Page 31 of The Barbarian King's Assassin (Magic and Kings 1)

I squared off against him. “I’m not little.”

He made a point of looking down at me.

“You’re just abnormally large,” I pointed out.

“Not really. Out west, everything is big.”

“Including egos.”

“No point in pretending otherwise.” He didn’t sound the least bit apologetic.

“I am sorry about killing you. You actually are more interesting than expected.” A more sincere statement than I’d usually admit.

“And you are not a mere shopkeeper’s daughter.”

“Was it my knife that gave me away?” I asked as we did the half-circle of death, feet sliding sideways, our gazes locked, waiting for a weak moment.

“Actually, it was the smell that revealed your presence. My room reeked of the sewers.”

“I changed clothes.”

“But didn’t bathe first.”

“Well, I smell like a flower now,” I said.

“A shitty flower. It’s all I can do to not gag.”

Insulted, I stood straighter. “You’re one to talk. I’ve heard you barbarians don’t shower for weeks on end. And you drink blood.”

“This kind of stupidity is why wars are started. In my country, we’re told you only come out at night to preserve your pallid skin and drink babe’s milk because you’re too weak to handle wine.”

“All true,” I lied.

He shook his head, a smile hovering. “I might be stupid, but I’m not dumb.” The oddest statement to make. “And you are cute thinking you could kill me.” He chuckled.

Cute? I’d been called many things. That wasn’t one of them. “This isn’t a joke.”

“And yet I am laughing. Put away your knife, my little Yanna. You’re not killing me today.” Having seen him fight, he might have a point.

“So it won’t happen today. It will. When you least expect it.” I really needed to learn to curb my tongue.

“Why, Ilyana, is that your way of asking to join me on my trip home?”

“What?”

“That’s an excellent idea. We leave tonight.”

I didn’t like the way he smiled. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“I say you are. After all, how will you escape? The garden? My men are standing outside by now. The hallway? Guess what’s there?”

“More of your people.”

“I told you, I could smell you in my room, and so could Droga. The moment he left he would have gotten my people into position.”

My lips turned down. “Are you arresting me or killing me then?”

“I don’t know. You haven’t really done anything harmful to me yet, despite the opportunities. Can’t really punish you for something you never attempted. Smart of you to realize you’d never win.”