Arrow on the String: Solomon Sorrows Book 1 by Dan Fish (no david read aloud TXT) 📕

turned Jace away. But in that moment, with the question hanging in the air, he instead remembered Jace’s lips on his, her hands under his shirt, on his chest. He wondered how he’d said no. And he hesitated.

Her eyes widened.

The room went black.

✽✽✽

DAVROSH LEANED OVER him, eyes like emeralds, brow bunched like the curves of a bow. She was slapping his face. Harder than necessary, but it did the trick. He blinked his eyes open, sat up, shook his head, immediately regretted it. He gently probed his hair with his fingers until he found the lump where Mig had hit him. It was egg-sized, tender, on the back of his head. He sighed, hoped she hadn’t broken her hand.

“You fall, orchole?” Davrosh asked.

“Sure,” he said.

Ga’Shel suddenly appeared beside her. She glanced at him. He gave a small shake of his head. He was saying, No one else is here. Sorrows wondered if he was looking for Mig or for Jace. Wondered if they even knew Jace was a Walker.

“Why are you here?” Sorrows asked.

“It’s time to leave for Wixfeld,” Davrosh said.

She extended a hand. Sorrows grabbed it, and she pulled him up with surprising ease. Dwarf strength. Sorrows glanced at Ga’Shel.

“We’re slipping?”

Ga’Shel scoffed. “No. La’Jen wants me in the tower. I’m only here because Remma asked me to check out the room.”

Davrosh glanced at Sorrows. “You’re sure you only fell?”

“Yes,” Sorrows said.

He sat up, his vision stretched and swam a bit. He rolled onto his knees, grabbed the side of the bed, stood. His legs shook as his muscles warmed up. He looked at Davrosh.

“Where’s Jace?” he asked.

“How the hells should I know?” she asked. “She was looking for you after breakfast. I sent her here. Haven’t seen her since. I figured you two would be waiting in the entrance hall. When you didn’t show, I thought you both might be here.”

She shrugged. “I was half right.”

It was the half wrong that bothered Sorrows. He stepped to the chair, pulled his cloak off the back. He’d been gone for an hour when Mig took him to see Bex. If Jace had come to the room, seen his cloak missing, she would have gone looking for him. A Walker would move through the tower quickly. She would’ve started guessing he had left around the same time he and Mig arrived at Bex’s hut. Jace wasn’t waiting when he returned, which meant she had gone out searching. Meant there was nothing more he could do. He shrugged into his cloak.

“Let’s go,” he said. “It’s a long walk. Storm won’t make it any easier.”

Ga’Shel walked to the door, turned. “Be safe, Remma.”

“Thanks, sunshine,” Sorrows said.

Davrosh nodded at Ga’Shel. He turned and left. Didn’t bother holding the door open. Sorrows crossed the room, grabbed the handle, pulled. Turned to Davrosh, who was standing looking at him.

“What?” he asked.

“You sure you fell?” she asked.

“Yes, I’m sure. You’ve asked me three times. Why?”

She shrugged, looked around the room.

“Where’s your bow?”

Chapter 27

SORROWS LEFT DAVROSH at the tower, made his excuses, ignored her objections, and ventured into the wind and snow. He fought the storm all the way to the end of the road where the stone turned to gravel. Found the tavern he’d visited with Jace, went inside to escape the wind, and signaled Mig. Nothing happened. Talk to me. Waited a long moment, ignored the barkeep, the handful of half-born, went outside, kept walking. Knee-deep drifts striped the roads. He walked through them with short, heavy strides.

He arrived at Bex’s hut and ducked inside. Her body was still lying in pieces on the floor. Broken, frozen. He stepped past her remains, walked to the cushions, sat in the dim light, let his eyes adjust. Thought of ghosts. Waited.

He heard footsteps outside five minutes later. He stared at the entrance, saw a shape coalesce in the darkness, saw Mig walk through the triangle doorway. Saw the bow in her hand. Brushed his fingers across the bump on his head.

“Mig,” he said.

She threw the bow at him. Angry. Pushed it out with both arms like she was shoving it away, shoving him away. Getting space. It flew across the room. He snatched it from the air.

“Go to hells,” she said. “I can’t believe you took an elf to bed. An elf, Solomon. Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”

Sorrows shook his head. “No, I—”

“Is that all it takes with you? A woman bats her eyelashes, shows some cleavage, and you fall in love?”

“I don’t—”

“I don’t understand. You despise elves. Everyone knows what they did to the humans.”

Jace isn’t like other elves, he thought. He said nothing.

“Do you have any idea how many advances I turned away in the last year?”

Sorrows shook his head, still said nothing.

“More than one. Goblins, dwarves, elves, half-born. Even a centaur who visited Tam while he was on some pilgrimage. A centaur, Solomon.”

Sorrows said nothing.

“And I didn’t know where you were or why you left. But I waited—I waited—to talk to you again before thinking we were finished.”

Sorrows said nothing. Mig shook her head, pulled her cloak tight, shivered.

“I deserve better,” she said. “And so did Bex. And so does Julia.”

She hesitated, watched him. Like she didn’t know if mentioning Julia had gone too far. Hesitation could be an ally. Sorrows leaned forward.

“We didn’t tangle, Mig.”

“What?”

“I didn’t bed Jace.”

“You didn’t?”

Sorrows shook his head. “No.”

“Why didn’t you say so?”

“I took a breath when I shouldn’t have, and you hit me with a bow. I haven’t put three words together since.”

Mig took a step forward. “Gods, Julia.”

Sorrows rubbed his head. “Yes.”

“Oh, and your head.”

“Yes.”

And then she was with him, arms around his neck, kiss on the cheek, body pressed against his. A good sign.

“But Jace tried, didn’t she?”

“She tried.”

Mig shoved away, angry. Shook her head.

“Who does she think she is?”

She turned, brow furrowed, eyes dark. Lips pressed into a thin, flat line. He had been on the wrong side of that look before. Wasn’t sure where he stood now.

“Take a breath, Mig. Relax.”

“You