Kindred Souls Complete Series: Books 1-4

Chapter Twenty-One

More guards waitedfor me outside. In seconds, they surrounded me.

“Can I help you?” I blinked up at them, the picture of innocence.

“What’s your name?” One of the guards from inside the tavern asked me.

“Dahlia.” The name fell from my lips without thought as I remembered Saber’s words from the night before. Seemed appropriate since I apparently smelled like the cool weather flower.

Another guard stepped up to his comrade’s side. “Your occupation is a traveling bard?”

“It is. Has that become a crime?” I couldn”t keep the question from tumbling from my mouth, but I tried to make it sound saucy.

The second guard took over the interrogation and the first one blended back with the others. “It depends. What sort of music do you play?”

Their questions were gathering a crowd as villagers slowed and craned their necks to watch.

I frowned in pretend confusion. “Weren’t you inside? I play all sorts of music.”

“But nothing seditious?”

This was getting ridiculous. Were they going to arrest me or just ask stupid questions? No wonder the king decided he needed assassins. His guards were idiots. “What would even be considered seditious? Faligrey has freedom of expression.”

“Do you sing against kindred souls or the king?”

I gasped and clasped a hand to my chest. “Of course not. Why on earth would I sing against kindreds? Part of the reason I chose this occupation is to search for my kindred.”

“You haven’t found yours?” The guards were softening, and the one questioning me was sounding bored. How many times had they done this?

I shook my head sadly and forced a pout onto my lips. “No.” I wished I knew where one of my kindreds was at the moment, but I was too scared to look for him in case it gave us away.

“Who was that man with you earlier?”

Shit, we should have considered having a better plan in place. “My brother.” Hopefully, Whist hadn’t been questioned and given different answers.

“Where is he now?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not his keeper. He travels with me in search of his own kindred and to keep me safe.”

“So, you don’t travel alone?” He stepped forward like he was trying to intimidate me.

“No.” I shook my head. “It wouldn’t be safe for me to travel all by myself with nobody to protect me.” I was probably laying it on a bit thick, but I was growing impatient.

“Have you heard of a bard named Rhapsody?”

I bobbed my head in an enthusiastic nod. “I’ve heard of her, but I’ve never met her.”

“Are you sure?” The guard’s eyes narrowed on me.

“Of course I’m sure. Our line of work tends to be pretty solitary. If another bard is in town, I move on. What is this about?” It was time to be a nosy, curious woman.

“Not important.”

“Is she in some sort of trouble? Has she broken the law?” I pressed a hand to my chest again. Whoever I was pretending to be was ridiculous, and I had never seen a woman actually act like it, but they were lapping it up. Idiots.

He cleared his throat. “Like I said, it’s not important. Or your business.”

“All right. Can I go now? I need to track down my brother if we want to make it to the next village before nightfall.” I glanced up at the sky like I was checking the time.

“You can go. It might be a good time to take a little time off.” His words were dark with warning. It would probably be smart to listen.

“I’ll keep that in mind. Have a nice rest of your day.”

He gave me a sharp nod and turned on his heel, his comrades trailing in his wake. I waited until they turned the corner before I hurried towards the woods. I needed to get out of there as soon as possible.

I didn’t stop until I made it twenty minutes away from the village, tripping through brush instead of staying on the trail. Dropping my pack, I stopped and bent over, hands on my knees, and panted for breath.

A body crashed into me and slammed me into a tree.