10. Lirion
Fuck.
This was a waste.
A giant waste of time and energy.
He couldn’t even say the sex was good enough to make up for the lost opportunity and the added trouble of now being locked in jail. Not one bit of tonight’s debacle had gotten him one step closer to finding his sister, and time was running out.
Lirion paced over to the slightly rusted bars of the too-small cell, trying hard not to notice the filth on the floors, the scurry of small furry rodents along the walls, or the oppressive smell of sweat and shit that permeated the air.
It felt safe to say the members of the town watch hadn’t bothered to clean this cell or the others in a very long time.
Thankfully, only a couple of oil lamps burned in the corridor. The overall room was relatively small, with just enough space for three narrow cells. There were more dancing shadows than light, which helped to somewhat hide the squalor they were currently in.
Naturally, this wasn’t his first time in jail, and it definitely wouldn’t be his last. His only problem was that he didn’t have time to waste on this nonsense.
Lirion paced away from the bars, inspecting his companion out of the corner of his eye while still trying to ignore him.
The thief wasn’t bad looking, and it clearly wasn’t his first time in a jail cell, judging by the way he lounged against the wall on the single long plank that served as their lone place of rest. Well, there was a pile of straw and a filthy blanket tossed in one corner, but he was sure it was a breeding ground for diseases and lice. No, thank you.
Turning away from the thief, Lirion paced to the bars yet again, replaying the night in his head.
His meeting with Ursula Cartwright was supposed to have been a relatively quick and easy thing.
She had information he needed and was willing to trade it for sex.
In Lirion’s opinion, he was getting off cheap in this deal.
The woman had even managed to get herself alone in the house for several hours. It should have gone smoothly.
But it was just his luck a thief had also noticed the master of the house was gone for the night. Perfect time to strike.
Not that he’d gotten off any better. The poor asshole had walked away with nothing in his pockets and still ended up in jail for his troubles.
“Sorry.”
Lirion stiffened as the thief’s pleasantly rough voice seemed to caress his ears. Oh, that was just mean. He was a cute thief and he had a sexy voice. The combination really was hitting below the belt, and such tactics were usually more Lirion’s territory.
“I beg your pardon,” Lirion said, turning away from the bars to face the only other person in the cell.
The man dragged in a deep breath. “Sorry. Really. I’m sorry. I didn’t expect anyone to be in that room.” Despite his words, he sounded quite put out, as if it wasn’t entirely his fault they were both sitting in a cell.
“Yeah, I caught that when we ran into each other.”
He made another sound, this one halfway between a laugh and a groan. “There wasn’t supposed to be anyone in the house at all other than the cook, who I got sauced on that bottle of booze before I even arrived. Fuck, bottle cost me five coppers, too.”
Lirion had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from grinning.
It sounded like he’d not only come up empty-handed and gotten caught, but this little escapade had actually cost him money.
Was it wrong that Lirion was softening just the tiniest bit because the thief sounded more than a little annoyed and put out? Lirion wasn’t petty.
Noooooo. Not at all.
Pushing away from the bars, Lirion crossed the cell and dropped onto the wooden plank, which creaked ominously under his weight but otherwise held.
He propped his shoulder up against the wall as he turned slightly, sitting cockeye so he could see the man better.
“Your face looks familiar to me for some reason.”
“I do have wanted posters, although some artists are better than others.” His smile was rueful around the edges. “I’m Fenric.”
“Lirion. A pleasure. Professional thief?”
“Among other talents.”
“Mmm, I bet you have many talents,” Lirion couldn’t resist purring.
He quirked a scarred brow. “You?”
“Talents? Oh, I have plenty. Some of them quite unspeakable.”
Fenric rolled his eyes, his expression screaming annoyance, but there was something in the quirk of his lips that made Lirion think he might also be fighting a smile.
One of Lirion’s many talents—he could disarm just about anyone with a few flirty words and a smile.
This one was trying to play hard to get.
“And it looked like you were plying more than a few of them with Mrs. Cartwright, but I was asking about your trade.”
“Ah. Bard by trade.”
Fenric snorted and looked away, turning to stare out the bars.
“What’s your reaction mean?” Lirion demanded, unable to keep some bite from his tone.
“Only that I’ve met your type before. It explains a lot.”
“Aww. Did a sexy little bard break your heart and now you can’t stand to be around any of us?” Lirion teased.
