Salty Dog by Shayne Silvers & Cameron O'Connell

Author:Shayne Silvers & Cameron O'Connell [Silvers, Shayne & O'Connell, Cameron]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Argento Publishing
Published: 2019-03-27T16:00:00+00:00

25

Tristan bunched his shoulders and twisted back and forth at the waist, his spear perched against the stone wall that wound along the sea’s edge, occasionally raising either foot in a stomping motion—anything to stay limber. “Come to wish me luck?” he asked as I sidled next to him.

I didn’t answer immediately, but instead studied the three brothers lounging on an array of boxes by the docks. Like Tristan, Finann had opted to wait by the boats rather than risk showing up late and forfeiting by default. As for the other two, my guess was they were here for moral support. That, or like many siblings who end up spending too much time together, they simply had nowhere else they’d rather be. Llew, I’d learned from Blair, had already lost to one of Boru’s giants, though it had been a closer match than she’d expected. The other two had summarily dispatched their opponents, one of which included poor Anna, and already there were rumors that Tuathal’s men were targeting the Curaitl—payback for personal grievances.

“Mind your feet,” I replied.

Tristan grunted, then reached for me as I shuffled past him. “Hey, where are you going?”

I ducked beneath his outstretched arm, dipped past the dockhands and sailors, and danced around the fishermen and their nets until at last I stood before the Crows—their title among the Curaitl. When I’d asked why, Tristan had muttered something about always finding them standing over fallen bodies on the battlefield.

Not unimpressive, as titles went.

Finann noticed me drawing close first, tapping shoulders as I approached. “Ceara Light-Eater,” he said, once I was in earshot, voice laden with spite. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

“I thought I owed ye an explanation.” I stopped a few feet away, the weight of their combined stares enough to keep me from standing within reach.

Better to be safe than strangled.

“Oh, I think your name is explanation enough,” Finann replied. “Ceara Light-Eater. So you’re what, the Curaitl’s spear in the night?”

I couldn’t help but laugh at his translation. The brothers bristled, but I was already holding a hand out to stay them. “No, ye idgit. Ceara is the name I gave the Curaitl when ye took me. I didn’t realize the name and the word were different.” I shook my hair out in front of my face like a dog might. “Fiery, remember?”

“And Light-Eater?” Llew asked, his voice as timid, as soft, as I remembered.

“Recent development,” I replied. “Bit of a long story. But it has nothin’ to do with bein’ a spy.”

Bran grunted. “Couldn’t find you after the attack.”

“The crowd overwhelmed me,” I explained. “I saw ye take Caer Capall back, but I was stuck on the other side of the hilltop fightin’ Lady Aife and her guards. They’re the ones who took me.”

“Why would she have wanted you, unless you were her spy?” Finann asked, incredulous.

“She took it personally when I attacked her people on the battlefield before ye lot found me,” I lied, though it was close enough to the

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