Page 20

Mia and I shimmy up the mahogany bar. The floor is sticky, and the air smells faintly of stale beer. Stiny is behind it serving other patrons, his bold laugh filling the air as he produces frothy pints. “Ladies,” he greets as he saddles up to us. “What can I get you?”

“Two glasses of wine, please, kind sir,” Mia answers.

“Coming right up.” Stiny fishes out two thick-rimmed glasses and fills them with a deep red liquid. “Why don’t you take these to a table, and I’ll bring you out our special, roasted boar and leeks.” He winks at us.

“Sure thing, Stin.” Mia grabs our glasses, and we move to a table. I barely swallow a sip of the rich liquid before Ledger comes storming down the stairs. His eyes are wild as he scans the inn .

When they fall on us, I see something akin to relief flicker across his features, before being replaced by anger. He thunders towards us, his hair still wet and dripping. I dare a side glance at Mia and see her rolling her eyes.

“Why did you leave the room? It isn’t safe for you to be down here without me. You have no idea of the kind of people that frequent these places.” He braces his hands on the table.

“I wasn’t aware you wanted to be in control of my every move.

Unfortunately for you, I am not a dog and cannot simply be told what to do and when to do it.

If you didn’t want me to leave the room, you should have used those vines you like so much.

” I can feel anger licking at my skin as I grate out the words.

“Oh, don’t tempt me, blondie. The night is still young.” His eyebrow raises in challenge and my palm itches to smack him.

“Ledger, get your hands off the table and calm down. I came into the room and got her. Now, go back upstairs and dry yourself, you’re dripping on me.” Mia flicks a water droplet off her arm. “I’ll have Stiny get you a whisky and some boar.”

His eyes leave mine for a second to briefly look at Mia. “Do not let her out of your sight.” With that, he pushes off the table and marches back upstairs.

“Don’t let him get to you. He’s rough around the edges, but underneath all of that, he’s an honorable, good man. ”

I snort as we both take long pulls of our wine. It is rich, heady, fruity, and just what I need after this nightmare of a day.

“He’s been through a lot; he’s lost his mother, then his sister. He’d do anything for the ones he loves.”

I pause at her words, wondering what it would feel like to be loved like that.

My head swims happily as Archie comes to sit with us. “Ladies,” he greets and drops down in his seat. He’s freshly shaven, and his skin is clear of the gore from the day. Looking at us now, it would be hard to determine we’d been through anything at all.

“You both clean up nice.” His hand finds mine and he places a gentle kiss there. This clean, he looks almost younger, and I grin at his charm.

“I could say the same to you,” Stiny places the most delectable-smelling food in front of Mia and me seconds later.

Archie drops my hand and immediately takes a bite of Mia’s food, earning a slug from her. He closes his eyes and moans. “Stiny, I need at least three bowls of this and a pint, please. And send my utmost compliments to the chef. You’re a lucky man getting to eat like this every day.”

“Don’t I know it,” Stiny chuckles and walks back towards the kitchen.

A moment later, a beautiful dark-haired girl passes our table and sidles up to the bar.

Archie spots her immediately, and his eyes follow her.

“Ladies, while I value your company, I have been stuck in the woods for weeks. I saw my life flash before my eyes today, and tomorrow is not promised. So, excuse me while I share both my harrowing story and matching scar with the stunning lady at the bar. Thanks again for that, Lay. Oh, and have Stiny send my food over.” He winks.

I feel a pang in my chest at the familiar nickname, thinking of Maddox. “Good luck.” I smile a little sadly after him.

“We will be here when she turns you down,” Mia calls after him. Archie makes an obscene gesture at her with his finger from behind his back as he approaches the brown-eyed beauty, and Mia chuckles next to me.

“You two are like brother and sister.”

“Yeah. Ledger, Archie, and I grew up together. Cam is Archie’s little cousin.

He begged his aunt to let him take Cam when he started to come into his powers.

He didn’t want him to go through what he went through.

She was reluctant but eventually gave in and let Archie sneak him out of Bellehaven.

We’ve all been inseparable since we were little.

I take it as my job to check Archie’s ego and bring him back down.

Women, unfortunately for them, usually eat up every word he says, and the Gods gave him that face to back it up. Could be a dangerous combination.”

“Thank heavens he has you.” We laugh and cheers to that. “Where is Cam anyways?”

