dream? I thought you were going to find breakfast!” Adam asked heatedly.
“I did.”
“Then what the hell do you call this?”
Garran looked at the empty bottle still gripped in his hand. “A rousingly successful hunt.”
“What about me? I haven’t eaten since yesterday.”
Garran scowled. “Did I ever tell about the time I was so hungry I picked through deer shit for food?”
Adam rolled his eyes. “I won’t even ask the why of that, but what does that have to do with any of this?”
“It means you should not be complaining already. This is going to be a tough journey, and you had best get accustomed to deprivation real quick because I can’t stand a whiner.”
“You can’t stand a whiner?” Adam pulled the bottle from Garran’s grasp and hurled it against the boulder, spattering its remaining contents against the stone in a spray of glass.
“What the hell did you do that for?” Garran demanded.
“Because I can’t stand a drunken wastrel who reeks of booze and bad cheese!”
Garran watched the remnants of his whiskey trickle down the boulder and frowned. “You know, for a priest, you’re awfully judgmental.”
“I am not a priest!”
“You’re also not very quiet. For someone who claims to be worried about assassins, you sure shout a lot.”
Adam ran his hands through his hair and grabbed a double fistful, willing himself not to yank it out by the roots. “I am shouting because you are the most exasperating man I have ever met.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s not a compliment!”
“Are you sure?”
“Could we please just go?”
Garran sighed and directed his eyes to the north. “Yeah, we had best get moving. It’s going to be one hell of a walk.”
Adam nodded. “It’s a shame you don’t have a horse.”
“I had one.”
“You did?”
“Yeah, I left him right here before I came down to rescue you. I guess he left.”
“Didn’t you tie him up?”
“No, what if a bear came along? Seems rather cruel.”
“And you thought it wouldn’t wander off?”
“I told it to stay,” Garran said defensively.
“It’s a horse not a dog!”
“Yeah, horses are jerks.”
“Horses are the jerks…Well, this sucks.”
“Tell me about it. I had two more bottles of whiskey in his saddle bags.”
“You are a horrible drunk, you know that?”
Garran focused on the trail ahead as they plodded on. “You say that now, but I’m a lot worse when I’m sober.”
CHAPTER 5
Evelyn sat at the table in her parlor sipping tea, cradling the porcelain cup in her hands in hopes of warding off the coldness infusing her body. She feared she might never know warmth again. Her eyes were red from crying herself to sleep every night for these past several days. The ache of losing her parents and little brother warred with the dread of having to marry the man who was culpable in their murders, but if it kept Adam alive, her last connection to the world she once knew, then she would do it.
She snapped her head up from staring into the now tepid tea at the sound of her parlor door opening. Gordon swaggered in, her father’s crown resting atop his head. Parliament and the church had both rushed to confirm his coronation the moment she agreed to marry him. Knowing that The Guild’s gold was able to purchase both of those great stations only increased her despondency. It was precisely what her father died trying to end, and it was all for naught.
“Good news, Princess,” Gordon chirped. “Although my message failed to reach my men in time, your brother is still alive.”
“He is?”
“Yes, it seems that someone killed several of them while performing some sort of rescue. Do you know an agent by the name of Garran Holt?”
Evelyn thought a moment and shook her head. “I think…my father mentioned a transcended some years ago by that name, but I never met him.”
Gordon waved it off. “It is of no consequence. My soldiers and agents now have orders to bring Adam
“I did.”
“Then what the hell do you call this?”
Garran looked at the empty bottle still gripped in his hand. “A rousingly successful hunt.”
“What about me? I haven’t eaten since yesterday.”
Garran scowled. “Did I ever tell about the time I was so hungry I picked through deer shit for food?”
Adam rolled his eyes. “I won’t even ask the why of that, but what does that have to do with any of this?”
“It means you should not be complaining already. This is going to be a tough journey, and you had best get accustomed to deprivation real quick because I can’t stand a whiner.”
“You can’t stand a whiner?” Adam pulled the bottle from Garran’s grasp and hurled it against the boulder, spattering its remaining contents against the stone in a spray of glass.
“What the hell did you do that for?” Garran demanded.
“Because I can’t stand a drunken wastrel who reeks of booze and bad cheese!”
Garran watched the remnants of his whiskey trickle down the boulder and frowned. “You know, for a priest, you’re awfully judgmental.”
“I am not a priest!”
“You’re also not very quiet. For someone who claims to be worried about assassins, you sure shout a lot.”
Adam ran his hands through his hair and grabbed a double fistful, willing himself not to yank it out by the roots. “I am shouting because you are the most exasperating man I have ever met.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s not a compliment!”
“Are you sure?”
“Could we please just go?”
Garran sighed and directed his eyes to the north. “Yeah, we had best get moving. It’s going to be one hell of a walk.”
Adam nodded. “It’s a shame you don’t have a horse.”
“I had one.”
“You did?”
“Yeah, I left him right here before I came down to rescue you. I guess he left.”
“Didn’t you tie him up?”
“No, what if a bear came along? Seems rather cruel.”
“And you thought it wouldn’t wander off?”
“I told it to stay,” Garran said defensively.
“It’s a horse not a dog!”
“Yeah, horses are jerks.”
“Horses are the jerks…Well, this sucks.”
“Tell me about it. I had two more bottles of whiskey in his saddle bags.”
“You are a horrible drunk, you know that?”
Garran focused on the trail ahead as they plodded on. “You say that now, but I’m a lot worse when I’m sober.”
CHAPTER 5
Evelyn sat at the table in her parlor sipping tea, cradling the porcelain cup in her hands in hopes of warding off the coldness infusing her body. She feared she might never know warmth again. Her eyes were red from crying herself to sleep every night for these past several days. The ache of losing her parents and little brother warred with the dread of having to marry the man who was culpable in their murders, but if it kept Adam alive, her last connection to the world she once knew, then she would do it.
She snapped her head up from staring into the now tepid tea at the sound of her parlor door opening. Gordon swaggered in, her father’s crown resting atop his head. Parliament and the church had both rushed to confirm his coronation the moment she agreed to marry him. Knowing that The Guild’s gold was able to purchase both of those great stations only increased her despondency. It was precisely what her father died trying to end, and it was all for naught.
“Good news, Princess,” Gordon chirped. “Although my message failed to reach my men in time, your brother is still alive.”
“He is?”
“Yes, it seems that someone killed several of them while performing some sort of rescue. Do you know an agent by the name of Garran Holt?”
Evelyn thought a moment and shook her head. “I think…my father mentioned a transcended some years ago by that name, but I never met him.”
Gordon waved it off. “It is of no consequence. My soldiers and agents now have orders to bring Adam
Similar Books
