The Shadowsteel Forge (The Dark Ability Book 5) Read Free

instead, Rsiran had learned a different kind of lesson, one that few others within the city knew or understood.
    Rsiran spotted Brusus coming through the kitchen door, carrying several pints of ale. He was here most nights now that owned the tavern. At first, Rsiran thought he’d bought it for nostalgic reasons, a way to remember the former owner and love of his life Lianna, but it served another purpose. Brusus had become legitimate with the purchase of the Barth, a shopkeeper who could call upon the constables.
    They took a table toward the back of the tavern. For Rsiran, that was habit as much as anything. In all the time that he’d been coming to the Barth, they always seemed to sit near the back of the tavern. It was quieter there for them, but there was an easier escape from here as well.
    Alyse looked around before sitting. In the brighter light of the tavern, Rsiran could more easily see the extent of her bruising. What he’d thought was a fresh bruise was purple and yellow, probably several days old. She sat gingerly, and he wondered what had happened to her, and why Alyse would put up with it. She had always been a proud woman, and he couldn’t imagine her letting anyone treat her like that.
    The door to the kitchen opened again and Brusus hurried out. When he saw them, he made his way to their table, stopping at others along the way, talking to everyone in the tavern. Rsiran couldn’t help but smile. He’d gone from thief to businessman.
    Brusus noticed Alyse immediately, and he nodded to her politely. “Welcome to the Barth,” he said. “Can I offer a mug of ale, or maybe a flagon of wine?”
    Alyse shook her head and placed her hands in her lap, not meeting Brusus’s eyes.
    “Rsiran,” he said. His tone suggested that he would have many questions for him later. Each night, Brusus had different questions for him, mostly trying to determine if he would manifest any different abilities. After learning that Rsiran was also descended from the Elvraeth, Brusus had treated him slightly differently.
    Then again, many of the people he’d been in contact with now treated him differently. Worst was Della. Since learning that he was related to her, she had become distant. She’d always kept secrets from him, but those had never seemed to impact him directly. She might not have known until Reading Rsiran’s mother, but she hadn’t made an effort to share when she’d discovered it, either. This time, her secret had impacted him directly.
    Brusus gave Jessa a quick nudge hello before heading off to engage with his other patrons. Once he’d left, she picked up the dice sitting in the middle of the table and started shaking them. She tossed them across the table where they came up a pair of ones. Watcher’s Eyes. Some considered the hand lucky, while others thought it unlucky.
    “You could have remained with the guild,” Rsiran said as he watched Brusus leave. “Instead you returned to Lower Town. They would have kept you safe. They would have ensured that you were unharmed.”
    “They wanted service as well,” Alyse said softly. “Maybe not the same as…” She shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut as she did. “It doesn’t matter.”
    “It does matter. Why won’t you let me help you?”
    She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. “You want to help? You can start by telling me what happened to Father. Since he left, everything has been different. Once he’s back, things can begin getting back to the way they were.”
    Rsiran watched her, wishing that she could understand that for him, there was nothing about the way things had been that he wanted to return to. Even with all the challenges he’d faced, and everything that he’d learned since leaving his childhood home, it was still better than what he had known before.
    “I thought you returned the master smiths?” she went on.
    Should he tell her what happened to their father? She still didn’t know that their father had been taken by