Page 9

Nine

DRAVEN

T he last of patrons trickled out of the bar as the storm finally abated, the rain now a soft patter on the roof. I scrubbed a table, maybe a little rougher than necessary, but I was still boiling from that interaction earlier. I couldn’t believe the nerve of that woman to judge me, to come into my business and insult me so thoroughly. It had left a bad taste in my mouth.

The door clicked open, and I yelled over my shoulder, “We’re closed.”

“Even for a friend?”

I stiffened and turned to see Elm. He’d left shortly after Elspeth and her sister had.

He was tall and wide, muscle cording through every inch of his body—and because he was only half werewolf, he was actually small compared to full-blooded werewolves. He walked toward me, hands in his pockets. “That was something earlier.”

My jaw locked. “Where in the hellfire did you find those women?”

Elm rubbed the back of his neck. “Their cart broke down on the side of the road, and I simply wanted to be of service.”

I gave him a look as I flipped the rag over my shoulder.

He held up his hands. “Okay, I might have an interest in Adelaide.”

“Elm,” I started.

“She’s not like anyone I’ve ever met.”

I’d heard this before. Elm loved to fall in love. He flitted from woman to woman but eventually got bored and left.

He tucked a spiral curl behind his ear. “I really think this might be different, Draven. Adelaide is so... sweet. Kindhearted. Humble. When I spotted her in the market, I couldn’t take my eyes off her.”

I tapped a foot. “What do her looks have to do with being nice?”

“That’s my point. I’ll admit, my interest in her started as physical, but then I noticed how gentle she was with her younger sister. How patient she was with her. How she consoled her when they didn’t have enough gold to buy a pretty scarf she was eyeing. Most people would’ve been annoyed with the younger woman, but not Adelaide. She was so empathetic.”

Nothing like his father, who’d always been self-centered and hard on Elm.

“Just be careful,” I said.

Elm snorted. “I don’t need you to protect me. I appreciate it, Draven, but I’m a grown man. I’m older than you.”

It was true. Barely. At thirty-six, Elm was one year older than me.

“I know.” I sighed. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt. I don’t want anyone I care about getting hurt.”

Elm gave me a look so full of understanding that I knew he was thinking about Georgie, about what had happened to her a year ago.

“I get it,” Elm said. “But they don’t want to take advantage of me. I offered them my two rooms at the inn, told them I’d stay with you. They declined the offer. Well, Elspeth did.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”

“Her mother and sisters were more than ready to accept my hospitality, but Elspeth insisted they wouldn’t take my charity.”

For some reason, I felt a surge of respect for the witch. She might have been a pain in my ass, but I admired that she hadn’t accepted Elm’s offer.

Elm frowned. “They have a tent. Adelaide told me about it. She made it sound nice, but I hate to think of the five of them stuck in that small space in this weather.”

I turned and made my way behind the bar, grabbing the now clean mugs and placing them on the shelves that lined the back wall. “There’s five of them?” Five too many, in my opinion.

“I know the tent is spelled to protect them from the elements, but surely they’d appreciate having actual beds, a bath so they don’t have to bathe in the freezing river.”

“Well, they don’t want your help, and you can’t force it on them.” I grabbed another mug and put it on the shelf.

“No, I can’t,” Elm mused.

I turned. “I know that tone. What are you scheming?”

Elm shrugged. “There is one place they could stay. In Thistlegrove Forest...”

I scoffed. “Over my dead and decaying body.”

Elm leaned against the hearth that sat in the middle of the tavern, blocks of stone built into a pillar that shot up to the ceiling. “That witch really got under your skin. In a way I’ve never seen before. Veldar swears at you on a daily basis, throws tantrums in your tavern, and you remain cool as ice. Yet Elspeth throws a few insults your way, and you practically lose it.”

Shit. He was right. I did let her get to me. “She interfered in a family matter,” I said. “One that was none of her concern.”

I knew I was failing Georgie. I knew my sister was disappointed in me, disappointed in this life I was trying to build for us. But having someone criticize the way I dealt with my sister, implying that I was mishandling her, hurting her, it made me see red.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say she’s caught your attention.”

I snorted. “Hardly.”

He shrugged, a smirk lining his lips. “If you say so. Besides, I’m not talking about them staying at your manor. You’re right. They’d never agree to that. I’m talking about your other house.”

I stiffened. I’d bought the cottage when we moved back here, thinking it could be a good investment, a place I rented out—but then I’d realized there was a reason no one wanted to live there. “No. Absolutely not.”

Elm rolled his eyes. “You yourself said you wish you could destroy the thing, but, well, any time you go near it, it attacks you. ”

That was true. I had no love for the cottage in the forest, and so far, I’d been unsuccessful in my attempts to get rid of it.

Still, it was mine, and I didn’t want that witch living there. “No. They can’t stay there.”

“You would deny a family a roof over their heads simply because you got into an argument with one of them?” Elm asked.

“She wouldn’t accept the offer if she knew that house belonged to me,” I argued.

“If she knew.” Elm emphasized the “if.”

I cocked a brow. “You want to lie to them?”

Elm shrugged. “It’s not a lie. It’s an omission, and it’s for their own good. I have a feeling they’re not well off, and I just want to see them taken care of while they’re here. I want to see Adelaide taken care of.”

This conversation was getting tiresome. I still had to talk to Georgie about her behavior earlier, but all I really wanted to do was work on my spell. Throw myself into it and let the world and all my troubles melt away. “If they wouldn’t accept rooms at the inn, why would they take an entire house?”

“Because it’s not mine. If there just happens to be an empty cottage in the forest that doesn’t belong to anyone and needs a lot of care and attention...”

I saw where he was going with this. It wouldn’t be charity. They’d be cleaning it, maintaining it. Both of which it badly needed. I didn’t have time to do it, and no one else wanted anything to do with the cottage. Not when it was so grumpy.

“They might be doing you a favor,” Elm continued. “What if they made it livable again? You know, once upon a time, a witch lived in that cottage. Maybe it misses having residents. Maybe it just needs the right touch.”

It wasn’t a terrible idea. If they fixed it up, I could possibly rent it out once they left, but the thought of doing anything nice for Elspeth Moonflower after the way she’d treated me was unbearable.

“Please.” Elm paused. “You know, I bet it would even make Georgie happy. She loves that cottage, has been asking you to have it cleaned and restored so she can visit.”

I swore. Elm knew my weaknesses. And unfortunately, my baby sister was one of them. “Fine,” I said. “Offer them the cottage. But you better warn them about what they’re getting into.” I pointed at him. “And don’t involve me. The less I see of Elspeth Moonflower, the better.”

Elm’s face broke out into a wide smile. “Thank you. You won’t regret this.”

I very much doubted that.