards of ale in the far corner.
‘Thought you might.’
‘Why’s that?’
Wilder shrugged. ‘You can be anyone you want here, and no one gives a fuck.’
Thea took another swig of her wine. ‘Makes a nice change from the rest of the midrealms, doesn’t it?’
‘It does.’
‘Who do you want to be, then?’ she asked, pushing her plate away, unable to eat another morsel.
‘Someone worthy,’ Wilder replied, but before Thea could tell him that he certainly was someone worthy, his gaze strayed from her and landed on the billiards table on the other side of the room. ‘Remember when we played?’
‘Yes.’
A sultry heat burned in his gaze as it met hers again. ‘Remember what happened after?’
Thea swallowed, her body going taut and a rush of arousal sweeping over her at the mere mention of that night. ‘Yes,’ she breathed. She had relived those hours many times, often against her will in the dark of her tent or beneath the stars.
The cushion beneath her shifted, and she realised she was sliding across the booth. Wilder dragged her towards him until she was flush against his side, his warmth instantly encompassing her.
When she tilted her head up, he was already looking at her, his silver eyes molten.
