Viper's Kiss - Lisa Smedman [29]
"In the meantime, no more charm spells," Arvin insisted. "Agreed?"
"Agreed." She touched a hand to her heart and looked sincere, but Arvin vowed to be careful, even so.
The rest of the journey passed too swiftly-and too slowly-for Arvin's liking. Too swiftly, because once they reached Ormpetarr, he would probably never see Karrell again. Too slowly, because, despite his best efforts to pass the time in conversation, he kept saying things that irritated her-that made him wish the journey were already over. When the riverboat stopped for the night at Halfway Station, a hamlet even smaller than Riverboat Landing, he'd struck up a conversation about Hlondeth over dinner, telling her how pleased he was to be away from the city of serpents. He cautioned her that the yuan-ti were a devious and cruel race that cared little for humans. It was merely intended as a warning that the members of House Extaminos were dangerous folk to anger, but she seemed to take this to imply that she couldn't take care of herself. After the meal, she curtly declined Arvin's offer of a mug of mulled wine and his invitation to linger at their table beside the fire, and turned in to bed.
The next day, when their journey resumed, she spoke little. She stared over the rail, watching Vic riverbank slide by. Arvin tried once more to engage her in conversation, asking if it ever snowed in the Chultan Peninsula, but though she smiled at him as they chatted, the smile never quite reached her eyes. After a while, he gave up on conversation and instead stared at the passing scenery, watching as the riverboat left the river behind and slid out onto a broad, o pen lake.
It was well after sunset before they caught sight of their destination. Like the other cities of the Vilhon Reich, Ormpetarr had been built centuries ago and had long since outgrown its walls. A scattering of buildings spread for some distance up and down the lake. Most appeared to be connected with the fishing industry; the small amount of moonlight that penetrated the clouds gave Arvin a view of racks used for drying fish, and a number of boats that had been drawn out of the water for the winter. The buildings themselves were little more than blocks of darkness from which squares of light shone-windows, Arvin realized after a moment, square, rather than round.
As the riverboat drew closer to the city proper, these squares of light became numerous and clustered closer together.
At last Ormpetarr's harbor came into view. The city was walled even on the side that fronted the lake; the stout stonework was punctuated by a series of heavy wooden gates, each lined up with a pier that ran out into the river. More than a dozen riverboats were tied up there. Most were empty, their sails furled, but a few were disembarking passengers and unloading freight.
The city seemed dark to Arvin, who was used to the constant glow of Hlondeth's magically quarried stone, but somehow he found that comforting. In Ormpetarr there would be plenty of shadows, plenty of places to hide from Zelia. And what light there was-the glow of street lanterns and the light that shone out of the windows-was warm and yellow and welcoming, rather than an eerie green.
The riverboat drew up to one of the piers. Once the sailors had tied the boat fast, Arvin gathered up his pack and climbed down onto the pier. Karrell immediately followed. The planks underfoot were treacherous with half-melted ice; at one point she slipped, and he caught her arm. She smiled her thanks to him and continued to cling to his arm as they walked up the pier.
"Which inn are you staying at?" she asked.
Arvin gave her a wry look. Was she going to suggest they share a room? "I won't be staying at an inn," he told her. "I have accommodation elsewhere."
"At the ambassador's home?" Karrell guessed. "Or perhaps at the palace?"
They reached the small group of people who were passing through the gate at the end of the pier. On either side of the gate was a watchful soldier. Each wore a brightly polished steel breastplate, embossed with