Total pages in book: 179
Estimated words: 169943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 850(@200wpm)___ 680(@250wpm)___ 566(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 169943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 850(@200wpm)___ 680(@250wpm)___ 566(@300wpm)
I’m also pretty sure every weapon from the practice room is on the table. “What happened? Where’s Aspeth?”
Mereden bursts into fresh tears.
Gwenna storms across the room toward me, her expression one of pure fire. “You! High time you showed up. You think you can just gallivant off and leave us behind?”
I arch a brow at her. “I was on a rescue mission. I left a message with Aspeth.”
“Yes, well, we need you more than anyone else does.” She puts her hands on her hips and glares at me. “Now that you’re here, you need to go and save Aspeth before they torture her for information!”
“No one’s torturing anyone,” Magpie declares. “I’ve said that twice now. Can someone help me with my sleeve?”
Gwenna scowls at her and doesn’t move to help. No one does. Instead, Gwenna turns back to me. “This is all your fault,” she hisses. “If you hadn’t left, Aspeth wouldn’t be in this mess.”
Her anger—as well as my own fatigue—make me unpleasant. I lean in, looming over her. “You want to tell me exactly what mess it is I’m supposed to be responsible for?”
She leans back, but only a little, her expression remaining fierce. “We were playing some sort of artifact game against the other teams of fledglings and they decided that Aspeth was cheating. They’re holding her hostage at the guild hall and won’t let us in to see her. That’s why Magpie’s getting dressed.” She casts a dismissive look over at the guild master. “For all the good that will do.”
“I’m helping!” Magpie protests.
“You’re a soggy mess is what you are,” Gwenna declares. “If you weren’t such a waste of skin, we wouldn’t be in this mess, now would we?”
“Hey,” Lark protests. “That’s my aunt.”
“Your aunt is a drunken waste of skin,” Gwenna repeats. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
Lark glances at me and then drops her gaze, sullen. “I mean…she’s trying.”
“She’s not trying very hard.” Gwenna glares over at the two of them again. “And now Aspeth is suffering because there was no one to speak up for her. So someone in charge needs to fix this. Now.”
I look over at Magpie. Her head is stuck in her clothes, one hand flailing above her head.
Sigh.
I set my pack down. “Someone help Magpie with her sleeve. I’ll go get my wife.”
* * *
By the time I make it to the main guild hall, I’m a tired, angry, cranky mess. My hooves are still crusted with mud from the caverns and I smell like old sweat. I want nothing more than to change out of my old clothes and take a bath, but it seems I’m having to retrieve my wife instead, and my mood grows more dire with every moment that passes.
When I storm inside, wild-eyed and tail swishing, an apprentice spots me and immediately runs down a hall. No doubt he’s been told to notify someone of my arrival. Sure enough, Master Tiercel appears in the hall from one of the doors, his mouth tight and his expression troubled.
That makes me pause. Master Rooster is a fool, as are many of the other masters, but I’ve always respected Tiercel. He’s hard but fair, and as a teacher, his students never end up needing a rescue.
“I’m here to retrieve my wife,” I say, but some of the fire has left my voice. “What’s the problem?”
“Hawk.” His greeting is accompanied by a friendly handshake, and my mood smooths out a bit. “I’m glad you’re here. I wish it were under different circumstances. We need to talk about your wife. When did you marry?”
“Recently” is all I say. “Where is she?”
“She’s being questioned,” Tiercel says. “This is the first I’ve heard of your marriage. And to a student? You have to know this is rather unorthodox.”
“But not against the rules. Just like having a female student,” I remind him. “As for my wife, she likes to argue, but I’m not entirely certain that’s a crime,” I point out, and mentally I’m imagining how Aspeth has managed to piss off Master Tiercel. “What’s going on with the artifacts?”
“First, I would like to know how you came to know her.” He tilts his head, regarding me. “Did she approach you or did you approach her?”
I narrow my eyes at him. What is he getting at? “I’m not sure why that matters. She wanted to be a student at the guild. Remember that she approached Master Rooster and wanted to enroll?”
He blinks. “Was that her?”
“It was. Called herself ‘Sparrow’?” Recognition dawns on his face, along with an amused smile that for some reason makes me want to punch him. “You remember now.”
“I do.” He chuckles, and the sound grates on my nerves. “She certainly doesn’t lack for boldness. What made you decide to marry her?”
I decide to lay it all out. “There’s a rut coming up.”