Page 54 of The Seeker

Another woman might have been jealous seeing someone try to flirt with their man, but I knew Otho, and he wouldn’t dare entertain another woman. Especially not if being away from me caused me as much pain as he claimed. Instead of putting a stop to it, I leaned back against the wall to watch the show.

“I said, I’m not interested.” Otho’s voice was quiet but firm as he removed her hand from his forearm for what I had an inkling wasn’t the first time.

“You don’t have to be interested; we can just have fun for the night,” she tried again, her arm coming around his shoulders.

Otho immediately pushed it off. “Don’t touch me.”

“Oh, come on.” Her voice grated on my nerves with her condescending tone. “Every man needs a little release.”

Otho shook his head and downed his beer before standing from the stool. “Listen, I’m taken, and she’s nearby⁠—”

“Here, actually,” I spoke up at last, barely able to contain my laughter. “And enjoying the show.”

His gray eyes immediately found mine, and I could feel shame spiraling around him. “Runa, I didn’t⁠—”

I pushed past him, happy to sink onto the stool he recently vacated. “I trust you, Otho,” I admitted flashing a smile at the open-mouthed woman before flagging down the bartender.

As I expected, the woman was embarrassed, tossing coins on the counter before shoving through the crowd. I shrugged and motioned Otho into the empty seat.

“Well, that’s one way to find room for us both to sit.” His voice was low as he slid onto the seat, shoving the coins and the woman’s half-full mug forward so the bartender would take them away.

The bartender rushed over, sweeping the coins into the pouch at his waist. “What can I grab you?”

“Two beers.” I held up my fingers. “And whatever dinner you have on special.”

The man nodded and turned to Otho, whose brow was crinkled in confusion. “You ordered me a drink but not dinner?”

I tossed my head back and laughed. “No, the two beers are both for me. I figured I would save this nice man a trip.” The bartender chuckled.

“Oh, well, same for me then,” he replied, and the bartender rushed away, presumably to grab our drinks.

“So . . . you aren’t mad about . . .” Otho motioned to himself, but I knew he meant the woman there before.

“Nope,” I answered as the bartender slid two beer mugs in front of me. I took a massive gulp out of the first one before continuing. “The way I see it, if things don’t work out with us, I get my dream of a cabin in the woods, where I can experiment with all the potions I want, and I don’t have to explain myself. If you want to be in my life, you’re in charge of your own actions. And, if at any time your actions don’t match with what you say, you can show yourself out.”

Otho sat there, open-mouthed. “But . . . we’re weighted.”

“And?” I raised my eyebrows to take another drink. “Life is short, Otho. You don’t have to feel obligated to be with me. I tried to tell you in the dream forest—you’re free to do as you want, and I’m free to do as I want. If we want to stick around each other while that happens, fine, but I’ve spent my whole life living for someone else—as someone else. That’s done now. I’m Runa—just Runa—and I can take care of myself, even if I have to take belladonna.”

Otho’s mouth opened and closed, and I could feel his awe. “Hel, I’ve never heard a woman say something so attractive.” The words came out in a rush as he grabbed my upper arms and pulled me into a heated kiss.

The moment our lips met, warmth exploded in my veins and my body leaned in to his. Though the belladonna helped with the feelings all day long, it couldn’t fight the magic of Otho’s skin brushing mine.

“I can come back later if y’all are busy.”

We broke apart, my cheeks heating at the bartender standing in front of us, two steaming plates in his hands.

“I’ll eat now,” I said sheepishly, motioning for him to set down the plate. It held a pastry I didn’t recognize and a pile of roasted potatoes.

“We call that a pie, ma’am. My wife and I, we run this place, and we stuff ‘em with different ingredients to keep things interesting. Today is rabbit and carrot.” He set down the second plate in front of Otho, and I drained the last few dregs of beer one, handing him the empty glass.

“Anything else for you folks?” the corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled.

“That’s it,” I replied, not wasting any time and biting off the corner of the pie to allow the steam to escape. It was delicious, and hot—as I expected.

Otho and I ate our piles of potatoes in silence, both of us ravenous after the low rations on the road. But when the potatoes were gone, the pastry was still billowing steam, and I knew we would need to fill the time with conversation. I sipped my second beer.

“I know I’ve said this so many times since the night we found you, but I’m sorry, Runa—for losing my temper over the vials. I just can’t help myself when it comes to you. When I found out you were hurting yourself …the magic. . . I lost it.”