on her toes. Rune stood directly behind her, relaxed and calm, as if he’d been there for quite some time. Putting a hand up to keep her jumping heart in her chest, she requested in exasperation, “Can’t you make noise when you walk?!”
Mouth quirked, he confided, “Actually, I can’t.”
“You’re going to give me heart failure at this rate,” she grumbled to herself. An assassin that couldn’t make noise when he moved. Lovely.
“Ya wanted me?” he prompted when she didn’t continue.
“Ah, yes.” Reminded of her purpose, she put a hand into her coat pocket and drew out a small leather badge. “Jarnsmor informed me that he couldn’t let you board any ship of his unless you were officially registered as a member of Deepwoods. So, here’s your crest. I put it in a leather holder—most of us carry one that way—but you can put it anywhere or wear it any way you wish.”
Rune accepted the seal she handed out to him with both hands, eyes wide with surprise. “I’m…a member of yer guild?”
“Officially, as of…” she glanced at the clock on the wall, “about two hours ago. Welcome! I’ll tell everyone else about it as I see them. Now, make sure not to lose this. They’re ridiculously expensive to replace.”
He flipped open the top of the badge so he could look at the seal. The Deepwoods crest wasn’t anything fancy. Siobhan had been stuck for a name and symbol to use for the guild when she’d created it nearly a decade ago, and so had chosen a name that she and Grae had used for their secret hideout as children. The “D” with its stem and leaf design had been done by Beirly, the only person in the guild who had any artistic talent. They could probably afford to have a better version done now, but they were so established with that name and symbol, Siobhan felt it better to leave things be.
Rune certainly didn’t seem to mind that the crest had so little flair to it. He flipped it closed again and turned it over in his hand, looking at the back.
Then he froze.
When the silence stretched to an uncomfortable length, she cleared her throat and offered, “I hope you don’t mind?”
“It…says…”
“Rune Maley,” she confirmed.
If a feather had landed on his shoulder at that moment, the ex-assassin would have fallen straight to the floor. He didn’t even seem to breathe.
Siobhan watched his expression carefully, trying to gauge if he was upset with what she had done or not. But he seemed so stunned that he didn’t know how to react at all.
“Maley,” he whispered in a hoarse tone. “Isn’t that…yer last name?”
“Yes, so it is,” she responded carefully. “When I went to register you a member of my guild, and get your crest made, they told me you had to have a full name to do any of that. I figured, I half-named you already. I might as well finish the job.”
His eyes finally rose to meet hers. In those clear blue eyes were all the wonder, joy, and life that a child would reflect after receiving a lifelong wish. She could see it all in that moment—he had never expected her to do anything like this for him.
“The Maley family is from Widstoe,” she told him with a soft smile. “We’re an old family, usually made up of carpenters and weavers. I’m the odd one in the bunch, with my habit of traveling. It’s a good name, with a good reputation.” Reaching up, she cupped the back of his head and mussed his hair in an affectionate way. “So take care of it.”
“I—” he had to clear his throat and try again. “I will.”
“Good.”
ӜӜӜ
“You want me to do what?”
Rune’s impish grin widened a notch. “Learn ta skulk.”
So she had heard him right. Siobhan closed the book in her hands and leaned forward in the chair. She’d squirreled herself into a corner of the common room, enjoying a moment of peace, and the last thing she’d expected was this random invitation from Rune. It was, in fact, the first thing he’d ever asked her to do and showed tremendous progress on his part. Seeing the enthusiasm in his eyes, she didn’t have the heart to tell him that crawling around in spider-infested rafters was the last thing she wanted to do. “Well, alright, why not?”
“Excellent. This way.” He grabbed her by the wrist and hauled her easily to her feet.
Somewhat bemused by this odd turn of events, she followed him