Page 20 of Winter's Echo
Something cold slid down my spine, but I forced myself not to react. I didn’t want to give him that.
“The job’s yours if you want it for yourself,” I told him, trying my best to appear as casual and indifferent as he was.
He smiled. It held as much warmth as the temperature outside.
“I don’t take jobs,” he replied quietly.
My grip tightened around my mug even though it was empty. “Then what do you do?”
This time, his smile had humor, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I decide when and how they end.”
I didn’t have a comeback for that, and from the looks of him, he didn’t expect one.
He turned to the captain, and his gaze scanned the soldiers one more time. “What are you waiting for?”
I saw the captain's gaze narrow, and he made a show of taking a drink of his coffee. When he was finished, he leaned back in his seat, almost lazily, mirroring Baxley’s posture. I wondered if he knew it. Captain Marson looked the mercenary over from head to foot.
“You’ll address me as Captain Marson,” he told him, and if I thought it was cold outside, it was nothing compared to the drop in temperature inside.
“You keep telling me that,” the mercenary said with a grin. He leaned over and grabbed a slice of bread from the table. I wasn’t sure if it belonged to the captain or his companion, but the mercenary didn’t care as he took a big bite. “Still doesn’t tellme why you aren’t outside and ready to go,” he said with his mouth full, a fact I saw the captain clearly disliked.
The captain suddenly stood, startling many of his men into action, but neither Baxley nor I moved, and neither did the new mercenary.
“I did not assign you,” the captain said, moving closer to the other man, who was now grinning as he ate. “And I will quite happily makeallof you leave.”
“Me too?” I piped up, wincing at the sound of hope in my voice.
The captain’s gaze flicked to mine, and he looked almostdisappointedthat I asked. “Not you, Amarya.”
I slumped back in my chair, and Baxley chuckled as he stood.
“Nicco, stop pissing him off, we’ve been through this before.” He stopped and picked up his pack as if it weighed nothing. “Daylight doesn’t last long, let’s move.”
Baxley nudged my shoulder softly. “That means you too, little Trailfinder.”
He ignored my grumbling about being called little, but I stood and fastened my travel cloak around me. I picked up my pack, slinging it over my shoulder, adjusting the strap across my cloak to act as a fastener, and I ignoredNicco'sstare as I wrapped my neck warmer around the lower half of my face.
When I was bundled up as much as possible, I pulled the woolen mittens from my pockets and put them on.
“Are you going to watch me the whole time?” I asked sharply, pulling the ends of my mittens up and over my sleeves, making sure there were no gaps. I didn’t want to let the chill into my bones, not if I could help it.
“I expected you to be sturdier,” Nicco told me as he chewed his final piece of bread.
I looked up from my mittens and met his unwavering gaze. There was an intensity there that didn’t soften, even as hesmiled. His eyes were warmer than they had any right to be. Warm brown and entirely steady, like a man who had never once looked away from something that made him uncomfortable. I found that deeply irritating.
“I didn’t expect you at all.” I sniffed dismissively. “Let’s hope your legs can run as fast as your mouth does.” I ignored his laugh and turned to the captain. “I’ll be outside.”
I stepped outside, only hesitating at the door when I wasn’t sure if the captain would cover my night's bed and meal. I felt a presence behind me, and glancing over my shoulder, I saw it was Baxley. He gave me a wink, which encouraged me to walk out, the sound of Nicco’s chuckle lingering behind us.
If I hadn’t been expecting Nicco, who I justknewwas going to be an antagonistic pain in the ass, then I definitely wasn’t expecting the blonde woman cursing at a horse with her pack already loaded into one of the wagons.
Her hood was down, and her messy blonde braids fell over her shoulders, one snagging on the strap of her sword worn across her back. Her loose cloak was pushed over her shoulders, and underneath, she was as heavily armed as Baxley.
Blonde hair was rare in Crystallese, almost as if even our heritage refused to allow us to be light. It looked wrong on her. Too bright in a land that rarely saw the sun. It wasn’t just the sight of her hair, but she was tall. Not just tall, butimposing. I’d never seen a woman like her before.
She glanced over as the inn door shut behind Baxley. Pale-blue eyes, faintly crinkled at the corners, slid past me as she looked at him. She pulled her neck warmer down and grinned.
“Is he being a prick?” she asked Baxley. She pointed at the leather strap looped around the wagon post. “Come on, give me your muscles. It won’t budge for me.”
