Prince of Spies - By Bianca D'Arc Page 0,26

grin. “If milady will indulge, we must be on our way.” He held out one arm and she took it with a silly grin that answered his mood exactly. It was astounding to him how compatible they were. Any other woman, by this point in their journey, would have driven him insane with annoyance or boredom, but not Riki. No, the more he got to know her, the more he wanted to know.

They waited for a lull in the traffic to move onto the road, just at the final bend before the city gates. Entering the flow of people, carts and animals as unobtrusively as possible, Nico watched carefully to see if anyone took particular notice of them, but his instincts told him they were safe. For now at least.

They neared the bustling gate area in the dim pre-dawn grayness, little swirls of mist rising about their feet that would burn off when the sun had a chance to peer over the horizon. Riki was a silent shadow at his side, standing straight and steadfast. Still, he was surprised when her small hand fastened itself to his, their fingers intertwining comfortably, as if they belonged together.

The dragon in his soul rose up, growling with satisfaction, and he knew it was true. They did belong together. Riki was his woman, the partner to his soul. Now he just had to convince her of that fact, though he feared he’d have to move slowly with such a bruised, battered woman.

She was worth it, though. Riki was worth every moment of patience and waiting. Nico knew, eventually, she would be his. And when that day came—when she came to him freely, of her own volition—he would be the luckiest, happiest, most blessed man in the world.

“Morning.” Nico nodded nonchalantly to the man standing watch at the gate. The casual greeting and the sureness of his step would go a long way toward forestalling any questions the man might otherwise have about them. Nico swung their clasped hands with a little carefree grin as they passed through the gate without challenge. They gave the appearance of being a young, happy couple, returning from a rendezvous in the fields and after an initial look, no one seemed to notice them.

Just as he’d hoped. So far, so good.

“Where are we going? Do you know where your operative is right now?” Riki’s words echoed silently through his mind, and he was glad she was clever enough to use that ability rather than speaking her fears out loud where anyone might hear.

She really was the most astounding woman. For one thing, it was a rare woman indeed who could speak this way with dragonkind. Rarer still were women of royal blood, with the dragon in their soul. Riki was a treasure.

“There is a tavern near the next gate called the Silver Serpent. My man should be there, and if not, we should be able to track him from there easily enough.”

“What kind of spy is so easy to track?” Her voice held confusion and a bit of humor. Riki was proving to be a natural at this kind of thing.

Nico put an arm around her shoulders and tucked her close to his side as they continued moving down the lane. It wasn’t far now to their destination, which was good because the sun was rising in earnest, soon to be creeping over the walls of the city.

“This spy hides in plain sight. As a bard, Drake travels all over, very publicly, with none the wiser to his more clandestine activities.”

“Amazing.”

The little edge of excitement in her thoughts echoed his own love of the profession he’d chosen. Nico had spent a lot of years perfecting his craft in service to the land, people and dragons of Draconia, and his brother Roland, the king.

Turning a corner, Nico spotted the familiar sign. A silver serpent on a wooden plaque swung above the door of a moderately successful tavern. Not the best in the city, but far from the worst, this was just the sort of place that would play host to Drake of the Five Lands, bard extraordinaire. While Drake was talented enough to play for kings, he preferred less grand audiences when his time was his own.

Nico knew Drake had just finished a dangerous assignment that took him to the far reaches of Elderland in the east, playing minstrel to the emperor and his court. Having successfully performed his task of foiling an assassination attempt without any of the noble