Page 7 of The Iron Hex

“Yes,” she answered concisely. Eira’s curiosity kept her pinned to her seat, more interested in what Hugo wanted than the nerves she felt about his line of questioning.

Hugo leaned back, dark eyebrow still cocked. “Let’s say I was looking for a sleeping aid,” he pondered. “What would you prescribe?”

“Something I had in my store earlier today,” she answered, voice snappier with each word. “So you and I both know that’s not what you’re looking for.”

Just as Hugo opened his mouth to speak again, the front door exploded in a shower of splinters and the screaming started.

6

Hugo

Eira was perplexing him, but none of that mattered now.

Hugo heard the door crack sharply before it splintered, and he turned his head quickly enough to see the familiar armor of a member of the Iron Retinue on the other side of what had been a door only a moment ago.

Shit.

Had they followed him here? They would kill everyone in this bar to get to him if they had to. Hugo had never felt more stupid than at this moment; he’d been so cautious until he saw Eira walking down the street the day before. He’d let his guard down, apparently far enough for someone from the Iron Retinue to find him.

The screams began anew as eerily tall soldiers clad in full iron plate armor with the Iron Empire’s sigil, a simple shield with two swords crossed over it, stepped in and started looking around, yanking people toward them and examining their faces as they tried to flee. Hugo tossed up his cloak’s hood, trying to obscure his face as he searched for a way out. This was bad; thepeople in this tavern were stirring into a panic, and the more they panicked, the more likely the Iron Retinue would be to kill them for trying to avoid their scrutiny.

Eira made to stand and he grabbed Eira’s arm. “We have to go!” he shouted over the din.

The Iron Retinue could have walked in and avoided all this panic. Who was the commander that told them to barge in like this?

“Obviously!” Eira shouted back, tugging her arm away. He didn’t let go.

“Do you know another way out?” Hugo asked, standing and getting closer to her. She smelled like rosemary and mead, and he tried to not let it distract him.

She looked at him, fear turning into something else—determination. “Yes,” she said, starting to head in the direction of the bar.

Hugo followed, one hand on his belt where his sword was hidden beneath his cloak, the other on her arm. He didn’t want to fight here if he didn’t have to. If he could get Eira and himself out of Cilirien, he might be able to get them back into hiding without the Iron Retinue killing them both.

Maybe.

The swell of the crowd was immense as the patrons tried to leave through the cracked and warped tavern door. Hugo followed Eira in the opposite direction, hand still on her soft arm, as she fought through the crowd and slid under the bar gate.

Hugo followed, moving around the back of the bar in a crouch. He saw the bartender ahead of them lock eyes with Eira and motion her forward.

As the two of them arrived at the door the barmaid was holding for them, she looked to Eira and asked in a hushed tone, “Do you know him?”

Eira looked back and Hugo watched her think about it, hersteely gray eyes weighing her options in her head, considering leaving him here with nothing between him and three members of the Iron Retinue but his sword.

Hugo watched one man slam to the floor, a swift backhand from an Iron Retinue soldier knocking him out cold.Just let them look at you and stop panicking, Hugo thought as he carelessly lifted his head slightly too far over the top of the bar to see what was going on. They’d all be fine once the knights realized the other patrons weren’t Hugo Venton.

Hugo watched as one of the soldiers pointed in their direction.

“We have to go,” Hugo growled, snapping his head back down and looking toward the two conspiring women.

“Yes,” Eira finally said to the barmaid, and she ushered them through the kitchen door before locking and barring it.

The three of them ran through the back of the tavern, through the kitchens and to the back door.

“Thank you,” Eira said as they exited the building. The two of them watched the barmaid lock the door behind her, the sounds of screams and the commanding shouts of the knights muffled but still present on the other side.

“I’m going to the city guard,” the woman said, wiping her hands on her apron before stepping away. “Hopefully they’ll be able to calm things down.”

Eira hugged her as Hugo watched the door. They weren’t going to stop coming, not now that they knew he was here.