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He did—tracing a loopy, entangled design that reminded me of a mangled heart.
I shrieked laughing. “Wow, Fintan, you have such lovely handwriting. I do love a man that’s good with his hands.”
Alisdair growled louder.
“What about this?” I covered my shoulder back up and picked a rune on a less scandalous spot. I tapped the tiny one on my wrist. “What does it mean?”
“It means run.”
“Run,” I repeated, committing it to memory. I truly did want to learn. “Hey! You never got to finish that funny story you were telling me on the way up.” Alisdair’s growl was a steady thrum in the background. “Please, go on.”
“Um, well.” Fintan was quite cute for a leopard man. He had intense, round yellow eyes and whiskers, but they did nothing to impede his shy, nervous smile, or the way his dreadlocks perfectly framed his heart-shaped face. “All I said was that I tripped on my sword getting out of bed this morning.”
I howled, slapping the table. “That’s hilarious. Tell me more.”
“That’s not hilarious,” Alisdair barked. “He’s clumsier than a one-footed fool. Fitting that the first thing you do in the morning is humiliate yourself.”
Fintan flinched. “Yes, my lord.”
I flapped a hand over my shoulder. “Don’t mind him. I want to learn everything about you. Tell me about your family. How did you come to live in Lumenfell?”
“I thought this was a runes lesson,” Alisdair said. “Not mindless chatter time.”
“Oh,” I cried, covering my mouth. “You’re right, husband. We wouldn’t want to disturb you. We’ll be quieter.” I leaned over the table, putting my mouth close to his ear.
Alisdair’s snarls ratcheted up so high, my natural survival instincts flooded my pumping heart with adrenaline. All my senses were telling me to run.
“So,” I whispered. “What were we talking about? Oh, right! You were going to tell me how you became so smart and sweet.”
Crash!
“That’s enough.” Alisdair sprung to his feet, toppling his chair. “This lesson is over. Back to your post.”
“It’s not done.” My hand flashed and grabbed the head of Fintan’s chair—trapping him between me and the wall. “I’ve onlylearned two runes. Fintan, sweetie, be a dear, and teach me what the ones on my arm mean.”
“Uh... uh...” Poor guy looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here.
I felt bad for using him, but Eadaoin was a genius. Most of the time when Alisdair and I were in the same room, he was ignoring me, barking instructions at me, mocking me, or drilling me from behind. This was the first he ever fought for my attention.
It was the first time he’d gotten jealous.
“This is... nightfall,” Fintan croaked. “That means—"
I leaned in closer. “Do you have a lover, Fintan? Handsome man like you, someone must have snapped—”
A blur roared up out of the corner of my eye.
Alisdair ripped Fintan out of the chair, and threw him headfirst out the window. My screams echoed over the shattered glass and fading shouts.
“Mother Fucking Meya!” I shrieked, eyes popping. “What did you do!?”
“What I did was tell him to return to his post.” Alisdair sniffed, dusting himself off. “Next time he’ll listen.”
“Next time?!” My voice was hitting undiscovered octaves. “There won’t be a next time! You killed him!”
I rushed to the window. Fintan was a black, unmoving mass in the snow. A dark, reddish pool grew around him, staining the white red. “Oh no,” I breathed. “I have to go see if he’s ok—”
A fist punched the wall—scattering flecks of stone that hit my neck. Now, I was the one trapped.