Yet, instead of getting annoyed, a choked noise broke from Fenric’s throat, and his body shook with suppressed laughter.
“No. Hardly. I just mean that bards tend to be the flighty type, quickly moving from town to town, always looking for a good time, never taking anything seriously, and out for some quick coin.”
“Hmmm.” Lirion made a show of rubbing his smooth chin. “That description reminds me of someone. Who could it be? Oh! I know. Every thief I’ve ever met.”
Fenric finally cracked a grin, and it was heart-stopping. Really, it should be illegal for Fenric to whip that out and not warn a person. “And that’s why I don’t hang around other thieves.”
Leaning in, Lirion let his eyes blatantly rove over the man.
If they weren’t in jail, he would be tempted to have a little taste.
Fenric was very much a man of rugged good looks, especially with those crisscrossing scars over his nose, cheek, and forehead.
He had some redhead in him somewhere, judging by the freckles dancing across his nose, although his hair was pitch black.
What truly fascinated Lirion was the man’s eyes.
“Something on my face?” Fenric joked.
“Your eyes are incredible,” Lirion said in a low, throaty voice. “Pure gold rimmed in green, a truly unique combination I’ve never seen before. Where did you get those pretty eyes from?”
“My mother.” Fenric twisted to face him better as well, and was that a flash of interest crossing his face? “Do you normally flirt with men who have landed you in jail? Part of your bard training?”
“I can’t show interest in a handsome man?”
Fenric snorted. “I’m not that handsome.”
“I disagree. You very much are. Shame on your lovers for not whispering sweet nothings in your ear. I’m happy to make up the lack.”
“In public?”
“In private. They’re spicy nothings.”
Fenric laughed outright, those pretty eyes of his sparkling with genuine amusement. “You’re something else, Lirion. I find it very interesting you think I’m handsome, when you’re the one who’s gorgeous.”
Well, it was part and parcel of being Lirion, considering what he was and which family he hailed from. But Fenric didn’t need to know all of that.
“Where’s this pretty pink hair from, hmm?”
“My mother,” Lirion admitted with a wink. “The best traits always come from mothers.”
“Hear! Hear!”
“It’s starting to feel like we were fated to meet today,” he murmured, which earned him another eye roll from Fenric. Yeah, it was a line. Sometimes, he couldn’t help himself. They would fall off his tongue before his brain could engage enough to catch them.
“I can think of plenty of other ways to have met that wouldn’t have caused me this much trouble,” Fenric grumbled.
“Then how about you think of ways we can spend our first date, Mr. Smarty-pants,” Lirion said playfully. “Just a shame we’re stuck in here.”
Fenric blinked once, taking Lirion’s words in. “You’re an equal opportunist, then?”
Lirion let out a low, husky chuckle. “Oh, gender means nothing to me. Everyone’s attractive in their own ways.”
“Ha. Well, good to know? But we won’t need to spend any real time in here.”
It was Lirion’s turn to blink in surprise, breaking out of his flirty fog. “Say what?”
“We’re not going to stay in here much longer,” Fenric explained, standing enough to lean sideways and look through the bars of the cell. “I was just waiting for the right timing.”
Lirion’s mouth fell open as he stared at the other man, who was clearly not lost in the same fog. Was Lirion losing his touch? Fenric should have been buried in a haze of lust at this point, unable to think about anything else. Not even escape. Who the fuck was this guy?
Irritation had crept back in a bit, but it was tempered by a mix of curiosity and hope of escape.
“But they took your lockpicks,” Lirion reminded him.
“Oh, those? They just make things easier. I don’t need them to bust out.”
“So, you’ve been sitting here this whole time for…no reason?” Okay, now there was no disguising the annoyance in his tone.
“Well, it was fun flirting with you.” Fenric had the gall to throw Lirion a roguish smile. “But I also feel responsible for getting you caught, so I wanted to make sure I could bust us both out.”
Lirion sat on those words for a full second.
This handsome idiot was only in here because he felt responsible for Lirion’s safety, and Lirion had lingered as long as he had because he felt bad even thinking of leaving Fenric in here to rot.
And the reality of it all was, they both could have left at any time.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Lirion said with a groan.
“What, you got a problem with that?”
“I can bust myself out. I don’t need your help.”
Fenric looked at him, head canting, brows screwed up in confusion. “If you can bust yourself out, what are you still doing sitting there, then?”
“I felt bad you got caught, so I was waiting to break us both out.”