Forging Ties (Ties, Book 3) | ✓

Chapter 14

Skye followed Hamish as they walked down the street, heading towards the inn where Hamish had left the others. It was difficult for Hamish to gauge exactly what was going through Skye's mind. On the surface, he appeared to be simple-minded, but there was a clear intelligence shining in his eyes. More than anything, it seemed that Skye had an unusual set of priorities and little regard for anyone else's opinion or desires. Hamish might have described him as self-centred, but the way he had leapt in to save Duran painted a different picture.

When they reached the inn, Hamish spotted Duran sitting at a table with food and a drink in front of him, engaged in conversation with a man with light blue skin and even lighter blue hair. The man appeared to be in his thirties. Slone was sitting at the bar with his back to them, making it appear as though he and Duran were not together.

Duran gave the man one of his all-too-convincing fake smiles and said something to him before getting up and waving Hamish over as he headed in Slone's direction.

"Making friends?" Hamish asked, leaning against the bar.

"Earning money," Duran corrected. "I cleaned and mended his clothes. He's been generous."

"I'm sure the fact that he was in his clothes while you did that had nothing to do with his generosity."

Duran waved away the concern with a dismissive gesture. "I know what he wants. He's been plying me with alcohol. I've been pretending to be a lightweight when I'm the exact opposite. It's been profitable."

Hamish shook his head in admiration. "You're clever, Duran. But is he going to get what he wants?"

Duran's expression turned serious. "No. I don't appreciate his approach."

"Can't say I trust him either," Slone added. "Wouldn't want to leave Duran alone with him, that's for sure."

Duran's gaze shifted to the man in question, studying his form with a critical eye. He wasn't particularly large, but he was bigger than Duran. Most men were.

Skye, meanwhile, hovered near the man's table, looking disinterested as he idly patted his thighs. The second the man turned his attention away, Skye snatched a chicken wing from the plate and casually retreated, pretending to be engrossed in his own business by the time the man looked back.

"I thought he'd wandered off," Slone said, glancing at Skye.

"He did, but he found me again," Hamish said. "It turns out there's some weird ocean shit going on and ships don't run to The Spire, but Skye knows a lady who might be able to help us figure something out."

"Ah," Slone said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I prob'ly shoulda known about the weird ocean shit. Sorry. I don't like boats, so I don't know much about what goes on with 'em."

"I don't suppose it would have made any difference to what we decided," Hamish said. "We didn't exactly have any great alternatives to coming here."

"And if we'd gone the other way, we wouldn't have the egg, we wouldn't have met Skye, and we wouldn't have gotten to see this town," Duran added. "Maybe the other way would have held even greater surprises, but I wouldn't give up what we have here to find out."

"Y'know, I can't argue with that," Slone said. "Normally I wouldn't need any convincing not to mind, but I'm tryna be a bit smarter since I got you guys to worry about as well this time."

Duran opened his mouth to respond, but before he could speak, he caught sight of the man rising from his table. Duran's demeanour changed in an instant, his posture shifting and his expression softening in a way that made him look more like Fanner than himself.