Page 12

Chapter 12

Kaya

A t the Goat and Dragon, I’m at a long table playing the dice and card game, Kings and Plots. Tully eyes her cards, and her minotaur mate, Argos, rolls the scarlet dice. Laini and her gargoyle mate, Rom, laugh over their hands of cards. The wool merchant, Devin Dyer, is here too, and I can’t stop blushing at the idea that he came here to meet me.

Why did I agree to this? I hate these kinds of awkward meetings. They’re unnatural. Relationships should happen naturally over time, not shoved into place. But Devin isn’t hard to look at. He is tall and human like I am, but he does have an odd sheen to his skin. I think the information Laini mentioned about him having some vampire blood is likely correct.

I do my best to smile, ignore the pain in my broken thumb, and join in the conversation as we play.

“So Halvard is going with you to Kingstown?” Laini asks.

He’s not, but they don’t need to know that. I can do it on my own. If word gets out that I’m going alone before I leave, Cyrus will insist on going with me.

“Yes, I think so,” I lie.

Tully finishes her drink. “Good.”

We play another hand and chat about the upcoming May Day festival. The conversation breaks into pieces, each couple chatting on their own.

Devin eyes me as he deals out the next hand. “What do you like to do when you’re not baking?”

I huff a laugh aimed at myself. “I’m hardly ever not baking.”

Cyrus is always telling me I need a holiday. He is probably right, and since I’m finished with this big order, maybe I’ll finally take one. Lady Egrettington’s money will help with that.

“How about you?” I study my cards.

Two kings, a holly leaf, an arrow, a vial of poison, and a maplecat. I always enjoy getting maplecat cards because the illustrations are usually so off that it’s hilarious. I should take one back to Sio and see if he has a few comments to share about the inability of upright walkers to draw his kind.

“I like reading,” Devin says. “Gardening.”

Tully raises her eyebrows at me over her cards.

“I’m surprised,” I say, glancing at his many muscles. “You seem like the type to enjoy adventuring in the woods or hunting.”

Devin gives me a smirk that would be handsome if he weren’t, well, I’m not sure, but it doesn’t give me butterflies like Cyrus’s smirks do.

“Shearing sheep requires a lot of muscle,” he says.

“Of course. Right.”

While Tully rolls the dice and Rom plays one of his cards, Devin lifts a hand, and a server comes over.

“We will take another cup of spring wine, please,” he says, nodding toward me.

I play one of my kings. “No, thank you. I’ve had enough.”

Neither the server nor Devin reacts to me because I’m too quiet for this loud place. I sigh, and Laini puts her hand over mine.

“You want to go outside for a breather?” she asks.

“Thanks, no, I’m fine.” She knows this isn’t my scene.

“You’re going to beat us all if you have more than that one king,” she says, grinning at the pot of coins in the center of the table.

“Cyrus taught me this one.”

“Ah, yes.” She leans back in her chair, then plays a queen and a holly leaf card. “So Devin, do you play Kings and Plots often in your hometown?”

The wool merchant clicks his tongue and narrows his eyes at the dice’s numbers. “We don’t. We usually play chess or throw darts.”

The server brings the spring wine I don’t want.

“May I have chamomile tea, please?” I ask him.

With a nod, the server leaves.

Tully’s eyes light up. “Kaya is very good at chess. You should play after we finish this hand.”

Rom finishes his play, and Argos rolls the dice.

The minotaur glances my way. “After Kaya takes our money, you mean.” His tone is cool, but his eyes dance behind his wire-rimmed glasses.

Shrugging, I take my turn. “Sorry.”

The dice show four sixes, and the table erupts in laughter and cheers.

“Wow, Kaya. You are a lucky gal,” Devin says. “But luck will get you nowhere in chess. Care to play?”

“There’s a board by the hearth,” Rom says, his gaze saying he doesn’t quite trust this wool merchant.

It takes Rom a while to warm up to people. I’m not usually like that, but maybe I am now? I turn to see a chess set on a small square table by the snapping fire.

“All right. I’ll play.”

Tully and Argos start up a reel near the back of the tavern where the lute players and drummers are filling the air with a quick folk song from the mountains. Laini gives me a quick hug.

“If you want to leave, just let me know,” she whispers.

But she doesn’t give me time to say that I would love to leave before she is off to join the dancing with Rom, so I trail Devin to the chessboard and we start a game. His first few moves show that he does know how to play well, and I lean forward on the table to study the pieces.

My mind wanders to Cyrus and what he might be doing right now.