“If I had to guess, probably in his room. He’s a little introverted and likes his alone time when he gets it.”

“I completely understand. ”

“How are your wounds? I noticed you weren’t limping.”

“Yeah, they are good, I’m fine.” I take a bite of food, looking away from Mia.

“What do you mean you’re fine? Your thigh was shredded?! Did you heal yourself?” She looks at me expectantly.

I pause, chewing thoughtfully. “Yes, I healed myself.” I keep my answer short and hope she will move on.

“Oh, well, that’s great, so you figured out how to make your power work on yourself? What would happen right now if I stabbed you?”

“Maybe don’t do that. I’m still working on it. It was either suffer under Ledger’s horrible nursing care or heal, so I chose the latter.”

“Speak of the devil himself,” Mia exclaims as Ledger drops into the chair Archie was in earlier.

His beard is trimmed, his black hair damp, his shirt rolled up, tanned forearms resting on the table. My face grows warm as I remember what those forearms looked like as he held himself above me.

He doesn’t seem angry anymore.

Averting my eyes, I take a long drink of wine. “Layla was just telling me you were the reason she was able to heal her leg,” Mia says, and I promptly choke on the wine, sending me into a coughing fit. “Are you okay?” Mia pats me on the back.

“Water,” I choke out. “Could you get me some water? ”

“I’ll be right back; I hate when it goes down the wrong way.”

When I manage a look at Ledger, he is sitting across from me with a grin, one of his beautiful dimples on display.

“Wipe that look off your face. That is absolutely not what I said. If you tell anyone about what happened in that room, I swear I will feed myself willingly to a Kerolu.”

“Your secret is safe with me.” His grin remains as he watches me squirm under his gaze.

Mia comes back with a whisky and water in her hands.

I continue eating while looking around the room, keeping my eyes off Ledger.

I grimace, seeing a grotesque-looking boar head mounted across the room.

“Must they have the head of the boar, that was probably viciously killed for this meal, staring at me as I eat?”

Mia snickers next to me. “They could use a little help decorating, but I love it here—it has a certain charm about it.”

“I suppose if you can look past all the stuffed creatures. What is that one?” I point to a particularly horrifying creature on the wall. Its head resembles a horse, but the nose is all bones, and the mouth has serrated pointed teeth. Why did everything have such sharp teeth?

“That’s a Suttug. You don’t see many of them these days.

They used to serve humans. It’s legend that once we could draw from them.

They had the ability to make you extremely powerful once bonded but humans got greedy, took too much, exploited them.

They either died off or went into hiding.

” I consider Mia’s words while staring at the Suttug, feeling a jolt of sadness for the creature.

A woman about my age brings out a plate of food to Ledger.

They seem familiar with each other as she drops effortlessly into the chair beside him.

Her hands work their way to his shoulders as she whispers something in his ear.

His response makes her giggle, and the food in my stomach instantly sours.

My teeth clench as I swipe my glass of wine off the table and finish the contents in one gulp. Her fingers stroke the hair at the nape of his neck, and I’m shocked at the visceral jealousy that assaults me.

The feeling is so intense, so confusing I can’t bear to sit any longer. I excuse myself by mumbling something about the washroom to Mia.

I avoid Ledger completely as I beeline through the dining area in the opposite direction of them. I only get a few steps before I promptly run into a hard chest. A pair of large hands reach out to steady me.

“Sorry,” I exclaim, craning my neck up to meet a very tall red-headed man.

“My apologies, I was not looking where I was going,” the man starts, and once I’m steady, he releases me. “You don’t look familiar, I’m Forde,” he sticks out that sizable hand of his.

“Are you Stiny’s son?” I shake his hand remembering his name from earlier .

“The one and only. Now I feel at a disadvantage. Who might you be? I’m positive I would remember someone so striking.”

“I’m Layla Sutton from Bellehaven.”

“You’re a long way from Bellehaven. What brings you this way?” he questions, and before I can answer, he chuckles, looking past me. “You must be with Ledger’s crew.”

Looking over my shoulder I see Ledger glaring intensely over at us. The busty blonde from earlier is now playing with the back of his hair while she drapes over the side of his body.

I roll my eyes and look away, my stomach twisting. “I suppose you could say that.”

“Well, it would be grossly wrong of me to run into someone so exquisite and not have the opportunity to buy her a drink. Would you do me the honor?”

With one more quick glance over my shoulder, I agree following Forde to the bar.