Free Dragonoak: The Complete History of Kastelir by Sam Farren Page A

over.
    “Peculiar,” Sir Ightham said.
    The pane nodded gravely, fishing something else from beneath her clothes. She clasped a chain in a fist, and the gold-silver pendant swayed in such a way that I couldn't make out the design. I didn't edge closer and it was gone in a flash, but Sir Ightham understood what she'd seen. She brought a gloved hand to her mouth, fingers running across dry lips, and the pane's ears twitched at the reaction she'd managed to draw out of her.
    “What say you?”
    Sir Ightham considered the question as though she had no choice in the matter. Whatever she'd read, whatever the pendant had meant, affected her more than five bandits and their swords had. She set her jaw and tilted her head towards me.
    “Give her your things,” she said, pushing all of the pane's attention onto me.
    I'd hardly been inconspicuous up until that point. I was right there , hovering around Sir Ightham, unable to back away, but now the pane was looking right at me. The corner of her mouth tugged upwards, revealing rows of fangs more subtle than her tusks, and I was so intent on not blinking, on not showing fear, that I missed her swing her bag off her back. It hit me square in the chest and my arms instinctively wrapped around it.
    I tried not to wince, not to breathe too loudly.
    “This your servant?” the pane asked, eyes fixed on me.
    “This is my squire ,” Sir Ightham said. She was met by a moment of silence, before the pane let out a deep, hearty chuckle. Even Sir Ightham seemed amused by her own words, and I dug my fingers into the pane's bag, hoisting it further into my arms.
    “What's our first step to be?” the pane asked.
    A few secrets scrawled onto a letter had earnt her a place within our group. But then again, if Sir Ightham was to travel with a necromancer, why not add a pane into the mix?
    “I'll take rooms for us at the Rambler's Rest ,” Sir Ightham said and the pane nodded. Turning to me, Sir Ightham said, “I trust you remember what we need from market.”
    I slung the pane's bag onto my back, meaning to use my arms to strengthen my protest, and Sir Ightham took the opportunity to slip a handful of silver coins into my hand. I clasped them tightly, but before I could get a word out of my mouth, Sir Ightham was gone. She pushed a hole through the crowd and it closed behind her, leaving me alone with the pane and my thundering heart.
    If Sir Ightham wanted to be rid of me, she could've just sent me home.
    I kept my head down as I considered my options. For the first time in months, being ignored actually seemed appealing. I couldn't run—the pane would reach out and grab the scruff of my collar, and the crowd would never let me back in. They'd made a well around the pane, not daring to walk too close to her, quickening their pace as they passed.
    So much for hoping the pane had business of her own to attend to. She crouched in front of me, which still didn't put us at eye-level, tilting and bowing her head in an effort to catch my gaze. I was being rude, I knew that, certain I'd have an easier time with it all if I just acknowledged the pane, but I couldn't force myself to move. All I could think of was the pane who'd come to my village, Queen Kouris in the woods, and all the people who'd been ripped to shreds by hands like the one being waved in front of my face.
    “Now, now. Was only teasing you, yrval,” the pane said, returning to her full height. She reached out not to attack, but to pluck the bags from my back. The weight was lifted and my gaze flickered up, though my body remained tense. She slung the bags onto her back with such ease that I believed them to be empty, despite holding them a split-second ago. “Name's Rán.”
    “I'm R—” I began, stunned. My tongue was too large for my mouth, too heavy, and I was in such a daze that I might as well have been struck across the back of the head. “Rowan, I'm...”
    Talking was getting me nowhere. I'd forgotten how to wield my