The next day, we arrive in the small town of Dallcroft. I steer us straight to the inn in order to look into work. As we head inside, I hear a bard singing loudly about a dragon's penis.

"Charming," I murmur.

Rowan giggles. "You don't enjoy a good bawdy song every once in a while?" she teases.

"Bawdy is one thing. Dragon dick is entirely another," I observe.

She giggles again as I open the door, keeping a hand at the small of her back. I start when a piece of bread sails through the air and push her behind me just in case.

More bread follows, and I realize that it's being thrown at the bard. "This is a family place!" one patron yells. "Take your filth somewhere else!"

"The dragon in the song has a family!" the bard insists. "That's why the fact that he's being hunted is sad! Use your imagination and have some compassion for your fellow creatures!"

"If the song's about his family, why are you singing about his apparatus?" another patron wonders.

I take Rowan's hand and guide her away from the commotion, choosing a table in the corner to wait out the drama.

Then she stops walking. I turn my head and realize she's staring intently at the bard, and he's staring right back. Her mouth drops open and she presses her hand against her chest like it's hard for her to breathe, and I move beside her, cupping her elbow in my hand.

"Rowan? What is it?" I ask worriedly.

"It can't be," she whispers, but she doesn't explain.

The bard's head is tilted curiously as he approaches us slowly. "Rowan? Is that you?"

She starts to tremble and I tighten my hold on her. The bard stops in front of her and she nods, her voice choked up as she manages to say, "Yes, it's me." Tears fill her eyes and she starts to cry as she adds, "I thought I was never going to see you again."

"Well, same here," he replies, just as choked up.

Then he pulls her right out of my arms into a tight hug that she returns and my heart clenches. I was expecting this, but not so soon. He must be some suitor she didn't tell me about because she thought finding him again was hopeless, or assumed he was married already and lost to her.

I don't notice that I've growled under my breath until the bard is laughing. "Are you going to introduce me to your man before he punches me?" he jokes. "I think he sees me as competition, and he's kind of huge and scary."

"Competition?" she repeats, swiveling her head to look at me and blinking rapidly.

My chest is heaving angrily, even though I have every intention of letting her go, and her brow furrows when she sees it.

"Graham, this is my brother, Jace," she reveals softly, her face breaking into a smile.

"Your brother?" I huff.

I take a quick breath in. His scent is similar to hers. Not the same, of course, but enough to assure me that they're related. And when I take a good look at him, I can instantly see the similarities. His short hair is the same shade as hers, and so are his eyes, and they have the same swoop at the end of their nose.

I feel myself relax, even though I'm very aware that this could still mean she's going to leave me.

"I know I haven't seen you in a while, Ro," Jace mentions, "but I still know it's you, and incest is where I draw the line. Hard pass. Gross."

Rowan laughs through her tears and peeks up at her brother, who is still holding her affectionately. "Where have you been? What have you been up to? And do you..." She sniffles and starts her last question over, and I can hear her heart speed up. "Do you..."

I put a comforting hand on her back to help her calm down. "Let's sit," I suggest.

Rowan nods eagerly, and I can tell she's grasping for anything that will delay her most dreaded inquiry. "Yes, let's," she agrees. "Are you hungry, Jace?"

"Always. The stale bread that they threw at me won't make for the greatest meal, so I'm more than willing to seek out a substitute. And I am very interested to know how you got away from that infernal mage and his tower."

Rowan seems shocked that he knew where she was. I know she must have a thousand more questions now. I do.

I continue on the way to the table in the corner. Rowan follows, hanging onto her brother's arm as if she's afraid he might disappear if she lets go. They sit down next to each other and I take a seat against the wall, wanting to be able to see if anyone is watching us.

"You got so tall, Jace," Rowan mentions.

"Not as tall as your man here, but taller than you. Not that that took much. You're the same size as when you left."

His face falls as he brings it up and she bites her lip, finally looking down into her lap and away from him. The innkeeper approaches us and inquires about food, so I give them a moment to regain their composure as I order drinks and a variety of dishes for us.

