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“You’re late, my dear.”
“Story of my life.” She giggles, then juts her thumb to the pastries. “You’re not sold out, are you?”
“You know I always make a few extra for you. I’ll get them from the back.”
Once Ada disappears from view, the girl drifts toward me, dropping into one of the chairs with a heavy sigh. “So, what are you here for? Goods or services?”
“Now, now, Vera. No questioning my guests. Her reasons to see me are her own.” Ada returns, carrying a closed container and handing it to the girl, Vera.
In turn, she tilts her head to the side, grinning at me. “Services. Well, lucky you. Ada is the best. Let me guess, you wanna mend a broken heart?”
“Vera.”
“What? She looks like she’s just lost everything. I totally get it, I’d—”
“I was stolen from my home,” I cut in, my voice sharp. Not that I owe her an explanation as to why I look any sort of way. But I’m certainly not a fan of being spoken about like I’m not right here. “We were discussing how she can help me get back.”
“Stolen?” Vera places a hand over her chest. “That’s awful. By who?”
Ada is speaking before I get the chance. “A Growler, obviously. How else would you expect a human to wind up here?”
I ask, “A Growler?” at the same time Vera exclaims, “A human?!”
Ignoring the other girl, I focus only on Ada, waiting for more information. It isn’t Ada who answers though.
“They’re trackers, mostly. Very skilled at what they do and incredibly discreet.” Vera stands from the table, leaning in and examining me. “I’ve never met a human before. You’re prettier than I would have expected.”
I take a step back. “Uh, thanks. But back to the…Growler. What would it be tracking me for? And why bring me here?”
“Could be any number of reasons.” She shrugs.
Deciding I’ll get more answers out of the older woman, I turn to ask her but find she isn’t standing beside me anymore. In fact, she isn’t in the room at all.
“She does that,” Vera explains as I search for Ada. “Guess she had somewhere else to be. Anyway, if you’re a human, that means for her to get you home, it would require traveling between realms. That’s crazy expensive. Can you afford it?”
My entire heart sinks. All I have are the clothes I’m wearing, and even those aren’t in great shape, considering the fabric over my right thigh now has a tear and is stained with blood.
Vera frowns as she watches me, seemingly aware that no, I absolutely can’t afford a damn thing. She perks up almost immediately though, giving me a wide smile. “You should totally work at my old job, Four Cauldrons. They’re looking for a new waitress and you’d be perfect! It’s only ten crescents an hour, but you’d also get tips.”
“Crescents?”
“Yes crescents. How do humans get paid?” She laughs. “Come on. I’ll take you there. You can check out the place, see if it’s something you’d even want.”
I blink. “Wait, are you offering me a job?” The words tumble out before I can stop them. Where is this even coming from?
“It’s not technically mine to give, but yeah, basically.”
My feet feel rooted to the ground. This girl doesn’t know me. She has no reason to be doing this. So why is she?
“The longer we stand here, the more likely someone else will snatch it up,” she sing-songs, already halfway to the door.
Pulling my lips between my teeth, I let out a long breath, then follow her. Not because I want this job or because I want to appease her. I do it because I have no idea what else to do.
The walk totals around ten minutes, with Vera spilling a fountain of words I don’t hear. My head is still spiraling.
Taken. Realms. Growler. Three terms that have suddenly become my life.
Not my home. Not even my world.
