Read Online [Hurog 01] - Dragon Bones by Patricia Briggs - Free Book Online Page B

mad, Ilander,” I said, giving him my best cow-eyed look. “I won’t do it again.”
    Ilander, who’d been flinching under the sting of my aunt’s tongue, returned to his earlier state of rage. His face flushed, and his nostrils flared whitely. “You—”
    â€œCareful,” barked Stala, and Ilander shut his teeth with an audible click. When she was satisfied he wasn’t going to say anything more, she relaxed. “Go wash up. You’re off for the rest of the day. Lucky will take your place on guard duty.”
    Lucky’s position in the circle of guards was just behind Stala and to her right. Being a relatively intelligent man, he stiffened apprehensively. She didn’t even look at him, keeping her eyes on the dirt in front of her. “I told you to quit fleecing money from the fledglings, Lucky. How much did you take him for?”
    â€œA silver, sir.”
    â€œBetting that he couldn’t beat Ward.”
    â€œYes, sir.”
    â€œYou know what? Sometimes I can work magic better than Licleng. Watch me. Poof!” She raised her hands in a theatrical manner. “That bet didn’t happen.”
    He thought about arguing, opened his mouth to do it twice. “Yes, sir,” was all he got out.
    Lucky taken care of, Stala turned her attention to me. “Ward, you haven’t even worked up a sweat.”
    I frowned thoughtfully, decided sniffing my armpit would be overkill, then nodded my head.
    â€œAfter everyone else is through, you and I will have a go of it, eh?”
    I smiled and nodded. Even if no one had thought I was stupid before, the smile would have done it. No one beat Stala. Like Lucky, I wondered just how much she knew. Did she, for instance, know that I’d baited Ilander deliberately? Did she intend our upcoming bout to punish me for it?
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    SWEATING ENOUGH EVEN FOR Stala, I limped up the stairs of the keep. Every movement hurt, but that was to be expected. Stala was tall for a woman, and thirty-odd years of fighting had made her muscular. I was stronger, faster, and had a longer reach than she did, but Stala fought dirty. In an all-out, the only thing that mattered was winning, and she liked to win.
    I rubbed my left eye cautiously, removing a few more grains of sand. I couldn’t use dirty tricks without giving my act away, but I was learning them, all the same.
    When I opened the door, Oreg was waiting in my room with a smirk on his face. I forgave him the smirk as soon as I saw the tub of hot water. I dropped my unpleasantly damp clothing and stepped into the water. The tub was built for my father (the only thing besides Axiel that I had appropriated), so I fit inside it. I sighed as the heat pulled the stiffness from my aching muscles.
    â€œDo I thank you or Axiel?” I asked, reaching for a sliver of soap.
    â€œAxiel hauled the water, but I’ve heated it again.”
    â€œThanks,” I said, ducking my head under the water and staying there for a bit. But the stain of what I’d done this morning still clung to me. Oh, there was no shame in losing to my aunt. Everyone lost to her—but most of them couldn’t make her work for it. What bothered me was the fight with Ilander.
    I came up for air.
    â€œI watched you fight,” said Oreg, sitting on my stool and balancing it on two legs without putting his feet on the floor. I wondered if his balance was that good or if he was using magic. My ability to detect magic was a vague thing, and Oreg infused any area he was directly in with so much magic, I had a hard time telling if there were small spells being worked. It felt like Hurog’s magic, and I sometimes wondered if he was the magic I could always feel here or if he just tapped into it.
    He used his magic a lot more than most magicians I knew—even the good ones at court. I couldn’t tell if he was more powerful, less discreet, or just trying to impress