Free The Hound at the Gate by Darby Karchut

that! All I did was ask if you liked—”
    â€œDo you always make such snappy conclusions about people?” Tara stepped closer and poked him in the chest. “Or do you wait until you know them better. Like for more than two minutes?”
    Finn felt his blush all the way to the tips of his toes. A tiny piece of his brain noticed that the two Knights were watching. Mortified at looking like a fool in front of them, he slapped her hand away harder than he meant to. The sound seemed to echo around the clearing.
    â€œFinnegan!” Finn jumped at Gideon’s growl.
    â€œOh, for Danu’s sake. Not again.” O’Shea walked over and took her apprentice by the elbow. “You just had to fly off the handle, didn’t you? After we had just talked about this.”
    â€œHe’s the one who started the whole stereotyping thing,” Tara protested as her master pulled her to one side.
    Flummoxed by the warp speed with which he had managed to infuriate Tara and embarrass himself in front of everyone, Finn clenched his fists in frustration. He shot a glare at the apprentice’s back as she stood fidgeting while O’Shea scolded her in a low voice.
    â€œFinnegan MacCullen.” Gideon pointed at the ground by his feet. “Now.”
    Fuming, Finn planted his feet and refused to move. Gideon lifted an eyebrow in warning.
    You better get over there
, Finn warned himself, recalling what had happened just three weeks ago when he had stubbornly refused to obey a direct order during a hunt. A hard cuff on the head, thirty push-ups, and a five-minute lecture delivered in such a deep brogue Finn could barely understand half the words—that had been his reward. Relenting before the other eyebrow went up, he dragged himself over. He winced when his master reached out and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.
    â€œTara Butler is not only a fellow apprentice, but also a girl and a guest, is she not?” Gideon said in a tone that made Finn gulp.
    â€œYes, sir.”
    â€œThen
treat her as such
.” The Knight gave him a rough shake with each word.
    â€œYes, sir,” Finn gasped. He rubbed the back of his neck when Gideon let go. At the unspoken command from his master, he walked over to where O’Shea and Tara stood, the girl now as red-faced as Finn.
    Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to look her square in the eye.
When you offer up an apology, lad, do so manfully
. “Tara Butler, I’m sorry I was rude.”
    â€œYou should be. Ow!” She winced when her master pinched her arm. “Yeah, I’m sorry, too,” she replied, clearly not sorry at all.
    Hoping to salvage what he could, Finn plowed along. “And I really don’t think you’re a girl.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œNo. Wait. What I
meant
to say is that I don’t think you’re a
real
girl.” Finn groaned silently when the words left his mouth.
    â€œWhat the heck is
that
supposed to mean?”
    Behind him, he could hear Gideon coughing, trying to smother a laugh. Standing behind her apprentice, O’Shea was holding her hand over her mouth.
    Feeling like possibly the biggest fool in the entire history of all known and unknown universes, Finn prayed for a pack of Amandán to burst into camp and kill him. Right then.
    No such luck.
    â€œAre you trying to say you don’t think I’m a
girly girl
?”
    Finn nodded in relief. “Exactly.”
And now I’m going to shut up before I say anything more stupid. If that’s possible
, he thought.
Which I doubt
.
    â€œOh. Well, okay then.”
    â€œAnd, on that note, we are out of here,” O’Shea said. “Come on, Tara, before you and Finn start throwing punches.” The Knight nudged her apprentice toward the path, but then lingered a moment. “Gideon. It’s good to see you again.”
    â€œThe pleasure is mine, Kel.”
    â€œAnd I’m glad you’re