Read Online Fallen Ward (Deepwoods Saga Book 3) by Honor Raconteur - Free Book Online Page B

the taproom.
    “Our boy here was caught and accused of being a peeping tom in Sateren.” Beirly grinned wickedly at Rune.
    The blood rushed to his face, setting it on fire. Oh. Oh right, he remembered that situation. As if he were thrown back in time, Rune repeated now what he had then. “I wasn’t peeping!”
    “Wow, what a blush.” Siobhan laughed and slapped a hand against the table. “I’ve never seen the like on him. Rune, need some ice for it?”
    He shot her a lethal glare.
    Beirly continued as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “The story, as I got it, was that he was leaning on the door of the women’s baths. When he was caught, he refused to move at first, and then had a fine time explaining himself.”
    Wait a minute. If Beirly knew the full story, then…Rune growled wordlessly at him.
    Beirly remarked out the side of his mouth, “Wolf, I think he’s been hanging around you too long. That growl sounded just like one of yours.”
    Wolf, far from being offended, chuckled.
    Denney tilted forward, trying to catch his eye. “So what were you doing there?”
    For some strange reason, he found it hard to look at her.
    Beirly lost his evil humor and sobered into a more serious mood. “If I have the story right, he was protecting you.”
    The whole table caught their breath and waited for his response. Feeling trapped, Rune blew out a breath and decided to face it head on. “Yes.”
    With a wise nod, Beirly took pity and finished the tale. “No shame in it, Rune. See, those prowlers that had tried to catch Denney straight out of the baths last time hadn’t really learned their lesson. Don’t know how, but Rune realized this. Whenever she went for a bath, he’d stay nearby and discourage anyone from getting too close. That last time he was caught out in the open instead of them, so they accused him instead. It didn’t take long for him to straighten it out, though.”
    “That’s ’cause I had two knocked out idiots to prove my story,” Rune grumbled in a low tone. He glanced at Denney out of the corners of his eyes and found a strange expression on her face. He couldn’t decipher it.
    “Was this before or after I gave you the marks?” she asked slowly.
    Rune couldn’t see how the timing would make any difference but answered. “Before.”
    Her eyes went wide with wonder, lips parting. “Why…? I mean, I didn’t mean anything to you at that point.”
    Now how had she gotten that impression? “Fei explained it to me. If I didn’t protect you, all of you, and try to gain your trust, then I couldn’t stay. I wanted to be part of Deepwoods, even then. I just didn’t know how to go about it. But he said, protecting all of you was the first step. I knew you were being watched every time you took a bath, so I stepped in. That’s all there is to it.”
    Denney threw both arms around his shoulders and hugged him to her. Rune hadn’t expected this reaction, but was certainly not against it. A smile on his face, he hugged her back and enjoyed the sensation of soft female in his arms. Unfortunately, the hug was brief, as she popped up and then gave Fei an equally firm hug.
    Fei looked as bemused by this reaction as Rune had felt. “Denney-jae, I have done nothing to warrant a hug.”
    She didn’t let up. “You gave Rune the advice he needed. Without you, we wouldn’t have him today. That warrants hugs.”
    “I agree,” Siobhan stated, eyes sparkling with laughter. “Well, Beirly, I do appreciate you telling that story. It’s one we all needed to hear, I think. But I’m calling a halt to the storytelling as it’s late and we need to get to bed. All of you will be able to sleep tomorrow night, but Tran, Beirly, and I won’t.”
    Rune highly doubted that Wolf would sleep tomorrow night with Siobhan that close to an enemy occupied city. But her point was taken. People stood, chairs scrapping against the wood floors, and made their way to bed.
    Tomorrow would be an extremely long day.

The sun