Prince of Spies - By Bianca D'Arc Page 0,25

he’s a bard. By birth he’s Draconian, though you couldn’t tell from listening to him. His fathers are knights and he grew up in a Lair, though he struck out on his own at a young age to learn his musical and storytelling craft. He’s studied all over and I’ve always found him helpful. I think his many skills will come in handy now.”

“I hope you’re right.”

Chapter Six

And so Nico found himself setting down as gently as he could, just outside the perimeter wall of Plinth a few minutes before dawn. The city was large enough to have a daily market and the gates on the south side were already bustling with traffic as farmers came in from the fields with their sale crops along the large, slightly fortified road. Travel in this part of the country was a little safer than farther south because this far north, the temperatures were colder, meaning fewer skiths inhabited the area.

Nico shifted quickly, lest some sharp-eyed farmer see him in his dragon form. Riki stretched her limbs and Nico was struck for a moment by the lithe grace of her. She swayed from side to side, stretching and Nico thought he’d never seen a more beautiful, feminine sight.

“Is everything all right?”

Nico realized he’d been staring, motionless, for some time. Shaking his head and gathering his wits, he vowed silently to pay better attention to their surroundings. True, he was tired from the long flight and still feeling twinges from the beating and torture he’d suffered just two days before, but that was no excuse for relaxing his vigilance. It wasn’t just his life on the line this time. Riki was counting on him for protection and guidance through this dangerous land. He couldn’t let her down.

“Fine,” he answered shortly, stepping closer and straightening the hood on her long traveling cloak. The heavy woolen cloak was a bit large on her, but it wouldn’t look too conspicuous in the gray light of dawn and chilly morning air. “We need to blend in with the farmers going to market. Keep the cloak tightly around you, and you should be fine.”

He adjusted the hood so it pooled around her face, hiding her a bit. He had already scooped her auburn hair into a knot, shoving it down the back of the cloak, hiding most of its lustrous length from sight behind the folds of the hood.

“What about you? Won’t you look conspicuous in such thin clothes on such a chilly morning?”

Nico stepped back, surveying his work. She looked close to perfect. Or as close to perfect as they could get with such limited resources. His appearance, on the other hand, needed some work before they could blend in. His shirt was burned in places and bloodstained in others. Luckily, the thin, dark leather wasn’t very conspicuous in the dim morning light. But they still had to get inside the city and out of public view as quickly as possible.

Rolling back the ragged cuffs of his shirt, Nico adjusted the neckline, tearing into the soft leather, parting it just slightly down his chest and tucking the ragged edges inward. He then took stock of his leather leggings. They’d held up reasonably well through his ordeal but were clearly worn soldier-style at the moment. Bending, he loosened the hem, pulling on the drawstring he’d had designed right into the garment for just such occasions.

Warriors wore their leathers close-fitting so that nothing could impede them in battle. Farmers were less particular and usually wore their leather as loose as possible to cool them while they worked, allowing a full range of movement. Farmers were also less apt to be able to afford the custom-made clothes many successful soldiers had tailored from soft, supple leather to address the same range of motion issues. No, loose and hanging out was the order of the day as a farmer, and Nico was prepared.

With a few final tugs, he was ready.

“What do you think?” Nico held his hands out to his sides, sending Riki a smile. She was watching him with such a fierce look of concentration on her cute face, it was all he could do to stop himself from kissing her senseless. Later, he promised himself, when they’d found shelter. Oh, yes, later he’d get that kiss he so desperately needed.

“That’s amazing.” Riki watched his moves with admiration. He noted the interested spark in her eye as she considered what he’d done to alter his appearance.

Nico bowed slightly with a roguish