As I approached the bar, I leaned against it and caught the owner's eye.
Cameron was a short, plump man with pale skin, and he grinned the moment he saw me. His face was mostly hidden by a thick, brown beard that spilled down to his chest, but his rosy cheeks still managed to peek through. He slid a frothing mug of ale across the counter toward a hunched, gray-haired woman, the liquid sloshing over the rim and onto the wood. Cameron didn't seem to notice and turned, slinging a rag over his shoulder as he made his way down the bar toward me.
He was barely half my height, yet somehow carried himself like a man twice his size. His chest was naturally puffed, his white tunic stretching, over his broad shoulders.
“Well, if it isn’t the traitor himself!” Cameron bellowed, his booming voice cutting through the tavern chatter. Heads swiveled in my direction and Cameron winced. “Sorry. It’s usually a lot louder in here. I’m used to shouting over the noise.” His deep, belly-shaking laugh followed, drawing a grin out of me before I could stop it. The patrons lost interest and turned back to their drinks as I reached across the counter and clasped his outstretched hand.
“How are you, Cam? It’s been a while.”
Cameron reached underneath the bar and pulled out a large mug, turning and filling it with ale. His head turned back toward me as the amber liquid flowed out of the large barrel on the counter.
“As good as anyone here can be.” His smile was pinched as he turned back around and placed the full mug onto the bar, sliding it toward me. I raised it in a cheer and took a long sip, letting the cool liquid coat the back of my throat. My stomach warmed instantly, and I smirked. “I see Aria has arrived.”
Cameron laughed. “Her beasts are tricking anyone gullible enough to send them up steaks.” He threw his rag onto the bar and started wiping at it as he chuckled again. “If those beasts eat anymore, they are going to fall through the damn roof.”
Laughing, I looked around the tavern but didn’t see her familiar red. Frowning, I asked, “Is she already in bed?”
Cam’s face fell, and his eyes darted upward as if he could see through it, and he let out a long, sorrowful sigh, leaning across the bar. “Dedra arrived this morning.” He dropped his voice into a whisper and my chest tightened. Dedra usuallywent straight to the castle. Aria, I understood why she might want to avoid staying there, but Dedra?
“Elida and I feel useless. She just sat here all day, barely eating or saying a word. We finally got her to drink something, but then—” Cam looked down at the bar, hurt etched into every line of his face.
“What, Cam?”
“Well, then she starteddrinking. And has kept drinking since. She has caused quite a disturbance today, and nothing we do seems to help. She eventually just took a bottle from behind the bar, and we haven’t seen her since.” Cameron sighed, rubbing his face with his palm. “Aria arrived a couple hours ago and went straight up to check on her, but she hasn’t been back down.”
I stood abruptly, turning toward the stairway. Cameron caught my arm before I could take a step. “Wait.” It was the crack in his voice, the sadness that made me stop. Turning back to face him, his gaze ensnared mine again, and the swirling grief made my skin itch. “Bring them some food before you go.” I nodded. “And Jaxon, be prepared. She isn’t well.”
After gathering a large loaf of bread, and a rather large portion of cheese and cured meat from Elida in the kitchens, I made my way up the narrow stairway to the inn above. The narrow landing curved sharply, and a long hallway appeared. Doors lined the left side of the wall, while another stairway lined the right. I knew she would be in the one at the end. It had been her room when she worked here.
It was silent as I approached the door. I knocked twice, and heard a whispered curse and soft footsteps, before the door swung open. Aria appeared, and she almost looked relieved to see me. My gaze ran over her pinched features, and I couldn’thelp but tighten my grip on the tray. Her face was puffy, her eyes rimmed red. Her usually kept hair was frayed and knotted as if windblown, still in her red jumpsuit and travel cloak. The one she liked to wear while flying.
I waited for her to snap, to tell me to go away, but to my surprise, she merely stepped aside, letting me into the darkened room.
The tension in my shoulders loosened, but I frowned. “Is she asleep?”
“Kind of, she has been in and out,” Aria said, sighing. I stepped into the room and the door clicked behind me as fire erupted at my back.
I raised a brow at her in question, and Aria huffed in annoyance. “The lights don’t work.” She grumbled, and I nodded thoughtfully.
“Here,” I said, holding out the tray of food, and Aria waved her palm with the flames at me with a reproachful look. I rolled my eyes at her. “I can create a light. Gunnar taught me.” I said, waiting for her to take the tray. Her flame extinguished, and she took the tray reluctantly.
Concentrating, I focused on my power, on the raw energy that flowed through my veins. Not one specific element, not my shadows, but the magic itself, the ebb and flow that lived beneath our skin. Light sparked at my fingertips, and an orb of light began to form in my palm.
Aria watched in fascination, her head tilting as she stared at the glowing light. Her gaze rose to meet mine, something like awe shining in her black depths. Smirking, I pushed more into the light until the entire room was lit. Using my air magic, I lifted the orb, securing it to the ceiling above our heads.
“Show off,” Aria muttered, but I nearly dropped the orb as my gaze swept around the room. The furniture was in splintered piles on the floor. The rug slashed to pieces under our feet. I was surprised we hadn’t tripped on anything coming in. The walls were marked with long gouges, the wood chipped violently as if it were hacked by an ax, and the metal sconces lay on the floor, bent and broken.
Something moved in the corner of the room, and I saw a heap of blankets, feathers, and silk rise and fall. The lumpy heap was on top of another pile of shattered wood, which I think used to be the bed.
“Dedra?”
Dedra was curled in a ball on top of it, the silken ripped blankets and mattress half covering her body as she held her knees to her chest, her back toward us. Her long strawberry-blonde hair was loose and long around her.
Aria must not have realized how bad it was until now, as she too was looking around the room in stunned silence. She placed the tray on the floor, and we both eyed each other nervously.
“Dedra,” I breathed again, taking a step toward her. She didn’t move, didn’t react. So, I kept moving closer until I was crouching over her, my hand moving to touch her shoulder.
“Don’t,” Dedra’s voice was raspy, and I drew back my hand, resting it on my knee.
