it. Jarnsmor hadn’t put them on a cheap, flimsy ship to say the least. At the speed they were going, she’d say they’d arrive in Orin about lunchtime. (Fortunate, that; Fei and ships didn’t exactly get along where food was concerned.)
Wolf craned his head to look toward the bowsprit at the very front of the ship. “Those two look like seagulls.”
Siobhan shifted about to look. Heh. He was right. Fei and Rune were balanced on the edge of the bowsprit, not seemingly disturbed by the idea that dropping into the ocean at that angle would certainly get them killed. They were animatedly talking about something, Rune’s hands rising to illustrate some point he was making. The wind blew and snatched away their words before she could hear them, so she hadn’t the faintest idea what subject had ensnared them so.
“I’ve noticed that Fei talks to Rune often,” Tran noted slowly.
“They’re kindred souls, those two,” Siobhan said with a smile. “They both like high places. I wonder if they were birds in a previous life?”
Wolf shook his head slightly. “It’s not that.”
Her eyes cut to him. Oh? That sounded like a knowing tone. “What?”
“I asked Fei about it. He said that Rune reminds him of himself.”
Tran blinked at him. “Eh? How?”
“That’s as much as he said.” Wolf gave a shrug.
Rune reminded Fei of himself? Fei had said that before, but she still didn’t see the similarity. Those two were as different as day and night except their preference for high places and general sneakiness. Or at least, it looked like that to her on the surface, but in truth, there was a great deal that she didn’t know about both men. Rune’s past was a complete mystery to her aside from him belonging to a dark guild. He didn’t trust her enough to share his secrets and she hadn’t yet figured out whether she should ask or not. Sometimes old wounds bleed anew if they’re prodded at.
Fei, in many aspects, was just as much a stranger. He’d been in the guild for eight years, and was one of the older members, but he’d never once told her why he was so far from home. He never had anyone contact him from Saoleord, either. He’d been eighteen when he’d come to her, which was a very tender age to be alone in a foreign country. She’d been willing to take him in just because of his youth, but he’d proven to be a good fighter when Wolf tested him, so she hadn’t adopted him as a member on sympathy alone. As time passed, she had learned not to ask about his family or find out more of his story. Clearly, it was too painful to talk about. It might always be that way.
She watched the two sneaks sitting out there chatting avidly with weighing eyes. They were similar, huh. Now there was food for thought.
“You should trust Rune,” Tran announced firmly.
At first Siobhan thought he said that to her, but when she looked up, she found his eyes locked with Wolf’s. Oh, now this was interesting. Tran was trying to change Wolf’s opinion on Rune?
Wolf’s brows slammed together and a tic developed at his jaw. “I don’t want to hear that from you. And since when did you come up with that, anyway?”
“You should trust him,” Tran repeated stubbornly. “Did you know that he checks in on every person before he goes to bed himself? He does it again after he wakes up, too.”
Siobhan sat up abruptly. “How do you know?”
“Fei told me,” Tran answered her patiently. “I don’t know how he knows, though. All I know is, Rune’s honestly concerned about every person in the guild. That boy has been sleeping with an eye open ever since we took him on. He’s dealt with threats we didn’t see.”
Hooo…and here she thought Wolf’s senses of danger were too sharp to miss anything. She glanced at him and found him frowning.
“How far out is he patrolling?” Wolf asked slowly.
“Farther than you are. Whatever you set the limit at, he goes out further.” Tran’s tone remained carefully neutral as if, for once, he wasn’t trying to challenge Wolf or start a fight. “I think he’s afraid to lose Siobhan.”
“Because we’re safe to him, and he’s never had that before,” Siobhan translated his unspoken words with a long, exhaled breath.
Tran tapped his heart twice in quick agreement. “Wolf. That boy’s no danger to us. You have to treat him as guild, or the next time