When the innkeeper leaves, Rowan looks up and her face is determined. "You became a bard?" she starts.

"I sort of fell into it," Jace admits. "I left home and eventually ran out of money, so I had to come up with a way to make more. I happened to have a lute in my possession, and a little experience playing it. And I've certainly heard enough songs in my time, so I figured I could manage."

"Is your reception always bread?" I can't help interrupting.

Jace rolls his eyes at me. "I don't usually get critiqued on my content like I did here, no. But I do generally play to much drunker crowds."

"Why did you leave? Did Father and Mother do something?" Rowan chimes back in.

Jace shrugs. "Nothing more than they usually did. I left to find you, Ro."

"To find me?" she echoes, and I see a beautiful hope fill her eyes.

"Yes. After you refused to run and Father came back without you, I assumed he'd turned you in. He told me you were dead, or soon would be, when I asked, and he wouldn't say anything else. I waited for news of your execution. I was going to attend if it was public. When I never heard anything, I thought maybe they had done it in private. Then, about a year ago, I snuck into Father's study to look at his books. He's making a complete mess of the estate, as you'd expect, and I wanted to see how bad it was. What I found instead was a receipt detailing how much Manfred had paid for you."

"He kept a receipt?" I break in incredulously.

Jace snorts. "I know, right? He's a fool. He's also constantly afraid of being taken advantage of. I'm sure he kept it as some kind of leverage in case the mage tried something later. Regardless, I had hope for the first time in a long time. You were alive, and I knew where you were. I left that same night."

It's almost painful watching her force the question out, but she finally does it. "So you don't... hate me?"

Jace blinks in surprise. "Hate you, Ro? How could I ever hate you?" He leans in and conspiratorially whispers, "Have you done something scandalous? Please, please, tell me all the dirty details."

She laughs again, and he smiles. "I thought you might have learned more about mages and decided that I was an abomination," she confesses.

Jace presses his lips together firmly as tears gather in his eyes. Then he reaches out and takes his sister's hands tightly in his. "You were the best person I knew, and you still are. And will always be, as far as I'm concerned. You could never, ever be an abomination, Rowan. Not in my eyes. And everyone else who thinks you are is wrong."

She practically lurches out of her chair as she throws her arms around his neck and hugs him fiercely. I sigh to myself in relief. I was fairly certain that her brother didn't hate her, and I am very glad to be right.

She pulls back and looks at him. "And you? You never showed any signs?"

He shook his head. "None."

"Good. In Manfred's tower, I read that some mages once theorized that magic ran in families, so I was worried that you might."

"I wish I did," he muttered. "Maybe then I could have figured out how to get into that tower and rescue you. I did everything I could think of. Threw rocks at the windows, tried to climb it. But something prevented me from getting close."

"You were there?"

"It was the first place I went after leaving home. I'd planned on being quite heroic, you know, so I was fairly disappointed."

His joke is clearly hiding his belief that he failed his sister by not freeing her. He's as sweet as she said he was.

"Those were magical defenses, Jace. You never could have gotten past them without magic of your own, and even then, it would have been a struggle. Manfred was quite proficient when he wanted to be."

"Well, that makes me feel a little better, I suppose. Anyway, after I couldn't get in to save you, I decided to go in search of a way. Maybe a mage who could get inside, an object that would let me pass. A dragon to burn down the foundation. You know. Any old thing. And that's what I've been doing ever since."

Rowan's shoulders shake as she laughs again and Jace stares at her fondly. "I've missed your laugh, Ro," he tells her.

"I've missed everything about you," she counters. "Thank you, Jace. For looking for me. For trying to rescue me."

"So how did you manage it?" Jace looks at me and I point to myself. "Yes, you. Tell me the story of how you rescued my sister from that awful man."

Rowan scrunches up her face and I smirk. "You'll have to keep talking to her. She saved herself."

