Page 5 of To Cage a Wild Bird (Divided Fates #1)

He was young, maybe a year or two older than my twenty-three years, outfitted in all black.

His golden-brown skin was smooth and unblemished, and he had pulled his long ebony hair back into the knot that many men in Dividium favored.

A few rebel tendrils had escaped the tie that held his hair, and soft waves framed his high cheekbones and defined jaw.

Though his shirt concealed his arms and broad shoulders, the fabric was tight enough to suggest that he held a physically demand ing position.

I guessed he might be a carpenter or even a farmer, one of the few professions that granted citizens access to the world outside of Dividium’s walls—under the watchful eyes of city guards, of course.

I glanced away, willing to consider that I might be overestimating the intensity of his gaze. But each time I turned in his

direction, his eyes were still fastened to my form.

I hopped off my stool, hand going to the handle of the dagger strapped to my thigh, and sauntered across the tavern. More

patrons had filtered in since my time in the back with Aggie, and I had to elbow my way through them, cringing away from the

feeling of their sweat-soaked skin against mine.

The man’s eyes remained impassive, like my approach didn’t surprise him in the least, though his lips twisted into a slight

smirk.

It only made me warier.

I took a final step and slid into the booth, close enough to the man that our shoulders touched, and then held up my dagger

so that he could see the razor-sharp point.

I opened my mouth, but a shout cut through the room before I could speak.

“Kill the lights. Patrol sixty seconds out.”

Within moments, the lanterns were snuffed out, plunging the room into darkness. The groups of rowdy patrons fell to a hush

while the bleary-eyed guitar player in the corner stopped her song mid-strum.

Wedged into the worn booth, startled by the sudden loss of sight, I pressed my dagger firmly against the man at my side.

He let out a low, rumbling chuckle that raised goose bumps on my arms, but he didn’t speak. His warm breath filled the air

around me, heady with the perfume of mint leaves and mead.

Outside, the boots of patrolling guards crunched on gravel, their flashlights making passes over the windows above our heads

and leaving dancing shadows on the basement walls in their wake.

But then, as quickly as they’d come, the guards moved on.

The tavern staff relit the lamps, the musician croaked out her melancholic tune anew, and the room returned to its usual state

of noisy chaos.

“What do you want?” I asked the man.

His eyes flicked over my face slowly, lazily, resting on my lips for a beat too long before he met my gaze with eyes like

molten honey, fringed by lush lashes. “This,” he said with a grin. “Though preferably without your dagger digging into my

side.”

“This?” I repeated, drawing out the word and arching a brow.

“Mm-hmm,” he hummed. “A beautiful, dangerous woman pressed up against me in this booth.”

He was flirting with me ? My face heated. An evening of bounty hunting followed by Aggie asking me to interfere with the Council’s communications

had put me on edge, and I’d immediately clocked this man as a threat. But maybe he wasn’t. Maybe he was exactly the distraction

I was looking for.

I abandoned responsibility, letting my eyes roam over his body, taking in the finely stitched fabric of his clothing. It appeared

brand-new, without a stain in sight. There were no patches covering worn elbows or knees, and when I glanced beneath the table,

I beheld a pair of scuff-free boots. Not a farmer, then.

“You’re not from here,” I mused, my eyes narrowing. “Middle Sector? What are you doing here?”

“I was supposed to be meeting someone, but he hasn’t shown up,” the man said, glancing around the room.

“I know most people who frequent Vern’s. Who are you looking for?”

He stared at me intently for a moment, rolling his lips together as if weighing the merits of confiding in me. “Eris Cybin.”

I forced myself not to react. “Friend of yours?”

“I need to repay him.”

I raised a brow. “You’re indebted to Eris? You’re a bigger fool than I thought.”

“You know him?”

“I know of him.”

“Is he here?” the man asked, hardly breathing.

I shook my head, echoing Gray’s words from earlier. “You really think he’d show up after the news stream today?”

The man’s face fell, but his lips twisted into a smirk. “That’s too bad. But I’d say your company is a generous consolation prize.”

“A consolation prize ?” I rolled my eyes. “You really know how to make a woman feel special. Please don’t tell me that line actually works for

you.”

“You’ll have to let me know. It’s my first attempt.”

His leg knocked against mine beneath the table, and my breath hitched.

“Well, I guess that depends.” I gestured between us. “What do you think the outcome of this is?”

“I was hoping to use my charm to convince you to follow me back to my place,” he said with a wink.

My pulse quickened.

“Awfully presumptuous of you,” I drawled, sheathing my dagger and letting my shoulders loosen. “Just because I’m not going

to stab you in the ribs doesn’t mean you’re going to get me naked in your apartment.”

“Naked?” His eyes darkened. “Here you are, attempting to corrupt me when all I wanted was for you to walk me home. It’s not

safe out there alone.”

I snorted and finished my ale, the alcohol going straight to my head and pushing thoughts of Torin and Eris and empty pantries

from my mind. “Why do I get the feeling there’s nothing left of you to corrupt?” I breathed, leaning in until there were mere

inches between our lips.

The way I saw it, I could go back to my sad, empty apartment and ruminate over the blood on my hands, or I could let a handsome

stranger help me forget all about it.

Not a terribly difficult choice.

“It’s funny,” he said, eyes not leaving my mouth. “I have the same feeling about you.”

“I’m Raven,” I told him, wanting him to know something about me before I kissed him.

He hesitated but finally said, “Vale.”

I moved forward, a breath from eliminating the last distance between us and shutting out the final remnants of my horrible day, but there was an uproar of raucous laughter beside us, and then I was drenched—warm, sour liquid ran down my face.

I shot to my feet, running my hand over my face to wipe the ale from my stinging eyes.

“Sorry,” a man slurred, stepping close. “I was only trying to get your attention.”

I took a deep breath in through my nose and let it out through my mouth in a slow whoosh . Just another drunken man. Not a threat.

But then his hand locked onto my wrist.

“Let go,” Vale growled as he got up from the booth.

I rolled my eyes at him, my hand going for my dagger.

“I saw you getting all cozy with him,” the man said. “But if you’re looking for company, I’d wager I have more to offer than

he does.”

“Tempting,” I got out through my teeth, ripping my wrist from his grip and turning back to Vale. “But I’m not interested.”

“Bitch,” he mumbled under his breath.

After that, it was hardly my fault he wound up lying on the floor unconscious with a black eye and a broken nose.

I shook my hand out in an attempt to lessen the pain in my knuckles.

“Like I said”—Vale’s words tickled the shell of my ear as he leaned in—“I’d feel much safer if you walked me home.”

I couldn’t help the laugh that slipped from my lips.

“Aren’t you going to clean that up?” Vern called when he saw me eyeing the exit.

“Talkative tonight, aren’t we, Vern?” I crooned, making my way over to the broom closet. I braved the cobwebs and roaches

to snag a mop and bucket that had certainly never seen the light of day. I tossed them onto the unconscious man’s chest. “He’ll

come around soon enough. Make him clean up his own mess.”

Vern grunted, but I’d already motioned to Vale and skipped up the steps and out the door into the slumbering city.