Page 145 of A Court of Wings and Shadows

Lomard grabbed the tankard from the barmaid with a grunt, taking a long swig that emptied half of it in one gulp. Ale sloshed down his chin, and he wiped it with the back of his hand before his gaze swept the tavern.

His eyes landed on Remy.

They stopped there, burning with recognition.

He didn’t even glance at me.

“You,” he roared, slamming the tankard down with a crack.

Remy rose from the table with infuriating calm, and the tavern shifted. Chairs scraped. Tankards stilled. Patrons backed away from the center, some tripping over their own feet to get out of the blast radius.

The center of the tavern cleared like someone had screamedfire.

Lomard drew his blade, steel whispering out of its sheath.

“Were you lookin’ for me, you pathetic piece of dragon dung?” Remy asked in a deadly tone. He tilted his head as he stepped into the open space between them.

“Sure am. There’s a hefty bounty for you and your fae wench,” Lomard said, his voice dripping with venom.

Remy’s expression didn’t falter. “Why are you after a woman, Lomard? Is that the extent of your skill, attacking girls in the dark?”

Lomard chuckled, dark and proud. “I can kill anything. But the contract on her wasn’t for death. Just a little nick. I made it look good though, didn’t I? She thought it was a real assassination attempt. Played it up real nice.”

I gritted my teeth, hands fisting at my sides, fury rising like a storm. He had drugged me on purpose. The question was why.

Remy’s gaze flicked to the crowd. “You don’t seem concerned that someone might talk.”

“They won’t,” Lomard growled. “Or they’re dead. And they know it. The Order taught me that.”

Remy’s smile faded slightly. “So, what, you’re starting your own Order now?”

“Not me,” Lomard said, chest puffing. “But the Order and the nobility? They’re about to get a rude awakening.”

“Is that so,” Remy drawled.

“You’re the worst of them. Helping the fae. Playing lapdog to the royals. You don’t even see it—what’s coming.” He spat on the floor and laughed. “We’ll unite under the Crimson Sigil.”

Crimson Sigil.My blood went cold.

The other sect.

“There’s two now,” I said aloud. “Two factions looking to overthrow the nobles.”

Remy nodded slowly, voice low. “The humans who hate magic users. I’ve heard the name. But what about the Varnari?”

Lomard’s lip curled. “The Varnari? They’re worse. They want to gather magic users, breed them even. They’re no better than the nobles, only they hide behind symbols and old bloodlines.”

He stepped forward, blade catching the firelight.

“But both sides have one thing in common.”

Remy’s jaw tensed. “And what’s that?”

Lomard’s grin widened. “They both want you dead.”

Then he lunged—blade flashing in the firelight, slicing through the smoke-filled air, straight for Remy’s heart.

The moment Lomard moved, the tavern held its breath.