“How’s Noc holding up?” Calem’s hands swung by his sides, long hair bouncing along his shoulders in time with his gait.
“I’m not sure.” I hadn’t been the only one battling through the night. “Probably worse than he’s letting on. You know him.”
Calem sighed. “We don’t know much about what happens when an oath is ignored. Hopefully, this mage will help.” He slowed as we hit freshly laid stone pavers marking the entrance to the tavern. My brows drew together as I toed the first slab and was met with a solid thump instead of the rolling squish of dirt.
How long had it been since I’d been back? Enough time for pavers to be laid. What else was new? A shiny iron doorknob glinted in the sun, no longer dented and barely hinged to the door. My gaze flitted to the stone masonry and shuttered windows. Weathered, sure, but was that fresh paint? Ivy shrubs clambered against the walls, and I searched for any other signs of change. It wasn’t like Dez was lazy, but—
Dez.A different flavor of unease hit me as Noc wrenched open the heavy oak door and disappeared inside with Gaige and Kost. Spinning to Calem, I gripped his hands in mine.
“I need a favor.”
Calem raised a brow. “Okay?”
“The bartender is going to cause a scene when he sees me.”
“What kind of scene?” His body went rigid, and his lips peeled back in a perilous show of teeth.
“Not that kind. I’m safe. It’s just…” Meeting Calem’s muted-red eyes, I willed him to catch my drift. It’s not like I’d talked about my previous relationships with any of them. But if anyone would understand, it’d be Calem. He studied me for a moment before realization hit him, and the angry growl brewing on his lips turned into a full-blown laugh.
“Does Noc know?”
I shook my head. “He’s on edge lately, thanks to the oath. We can’t have him going off when we desperately need the information this mage can give us.”
Calem sighed, dropping my hands and gripping the iron doorknob. “You’re asking a lot of me, you know that? Just try to keep this bartender in line. I’ll do my best with our new hothead.” With a subtle smirk still lingering on his lips, he opened the door and walked into the dim lighting of my old stomping grounds. As I followed in his steps, a man with cropped red hair rushed out. He knocked into me, took one look at my annoyed expression, and bolted toward the Kitska Forest.
Manners didn’t apply to those who dealt in black-market information, apparently. Suppressing a scowl, I shut the door behind me. The rush of stale booze and dirty dealings welcomed me, and I hid behind Calem for a moment longer to avoid the inevitable and savor the familiarity of what had once been my home. A few patrons near the door glanced up at our entrance, but they seemed otherwise unmoved. No one asked questions in a place like this.
Iron wall mounts with flickering candles clung to the shiplap, and heavy plank tables with murmuring patrons were scattered across the creaking floorboards. But aside from the errant cobweb here and there clinging to out-of-reach rafters, the place felt remarkably clean. The signature filigree pattern of mold on the windows had been scraped; the pilings of wax on tables were gone; even a few of the booths’ black cushions had been patched. They didn’t match, more of a graphite shade than a true raven’s black, but clothing would be safe from snags.
Our troupe had taken refuge at a small table toward the rear with mismatched chairs, and Noc sat with his back to the wall. With the seat beside him empty, he waited with careful eyes for me to join him. Calem glanced back at me with a wicked smirk and stepped away, effectively jettisoning me from his shadow and leaving me alone to face the music. Calem was fast, but not fast enough to plop himself in Noc’s sight line before Dez turned from his place at the bar and dropped the mug he’d been polishing.
The shattering of glass cut through the murmuring conversations and ushered in a curious silence. Dez rushed around the bar, unconcerned with the way his boots ground shards into the soft wood, and wrapped me in an embrace that threatened to splinter my bones.
“Leena, thank the gods.” His lips skirted across the crown of my head, and I swear I felt Noc’s stare embedding into my skull.
“Hi, Dez.” I gave him a quick hug before disentangling myself from his limbs. “You’ve been busy. This place actually feels clean for once.” The backdrop of muted discussions resumed as patrons returned to their business. Calem’s voice carried above the rest as he tried to engage Noc in conversation, but he never responded.
A goofy grin captured Dez’s lips, revealing too many teeth and hinting at the rugged charm I’d fallen prey to before. “I had some free time on my hands without you around.” A callused thumb brushed the length of my jaw. “You took your sweet time coming home.”
“Dez—”
“I left your room the way it was. No need to thank me.” Voice low, he placed a hand on my waist and squeezed. The jagged scar running from his earlobe to his jaw twisted as he smirked. “I take that back. I’d very much like you to thank me.”
I didn’t even get a chance to warn him. Shadows exploded in a plume of inky black, and suddenly Noc was beside me. Hands tucked into the pockets of his trousers, he ignored me entirely and instead twisted invisible knives into Dez’s hide with his stare. His sudden display of power sent everyone into a frozen state of silence, each one balancing on a tightrope of alarm.
Dez, for all his worth, took one look at Noc and pulled me behind him. “Can I help you?”
Somewhere, Calem cursed.
Eerie calm swept through Noc’s hard expression. “You can take your hands off her.”
“Back off, or I’ll throw you out. This is my establishment.”
“Dez.” I gripped his forearm, and his brown gaze softened as his eyes landed on me. “It’s okay. I know him.”
“I’m not sure you do.” He turned back to Noc. He may have been unaware of the danger lying in wait before him, but I couldn’t miss Noc’s telltale signs. The balled fists in his pockets. The wild muscle ticking in his jaw. Dez only settled further into his heels and folded his arms across his chest. “I remember you. You came in here before to barter with someone over a Charmer’s life. Considering there’s only one of those around, my guess is that’s you, Leena. This man is trying to kill you.”
Noc growled. “That was a private conversation.”
