“I am privileged to be the owner of several bestiaries from Earth Kingdom. After doing a bit of research, I was able to learn of her correct heritage.”
“How interesting.” I eyed him. “I’m sorry, but you know my name and I’m afraid I don’t know yours.” Although, truthfully, I’d suspected it since he’d first walked through the doors.
He gave me a small smile. “My name is Maveryck, although I prefer the title Professional Reclaimer. Most know me as ‘the thief’.”
Yep, suspicion confirmed.
Chapter 4
Maveryck sat across from me, and the wolf sat beside him. She kept her eyes focused on me as her master and I spoke.
“I have been waiting for your arrival,” Maveryck said.
It was hard for me not to stare at him. His appearance confused me. With his soft, silken voice, and his high, pronounced cheekbones, he must have had elven blood. Except for his ears, he looked as if he belonged in an elven palace.
“How long have you been waiting?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Not long, although Grace was beginning to get impatient. She grows restless when she’s confined to closed spaces.”
“I see. Let me get this straight, while you were waiting for me, you decided on a whim to just start a few fights?”
“It was not a whim.”
“Then what was it?”
“The sky king wanted me to meet with you, but I told him I could not and that I had business to attend to. He would not relent, however, and we agreed that since I had business in this village, he would send you here to meet me.
“As for my business, I was hired to confront Euric. The king may have been planning to confront the man with me as well.”
“I see. And did the sky king know of this?”
“I believe he did.”
“You were all three in on this together?”
“That is correct.”
Hmm, I wondered if I’d discovered the sport Fan’twar had mentioned. Was this his attempt at lightening my mood? In a convoluted, dragon sort of way, I supposed I could see how the duel possessed a cheap sort of entertainment quality. But dueling? Really?
Dragons these days.
“To be fair,” Maveryck said, “the sky king knew you enjoyed a good duel, so he told us to wait until you arrived to confront Euric.”
I looked to the ceiling and quietly cursed my stepfather. It was now confirmed that dragons had the lousiest senses of humor on the planet. I turned back to Maveryck, trying to remind myself why I’d crossed to Faythander in the first place.
“When do we leave for the silverwitch’s castle?” I asked.
“As soon as the others arrive, I assume.”
“Others?”
“The Wult assemblage. Did your stepfather not tell you?”
“He didn’t mention it.”
Without warning, a pair of strong arms grabbed me from behind and lifted me off my chair. Kull squeezed me so hard I felt like my lungs would pop. Served me right for dating a Wult warlord.
“Olive,” he breathed into my ear, “have you been hiding from me this whole time?”
“Kull,” I gasped, “please put me down.”
He shot me a broad grin, gave me a kiss on my cheek, and then placed my feet on the floor once again. I couldn’t help but smile back at him. What was it about this man that made me completely lose my head?
He helped me back to my seat, then sat next to me. “You’ve met Maveryck?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Good. As soon as we’re all here, we’ll leave for that cursed mountain. We’re all sick to death of negotiating with the elves. For now, the elves are satisfied with the territory they’ve gained in the goblins lands. When your stepfather mentioned a chance at a duel to defend my kingship and then a mission to find a lost weapon of the Madralorde, I couldn’t pass on the opportunity. Plus,” he leaned forward, his eyes intense, “that witch still has my sword.”
A young serving girl, perhaps fifteen, stopped by our table. “Anything to drink?” she asked.
“Ale,” Kull said.
“Wine for me,” Maveryck said.
“Water,” I answered. I’d made the mistake once of consuming Wult ale and would never do it again—I would drink gasoline first, and I would probably enjoy it more.
The girl gave a brief nod before she hustled back into the kitchen.
Grace gave a low growl, and Maveryck patted her head as two figures wearing cloaks wandered toward our table. They stopped behind Kull, acting casual with their arms folded, though neither man took a seat.
“Don’t mind them,” Kull said. “They’re my bodyguards.” He spoke the name with distaste. “Ever since Father passed, my dear queen mother has been increasingly worried over my wellbeing, and when she found out about my brush with the bloodthorn in Earth Kingdom, she insisted I keep those two around.”
The serving girl returned with three drinks and placed them on the table. “Anything else for you?” she asked, keeping her eyes focused on the floor.
“No, that’s all,” Maveryck said.
She made no reply before bustling back to the kitchen.
Maveryck took a small sip of his wine, keeping his eyes focused on the two men behind Kull. “Your Highness,” Maveryck said, “may I inquire as to when you believe the Wult party will arrive?”
“Soon,” Kull answered. “If all goes well, they should arrive before evening.” He took a long gulp of ale. “And please call me Kull. Your Highness was my father.”
“As you wish,” Maveryck nodded.
After finishing his drink, Kull took my hand. “Will you accompany me outside? We need to speak.”
“Of course.”
I stood with him, and we gave Maveryck a brief good-bye before heading for the exit. Euric still sulked by the doorway. His eyes widened as he spotted me holding hands with the king. His gaze lingered on my ears, but I ignored him as we exited the inn. With the current tension between the elves and the Wults, I knew my ancestry would cause unease among Kull’s people. But for now, we had bigger problems to worry about.
As Kull and I walked outside, I welcomed the sunshine and
