Read Online The Scofflaw Magician (The Artifactor Book 3) by Honor Raconteur - Free Book Online Page B

said he hadn’t seen him yet.”
    “Ahh, that’s why you insisted on stopping here.”
    “Why go chasing
after a man when you can wait for him to come to you?” Xald had a sly smirk on
his face. “Besides, I wasn’t sure if you would last much longer.”
    “Your country
is too hot,” she informed him crossly.
    “All foreigners
say that.”
    “And you’re
insane to live here,” Sevana added, not relenting. “I feel baked.”
    “You look it,
too.”
    She eyed him
sideways. He only seemed to be half teasing. Granted, her skin did feel a
little stretched and tender, but most of it had been covered as a precaution
against the sun. “How much?”
    “Your nose,
chin, hands, the patch in front of your neck. The hat didn’t do well in
shielding you from the sun.”
    Growling, she
lifted her kit onto her lap and shifted through it. But no, luck was not with
her. She hadn’t brought any potions or salves that would deal with sunburns.
That was a severe oversight on her part. She’d have to go back to Big tonight
and fetch something.
    A man burst
into the pub, head swiveling about madly as if he were searching for someone.
He was well dressed for this section of town, his shirt and pants of fine
linen, the robe over it all of silk. His skin was darker than usual, like a
merchant’s would be, which was somewhat at odds with his silks. He had the look
of a more humble man with that soft chin line and thick nose too. When he
spotted their table, he came directly to them, looking only a little relieved.
A dark crease of worry was in his brows.
    “Bodyguard Xald
and Artifactor Warran?”
    “That’s us,”
Sevana affirmed, standing. “Who might you be?”
    “Blessings upon
the both of you. I am Petran, Sixth Lord of the Seventh Ring.” He bobbed a
quick bow to them as he introduced himself.
    The title meant
little to her. Sevana could only infer that he was a minor nobleman of some
sort. “Blessings, Master Petran. You have business with us?”
    “I do,” he said
hastily, nearly shifting from foot to foot in anxiety. “May I…?” he gestured to
the only free chair at the table.
    “Please do,”
she invited, reclaiming her own seat. Now this was interesting, what had he
come chasing after them for?
    He sat, but his
nervousness didn’t abate. Instead, he wrung his hands together, gripping and
releasing his fingers in a rhythmic way. “I am told that you are searching for
the missing princess.”
    “Yes,” Xald
answered simply.
    “And that it
might have been someone at the palace that has since left that did it?” Petran
pressed.
    “That’s our
theory at the moment.” Sevana tapped an impatient finger against the table.
What was this about?
    “In truth, my
son is also missing. It’s been over a month now. At first we thought he had
just run off—he’s in a rebellious stage—but we’ve looked all over and can’t
find a trace of him. He’s been spirited away, just like the princess has.”
    Sevana’s
attention sharpened. Was this one of the missing people that Firuz had
mentioned to her in passing upon her arrival? “Is that right. You think they’re
connected?”
    “There was a
musician that came through, very skilled, and performed for my household. We
enjoyed her performance so much that we gave her a reference to the king and
she performed in the palace as well.”
    Xald whipped
out their creased list and flung it flat on the table. “Can you point out this
woman’s name to me?”
    Petran used a
finger to trace through the list before he stabbed the page. “This. This is
her.”
    Xald pulled a
pencil out and marked it. To Sevana he said, “She’s one of the people we
haven’t tracked down yet.”
    “That makes her
a prime suspect, until we can prove otherwise.”
    “Oh?” Petran
said, surprised.
    Sevana’s eyes
cut to him. “Oh? What oh? You recognize another name?”
    “I do,” Petran
responded slowly, his finger hovering next to another name. “This man. He
painted a portrait