Chapters (13)
Ren rolled his eyes. “Fine. How much?” he asked the smith, pushing off the bench and fishing his pouch of money out of his pocket.
“Ten gold,” the smith said, and Ren passed over the coins and pulled his bag over his shoulder once more, ready to get out of there before they pushed their luck too far.
“Ten gold is too much,” Anik said as they left the smithy together. “You should have haggled.”
“Oh, now you're concerned about my economic situation? You made me pay fifteen for a map,” Ren reminded him.
“Well I'm not the one who scoffs at freshly caught fish, so I don't care if you can't afford any more of your fancy dinners.”
Ren clenched his jaw, eyes narrowed. He stopped and turned. “Seriously? Are you really going to complain about me all the way to Stag's Run? I just bought you a sword you don't even deserve, so can you please stop criticizing me for five minutes?”
Anik's entire body tensed. Chest to chest like this, the height difference between them seemed even greater than it was. But before either of them could say another word, a new voice made Ren's heart skip a beat.
“Prince Ren! Is that you? The young Stag! I haven't seen you since my father's autumn feast three years ago.”
The voice belonged to a young man with neatly combed dark brown hair and a jacket heavily embroidered with gold thread. Ren knew him well; had bedded him more than once. He was pleasant and kind, but right now, he was the last person Ren wanted to see.
Ren tried to turn away, but the young man caught Ren by the shoulder and opened his arms for a friendly embrace. “What a coincidence. What are you doing out here by yourself? Sneaking out again? If you could be tempted, I know just the place-”
“Lord Scyan, I…” Ren held up both hands to try and stop him from coming closer, but the damage was already done. From the corner of his eye, Ren saw heads turn and hands move to sword hilts. The golden cuffs of guards' jackets caught the sunlight as they turned towards them, glanced between each other and then reached for their swords.
Anik's hand closed tight around Ren's wrist as the sharp voices of the guards echoed between the buildings. Anik wasn't looking at him, but at the three mounted guards suddenly blocking the way they had come. Messenger birds had flown faster than their horses had walked. “We need to run. Now,” he said.
“We can't outrun horses,” Ren hissed, backing up. He could feel his heart beating in his throat.
Lord Scyan looked between them and the guards, confusion and uncertainty shining in his eyes.
“Now, Ren!” Anik shouted, before turning on his heel and sprinting back towards the market. An arrow bounced off the cobblestones where his feet had been only a second ago. Ren didn't linger.