Page 5 of Quicksilver

“Youarean idiot,” Brynn insisted. “You're also on a twenty-four-hour ban. Back outside with you. If your sister pays, I'll have someone bring you a cup of ale on the steps.”

“I'm not paying for anything.”

Hayden had the nerve to look disappointed. “Well, I'm not leaving without that scarf,” he said. “My lungs will be flayed raw by the time I get home.”

“Best hold your breath, then. Go on. Out with you.” Brynn waved the ladle menacingly in Hayden's direction, and my brother paled. He eyed the over-large spoon as though he'd already been introduced to it once today and was well aware of what it could do. I wouldn't have been surprised ifBrynnhad given him the black eye rather than Carrion.

“I'll get the scarf for you. Go and wait for me outside,” I told him.

“You'll not be taking it by force,” Brynn warned. She swung the ladle in my direction, but it didn't have the same effect onme, and she knew it. A weapon had to be considerably shinier and a whole lot sharper to makemeblink. She lowered the ladle, opting for a gentler approach. “I mean it, Saeris. Please. Keep the peace, if only for my sake. I'm at my wit’s end already and it's not even eight.”

“You have my word. I won't break any more furniture. I'll get what I came for and be gone before you know it.”

“I'm holding you to that.” Clearly, Brynn didn't think I was going to honor my word, but she sighed, stepping aside anyway. Hayden gave me a look that begged for me to vouch for him—healwayshad to push—but I knew better than to give in to those pleading eyes.

“Outside.Now.Hold onto this. Donotlet it out of your sight.” I thrust my bag into his chest and was wracked with a spasm of panic as he took it. It was one thing wandering around the ward with a giant piece of gold just sitting in the bottom of a bag. It was another thing entirely to stand in front of Carrion Swift with such a valuable piece of contraband on your person. The man was capable of anything. His fingers were lighter than the dawn breeze. He'd talked me out of my underwear—perhaps the greatest heist ever performed in Zilvaren—and people hadn't stopped talking aboutthatfor months. I wasn't willing to risk that he wouldn't catch a whiff of something interesting in the bag and endeavor to relieve me of it.

“I'll be ten minutes,” I told Hayden. He pulled a face as he left the tavern.

Kala's patrons paused their games of bones, their rowdy conversations faltering as I made my way to Carrion. Everyone followed me out of the corners of their eyes, half-watching as I arrived at the grifter's table. Sparkling blue eyes danced with amusement as Carrion met my gaze. His hair was copper and gold and burnished umber, as if each strand were a fine thread of the metals that were so precious to Queen Madra. He was alwaysthe tallest person in a room by at least a foot, broad across the shoulders, and held himself with a confidence that made girls all over Zilvaren swoon. I hated to admit it, but it was that confidence that had lured me into his bed. I'd wanted to disprove it, to show him that his self-assuredness was nothing more than a façade. I'd planned on crushing that ego of his once I'd finished with him, but then he'd done the unthinkable and proven that his swagger was well-earned. Morethan well-earned. It made my blood boil just thinking about it. The man was a thief and a liar, and he loved himself far too much. I mean, who in their right mind wore this kind of finery? To a tavern full of savages who'd cut your throat and steal the dirty boots off your feet as soon as look at you? He wasmad.

“Asshole,”I said stiffly by way of greeting.

He grinned, and my stomach rolled in a weightless way that made me curse under my breath. “Bitch,” he replied. “Nice to see you. I didn't think we were...spending time togetheranymore.” His friends guffawed like morons, elbowing each other. Even they knew that this was a prod from Carrion. A poke. The last time I'd seen him, I'd been scrambling out of his bed, clutching hold of my bundled clothes, swearing on the forgotten gods and all four winds that I'd rather die than stick around for a repeat performance of the show he'd just put on for me. He knew he'd won. The supercilious prick hadn't been shy about it. He'd told me I'd be back for more, and I'd told him in very colorful language that I'd snap his cursed cock right off his body if he ever tried to come near me with it again. Or something to that effect, anyway.

I got straight to the point, ignoring his friendsandhis suggestive barb. “You promised you wouldn't gamble with Hayden again.”

Carrion angled his head, eyes drifting upward as he pretended to think about this. “Did I?” he asked incredulously. “That doesn't sound like me at all.”

“Carrion.”

The bastard sucked in a sharp breath, his attention snapping back to me. “She said my name.” He pretended to swoon. “You all heard it. She said my name.” Again, this earned a round of snickering from his infantile accomplices.

“Not only did you break your word, but you beat the living shit out of him, Carrion.”

“Ahh, come on.Don't be so sour.” He held out his hands, palms up, fingers splayed. “He begged me to play with him. Who am I to say no? And if I'd beaten the living shit out of him, I wouldn't have seen your little brother sulking around by the bar just now, would I? He'd still be out on the street, spitting blood into the sand. I hit him...” He thought about it. “Once. Maybe twice. That only qualifies as a light beating. And what's a light beating between friends?”

“Hayden isn't your friend. He's my brother. Messing with him is against the rules.”

Carrion leaned forward, propping his elbows against the table. He bounced his eyebrows in the most infuriating way. “I never met a rule I didn't wanna break, Sunshine.”

“We had a deal. I specifically remember saying I wouldn't interfere with your supply lines to and from the Hub, and you said you wouldn't mess with Hayden anymore.”

He frowned. “Yeah, I suppose that does ring a bell.”

The gall. The nerve. The out-and-outaudacity.“So then why are you gambling with him?”

“Maybe my memory’s patchy these days,” Carrion mused.

“Youdoget hit in the head a lot.”

“Or maybe,” he said, swirling the ale around in his glass, “I knew if I messed with Hayden, I'd get to see you.And maybe that was an opportunity too good to pass up.”

“You broke my brother's ribs just so you'd get to see me?” I couldn't have heard him correctly. There's no way he’d be insane enough to hurt Hayden for such a ridiculous reason.

Carrion's tone was suddenly sharp when he fired back, “No, Saeris. I broke them because he tried tostab me with one of your knives when I wouldn't play another round. Evenyourbrother doesn't get away with that.”

My shock was a cold, dead weight in the pit of my stomach. “He wouldn—”