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A shiver runs down my spine as I peer closer at the back corner of the room. Slowly, the shadows seem to swirl and pull together, almost as if they're trying to reshape themselves into the form of an enormous horned creature.
My eyes widen, my heart pounding in my chest as I open my mouth to say something.
"There you are, Hazel," a woman says, startling me as I glance away from the shadows to find a woman standing next to the table. "I was beginning to worry I wouldn't find you in time."
"I'm sorry, do I know you?" I ask, my eyes flickering back to the corner to find it completely empty of any shadow monsters.
"Not yet," she answers. "Just know, should you ever need help, my child, you need only come looking for it."
Our eyes meet, her a golden hue that seems altogether wrong. It must be the glow from the fire across the tavern, or perhaps it's the wine playing more tricks on me. I thought I was fine, but it's becoming clearer by the second that I'm not.
"What do you mean?"
"You'll know when the time comes. Listen to your heart, for the mind can often play tricks."
Blinking at her, I open my mouth to ask her to clarify what she's just said, just as Cyprian reappears. Our drinks in hand, he scowls at the tiny woman as he stares down at her.
"Be gone with you, witch," he growls, placing a new goblet-full of wine before me.
The woman says nothing, simply wrapping her dark cloak tighter around her before giving me one last look and disappearing into the crowd.
I frown as I try to watch her go. There was a seriousness to her words that seemed to stab me right through my heart. As though she was trying to tell me something important without outright saying it.
Not that any of it made any sense to me. Not that anything makes any sense to me right now.
I turn my attention back to the wine before me, hesitating for a second before raising it to my lips.
The sweetness of the wine has grown more sour with time, as has my stomach.
As the day passes, more and more people begin to spill into the tavern. Many stop to chat with Cyprian, and it's impossible to miss the disapproving looks and raised eyebrows that are being directed at me.
Even as I hide my face in my goblet, making much quicker work of my second helping of wine. Standing, Cyprian takes my now-empty cup and makes his way back to the bar for more, my eyes trailing after him as he goes.
I don't know why I never noticed how much his presence fills a room. Here, he almost seems to command attention as people quickly move out of his way.
"Here," Cyprian says upon his return, handing me a mug this time.
"I don't think I can drink anymore," I say, the words thick on my tongue.
"It's just wat—"
We're suddenly interrupted as a large man bumps into the table, knocking Cyprian's elbow as he leans drunkenly over it, causing some of the water to splash on me.
"Cyprian, my boy," the man bellows, laughing as he reaches a sweaty arm around my stepbrother's shoulders, ale sloshing out of his cup. "Now that your newest stepfather is dying, perhaps you'll finally let us have a go at that girl of his. She'd be an orphan then, no reason for you to worry about her reputati—"
I see the thunder on Cyprian's face long before the man has a chance to react. The man's face ripples with the force of Cyprian's fist, spittle and blood flying out as he's thrown off balance and stumbles drunkenly backwards.
"You fucking cu—"
Cyprian is on him before another word can leave the man's mouth.
I'm too shocked to move, watching in horrified awe as Cyprian holds the man up by a handful of his shirt, his other fist pummeling into the man with terrible force. Sweat beads on my stepbrother's forehead, his dark hair forming into clumps as his knuckles bloody and the veins surface along his bare forearms.
The whole tavern is in an uproar now, men scrambling to pull him off the now unconscious stranger, just as I'm distracted by the door opening and a chilly breeze whipping through the room.
Outside, the sky has darkened to a soft purple, and my mind suddenly quiets despite the raucousness around me.
Oh, no ... we've been gone nearly the whole day.
