Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 134898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 540(@250wpm)___ 450(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 540(@250wpm)___ 450(@300wpm)
I turn back to the bar and notice Raptor looking at me with a smug smile on his face. “Oh, shut up.”
“I didn’t say anything. I’m just questioning your powers of observation.” He nods at the barmaid and puts up two fingers. “Drinks are on me tonight.”
If he’s trying to soften me up after insulting me, it’s not going to work. “Great. You call me a liar and then buy me a drink. Wonderful start to the evening.”
He grins at me, leaning an elbow on the bar as he studies my face rather intently. “I’m just trying to get to know you, Gwenna.”
He knows me very well, he just doesn’t realize it. I grab at the mug slid my way, pull the wedge of onion off the side, and take a sip.
“I’m good at figuring out most people,” Raptor continues, plucking my onion wedge off the bar and eating it in one bite. “But you? I can’t decipher. You’ve got secrets, and you won’t let anyone underneath that shell of yours.”
My skin prickles at the accuracy of his words. Raptor is dangerous to get to know, and yet I can’t resist a tart response. “I told you. I was a maid before coming here. What secrets do you think I’m carrying? Who’s got the dirtiest knickers in the land?”
He laughs, the sound deep and baying, but it’s a full belly laugh and it makes me smile in response. Raptor doesn’t do anything halfway, I’m realizing. When he laughs, it’s with his entire body. When he smiles, it’s with pure, unfettered delight. And when he touches you…
I take a larger gulp of my beer to drown such thoughts.
Ten
Raptor
Gentlemen,
Keeping this brief. Going out with the fledglings on my team this weekend. Am trying to get to know them better. So far I’ve got a braggart, a lazy loaf, a woman, and a lizard. There’s no way this group is passing any tests. Still looking for signs that one is our master thief.
—Raptor
PS—I should get paid extra for spending my weekends pretending to be a student.
Gwenna is an intriguing sort of puzzle, and I find her more interesting with every day. She carries herself like a true professional during all the training exercises that Master Jay puts us through, no matter how brutal they might be. She never complains, just does them to the best of her ability. I like that in a person, regardless of gender.
Whereas Kipp, Arrod, and Hemmen seem to be settling into their roles as fledglings, I can’t help but feel that Gwenna grows more agitated by the day, as if she can’t rest. Perhaps it’s that which draws me to her constantly.
Right now, she’s staring me down over her beer, practically daring me to try to discover her secrets. I love a challenge, so how can I refuse? I give her a smile and slide my stool a little closer to hers, leaning over. “Tell me more about you.”
“Why? So you can use it against me?” She arches a brow. “Don’t you think I know someone trying to fish for information when I see one?”
I grin wider, loving that she’s calling me out on it. “What’s wrong with a little information? Maybe I just want to get to know you better.”
I’m surprised when she blushes, her round cheeks turning bright red. “You know me plenty well already.”
Not well enough. But if she wants to hold on to her secrets for a while longer, I’ll just enjoy the slow unveiling. She takes a sip of her drink, her mouth pink and full.
Lusty, dark thoughts slide through my mind even though I just took my latest potion dose yesterday. I shouldn’t be feeling anything.
Maybe Naiah’s batch this time wasn’t as strong. I’ll have to say something to her.
There’s a strand of Gwenna’s dark hair that has escaped her no-nonsense bun, and it takes everything I have in me not to brush it away. Sarya, I remind myself. You’re allowed to admire attractive women but you want Sarya. “Fine. If you don’t want to share your secrets with me, share your observations. Surely it can’t hurt to tell me what you really think of the others in our Five?”
She takes another sip of her beer and licks the foam off her upper lip. Sarya, I remind myself. Sarya and the way she touched me like she owned me. I want that again. I must stay strong.
Gwenna glances about the tavern, her gaze lingering on Arrod and Hemmen at a table in the back. Arrod is chatting with a barmaid, and Hemmen has pulled out a book. She looks to Kipp, where he’s twining himself around the other slitherskin, and finally back to me. “Well, if I’m going off observations from this week alone, I would say that Arrod is spoiled. Probably comes from nobility or a rich merchant family. He’s not been told no a lot in his life. I don’t expect him to be the type to work harder as the pressure increases.”