"You did?" Jace corrects himself sheepishly.

"I did, yes," Rowan replies tartly as the innkeeper returns to the table and sets down our food. "I'll tell you while we eat."

We enjoy our meal together while Rowan repeats most of the story she's already told me, leaving out some of the more unsavory parts. She casts a worried glance at me, as if she thinks I might tell, but I nod at her assuringly so she knows that I won't.

As she's talking, a man comes towards us. I put my hand on the hilt of my sword, which is on the bench beside me. I only take it off when he sets a pouch of coins beside me. "You're Graham of Raines," he says matter-of-factly.

Jace raises his eyebrows at me and recognition dawns in his eyes, but he stays silent for the moment.

"I am," I confirm.

"There's something around here. I don't know what it is, but it's been killing our livestock. There are caves just outside of town. It must be there, or we'd have seen it by now. Is that enough for you to kill it?"

I open the pouch and look at what's inside. Unless someone offers a ridiculously low amount for the danger involved, I usually don't haggle, and I stick to that this time.

"I'll search the caves. If I don't find anything, we'll discuss new terms then."

The man nods and leaves. I appreciate his businesslike manner, especially considering the circumstances.

After the man departs, Jace speaks up. "I knew you seemed familiar. I've heard your description in several songs. Sir Graham of Raines, eh? An interesting choice of companion, Ro." He pauses, then adds, "I thought you were supposed to be a loner. What are you doing with my sibling?"

"He's working for me," Rowan answers. "You keep calling him my man, and I understand it looks that way, but it's just business. I have a, well, a bit of a problem, and he's agreed to help me with it."

"Did you rob Manfred after you killed him? Did he have a huge stash of gold somewhere? I've heard Graham is expensive."

"The price depends on the job," I break in.

Rowan shakes her head at the same time. "No gold. We have a deal."

Jace's eyes flick up and down my body. "Well, I'm impressed. I do think you've chosen well if you're looking for a stud horse."

"Jace!" she hisses, blushing furiously as she smacks him playfully in the chest, making me chuckle. "How did you know? And that's not the deal, by the way."

"How did I know?" he scoffs. "He was ready to kill me for hugging you, Ro. He's as prickly as a porcupine whenever anyone else even looks at you, I bet. The jealousy could be a red flag, you know. Might want to get that under control, Mr. of Raines. What a man, though, Ro," he points out. "Tall and broad and thick everywhere. Does it fit, though? You're so small."

"I'm not discussing that with my brother!" she protests.

"Fine, fine." Jace waves his hand dismissively. "You have an interesting reputation, sir," he addresses me. "Definitely gallant in plenty of instances, but downright odd in others."

"People believe what they want to believe," I remind him shortly.

"That they do. My point is that you are just begging for a personal bard, and I happen to be available. Let me join you on this hunt in the caves. I'll prove my worth so I can accompany you and my sister. You'll be able to protect her much better than I can."

"Your sister was under the impression that it would be too dangerous for you to accompany us," I venture, wondering if that's still her opinion.

She immediately looks troubled. Jace reaches out and pats her hand. "Yes, that sounds like her. But I'm already in danger, actually. I left out the part where Father has sent bounty hunters after me because I'm his only heir. Despite how he feels about my various insubordinations against the family, I'm still his only shot. I have no intention of going back, to be clear."

Rowan looks at me, and I know what she's thinking. She wants him to come with us, but she's afraid it's too much to ask. I might have agreed with her, except for the fact that she's my mate, and it's become very clear to me that the only thing I can deny her is that knowledge.

"You'll come with us, then," I declare. "A few more people after us isn't going to hurt."

Rowan practically flies to my side of the table so she can hug me and kiss my cheek. "Thank you, Graham."

I brush away the sentiment as if it's nothing, even though I'm extraordinarily proud to have made her happy. "Let's finish eating," I urge them. "I'd like to check out the caves before it gets dark."

We polish everything off quickly and then prepare for our excursion to the edge of town.