This might turn troublesome, Kaedros thought. Why was a Lord coming to their table? Was it connected to what he was hiding? He doubted that.
"What should we do?" Taria whispered furiously, her eyes darting from Kaedros to the approaching noble.
Kaedros didn’t get the chance to reply.
"Wonderful evening to you, bounty hunters," the noble said smoothly, his voice rich with the confidence of someone used to command.
Taria stood up hurriedly and bowed. "Evening, my Lord."
Kaedros took his time. His chair scraped loudly across the wooden floor, drawing everyone’s attention. Even if the Lythienne family lacked true power in Solmere, they were still nobility.
But Kaedros had noble blood too, even if he had never embraced it. He nodded coolly, like one Lord greeting another. "I assume you are Lord Rauk Lythienne? Good evening."
Taria sucked in a sharp breath, her heart skipping. What was Kaedros doing? She knew he could be arrogant, but this was a Lord! Everyone she knew, know better than to provoke a noble! Nothing good would ever come out of it.
But Rauk didn’t look offended. In fact, he smiled, perfectly white, teeth gleaming. "I am Lord Rauk Lythienne, heir to Solmere."
Kaedros raised an eyebrow. So it was him. Time to test the waters.
He widened his sapphire eyes, let his face go slack, and raised his voice just enough. "Heir to Solmere? You mean you’re the powerful heir to this great town?" He bowed low with exaggerated reverence. "You must be the second most powerful person in Solmere, next only to the Lord himself!"
Several bounty hunters shifted in their seats, hiding smirks behind mugs. Everyone knew the Lythienne name carried little weight here.
It was the knight who reacted. She moved sharply, her hand resting on the pommel of her blade, but Rauk gave a subtle shake of his head, and she stepped back into stillness.
Rauk’s smile faded slightly, his eyes narrowing. "I assure you, I will be."
He didn’t let the tension settle. "And your names?"
Kaedros gestured lazily. "This is my partner, Taria. And I’m Kael."
Rauk’s eyes widened, just for a heartbeat. But Kaedros caught it.
So he had heard those names? Where? From who?
"Nice names," Rauk said smoothly.
Kaedros didn’t buy it. "eh....Lord?..have you heard of us somewhere before?"
There was a brief pause as Rauk considered his answer. "I have."
The change in his aura was sudden and sharp. Gone was the casual edge, in its place was sharpened steel. Danger. Readiness. Taria felt it immediately.
So she laughed to break it.
A strange, bright sound that startled more than a few people nearby. "You’ve heard of us? Hope it wasn’t something bad!"
Rauk chuckled. "The Celestial Order gave me your names. Said you both had the most potential of all the rank one Ascendants."
Kaedros’ presence shifted again. Like a blade unsheathed.
"The Order gave you our names?" he asked coldly. "I didn’t know they kept tabs on Ascendants."
The Celestial Order didn’t watch just anyone. Only powerful Ascendants or...
The mutant. They had killed it. Or at least... the Order suspected they had.
Why else would they be watching?
But what role did Rauk play in this? The Lythienne family had never been close to the Order, unless something had changed.
Kaedros forced a smile. "Potential? You flatter us. We’re just low-rank bounty hunters. We’ve done nothing deserving of the Order’s attention."
The room listened in silence, half-hidden behind food and drink.
"Nothing?" Rauk’s voice rose slightly. "Aren’t you the duo with no mentor, no team, and yet still hunting every day? A mage and a warrior. Two people surviving where others die in groups of five?"
He paused for effect, then added, "Impressive, wouldn’t you say?"
The murmurs began immediately.
"A two-person party?"
"Rank ones? Low at the stages at that!"
"No mentor? How are they alive?"
"What classes did they say they were?"
"Caster and warrior. They must be cheating."
"Maybe they’re powerful Ascendants pretending."
"But why? There’s nothing to gain from that!"
"Still... it’s strange."
Kaedros clenched his jaw. This was the kind of attention he hated. He didn’t want curious eyes. He didn’t want rumors. He didn’t want questions.
And killing a noble, even one this useless, would only bring worse attention.
So he kept his voice cold and clipped. "So what does the Lord want with us lowly bounty hunters?"