Today’s excerpt comes from Iron Bones.
Series Page link: The Wild Hunt
Book Page for Buy links: Iron Bones
I returned to the table. “I’m sorry I spouted off like that. I know we’re supposed to be diplomatic, but Farthing pushed me to the edge…and over.” I paused, then asked, “You guys think I made the right decision, don’t you?”
“Don’t doubt yourself,” Yutani said. “What he asked of you went beyond the pale. And how he could expect you to just fall in line after what he told you about your parents speaks volumes about his character.”
I nodded, slowly. “I have the nasty feeling this isn’t the end, regardless of what Saílle told Farthing. I feel targeted now.” And truth was, I did feel like I had a big red bulls-eye on my back.
“We’ll watch out for you,” Herne whispered, brushing my hair back away from my face. “As to your decision, I would have been highly disappointed if you had made any other.”
“So what now? Where do we go from here?” I tried to shake off the past twenty minutes, to focus on what we had learned about the disease sweeping through the Fae Courts, but it was difficult. My grandfather’s words kept running through my mind, coloring all of my thoughts.
“Back to the office,” Herne said. “By the time we get there, maybe we’ll be over the shock of what just happened.” He turned to Ginty. “Thank you for holding the parley. I’ll contact you when we get back to the agency so that you can know we’ve arrived safely and you can note the end of it.”
“My pleasure, Lord Herne, although I can’t say I expected quite so…volatile an event.” Ginty showed us back through the hall, down the stairs and to the front door.
As we headed out of the bar, Herne glanced at me. “Parley doesn’t officially end until both parties are back at home. We always go directly to our home base after such a session. When every party has checked in with Ginty, the parley is officially ended. That way if someone is waiting to ambush the other party, it counts as breaking parley.”
