surprise. When he simply looked back at her, expectantly, she softened into a sweet smile. With his generosity established, she didn’t hesitate to steal another bite, although she did give him his spoon back first so he could at least try to eat.
Siobhan watched this play out with open satisfaction as Wolf took the chair next to hers. Well now. She’d known Hammon to be a kind soul from their first meeting, but this rather proved it to the whole guild. Sylvie had probably been half-testing him on that first bite—she routinely tested everyone she came into contact with—but now that Hammon had proven he wouldn’t judge her for her bad habits, they would likely be much more at ease with one another.
They chatted over breakfast and ate but did not dawdle. With the storm past them, Siobhan didn’t want to waste any time staying here. They knew everything that could be learned about Lirah’s party and it was time to go.
Fortified with a hot breakfast, steaming tea, and a good night’s rest, they took to the road once more. Leaving the isle took a matter of minutes, as it didn’t have any real width to it, just length, and then they stepped onto the second half of the Grey Bridges. The whole party let out a sigh of relief when they felt the warm wind flow over them. The air still had a distinct chill to it, but it didn’t even compare to the wind-cutting, bone-rattling cold of before.
They crossed the bridge without incident, sometimes nodding or saying friendly hellos with the people that passed them on the other side. With fairer weather, the traffic on the bridge picked up considerably as people tried to take advantage and get to their own destinations.
Siobhan kept an eye on Denney as they went. The girl had never been comfortable in Quigg, despite it being her hometown. Or maybe it was because of it. Wynngaard and Teherani both had interesting opinions about half-bloods, and Denney usually ran into trouble at some point when they passed through the city. The closer they got, the more openly she stuck herself to Conli. He put an arm around her shoulder, comforting, but also in a clearly protective mood.
She caught Wolf and Tran’s eyes, inclining her head toward Denney. They nodded in grim understanding, accepting her silent order to keep an eye on her.
Still, the day passed pleasantly enough, and by late afternoon, they arrived in the thriving, bustling, and sometimes dangerous city of Quigg.
Quigg had never been designed or organized in any way as it was constructed. People had added on streets, neighborhoods and whole markets wherever they felt a need to have one. People who had been born and raised in the city still got lost in it, or so the rumors said. Anyone going to Wynngaard had one of two options: find a ship and sail there yourself or go through Quigg. Sometimes people had stopped there instead of continuing on, and the city reflected the very diverse cultures it housed. Every possible style of architecture, masonry, and signs could be seen as soon as the guild stepped through the main gates. Siobhan flinched from it a little, overwhelmed by the clash of scents, voices speaking loudly in different languages, and the press of bodies wearing every possible style of clothing.
She could tell it unnerved the men, too, being surrounded and jostled on all sides by pedestrians and other travelers. They immediately formed ranks around the cart, Wolf guarding the back, Fei the middle, and Tran coming ahead to ride alongside her. Raising her voice to be heard over the din, she said to him, “Is it my imagination, or is this place more crowded than it was last year?”
Tran grimaced agreement.
Sylvie stood up in the cart and called, “Siobhan! Should I go ahead and see if our regular inn has room for us?”
Instinctively, she felt it a bad idea. Shaking her head, she raised one hand and made a circular gesture, signaling the group to stick close together. Siobhan just knew that if they separated in this crowd, for any reason, they’d have a terrible time finding each other again. She especially didn’t want any one of them going off alone—no telling what trouble they’d find doing so.
They blazed a path through the crowd easier as a group, but even then their pace was slow. Siobhan couldn’t clearly remember which street their preferred inn sat on, so Tran took the lead (bless