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Opening the door slightly, Bryn felt a sigh of relief roll out of her mouth before she could contain it. She did not have the energy to deal with Declan after their moment outside the Sanctuary, and Justin would pick up on their behavior and investigate. She did not want to know how Justin would handle illegal contraband, friend or not. Justin was the law first and foremost, and she did not want to test how far she could push their friendship.
“Come on in, Kess,” Sage greeted with her own sigh of relief while Bryn opened it the rest of the way so Kessler could manipulate his large body through the small entryway. The muscles were beneficial for smithing, but a small man it did not make.
“I didn’t see you ladies outside with Niamh and Justin.” His low, rumbling voice soothed Bryn’s nerves, her skin less sensitive than it had been when she had been trapped in the room with all the others. One of his eyebrows went up as he gave a questioning look to both women. “Everyone and everything okay in here?”
Sage nodded, clasping her shaking hands in front of her.
Smooth.
Kessler returned a slow nod that declared he in no way believed them. At all. Looking between Sage and Bryn, his eyes held curiosity, but Kessler was not the type to overstep.
“Well, if you need anything, I’ll be cleaning up the forge. Thankfully, most everything in that place weighs a good ton, so not too much damage to the forge itself, but the windows are broken.”
Giving them one last long look, he turned away, and Bryn’s brain finally clicked into gear. Her conversation before the storm with Caden and Niamh pulled to the forefront of her mind.
“Wait!” Bryn stepped up next to the man who rarely gave much of himself away, and she wondered how Caden even knew as much about Kessler to have told her what he did. He was quiet, communicated mostly in grunts, and glowered.
Kessler stopped, turning to her as he crossed his arms, and it reminded her of the defensive position she took when someone was intimidating her. She’d laugh out loud if that wouldn’t shut the man down. He was built like a brick wall and just as difficult to knock over. No one messed with him.
“Could you make me a weapon of some kind, nothing fancy, but something that could help should someone take it too far sometime. . .?” She stopped her rambling and watched a happy glint shine in the normally dour man’s eyes. Hehadwanted her to ask when all along when she felt like it would have been overstepping. Bryn never wanted to be the burden her aunt told her she was.
“Sure thing, Brynnie,” he said with such affection she blushed. She knew he saw her as a little sister, much as she was sure Travis, Caden, and Justin did, but she could see the appeal in Kessler. The beauty of him when he smiled, something so very rare, that she felt blessed to be one of the few to see it. “I’ll get on it right now.”
She almost told him it was no rush, but he moved with a determined gait to the door, and she couldn’t, no, shewouldn’ttake that from him.
Bryn moved to step out of his way, his arm brushing her hand as he reached out to grab the doorknob. A shock of static like the one both Sage and Declan had given her made her jump a little, the hair on her arms back up, but no vision.
Realizing she was standing frozen, still somewhat in his way since he was big enough to be a building himself, she gave a nervous laugh and moved to Sage’s side.
With a raised eyebrow, Kessler shook his head before opening and closing the door quietly behind him.
Why was she getting shocked when she touched people? She only had visions when people were close to the realm of the dead, but usually if there was an accidental touch with no vision, there was just... nothing.
Perhaps this would happen with others, but she ran the risk of seeing someone’s death if she started touching people, and that was emotionally and physically painful.
Was it worth the risk to investigate further?
She wasn’t brave enough to find out.
Chapter 7
Sleepwasnotcomingto Bryn anytime soon, so making her excuses, she escaped Sage’s cottage, sticking to the shadows as she made her way back to the clinic. The church bells rang, and she wondered what state the church was in to still be having service.
Her mind was exhausted, but her body was somehow energized. An odd conundrum that she’d never experienced before.
Rubbing at her gritty eyes thanks to the sand, she moved between the buildings as she mentally ran through what her options were to keep her occupied until nightfall since sleep was obviously out.
Though her body was ready to start the day, she could feel pressure behind her eyes, warning her of one of her headaches coming on. She rarely had them these days, though her youth had been full of them due to the stress of moving and her father’s death. She’d thought she’d grown out of them, so a second headache in one week seemed off.
What isn’t off right now, though?
Growling, she closed her eyes, wishing something in her life could be simple for once.
Declan’s warm voice carried over to her, and she peeked around the corner of one of the buildings. He worked with some of his men to assess the damage to the Cauldron, standing before the place with their hands in their pockets as they took in the old wooden building that had somehow withstood such a strong storm.
Hammers were already nailing wood across broken windows, and the loud pounding was worsening the aching throb in her head.
Declan was the one who, when there was an item they wanted but did not have the ability to make or grow, had a permit to leave the gate and trade with Tanwen. It never failed that he was able to secure supplies considered by others as unattainable. If something was needed, Declan could obtain it, and the Cauldron had it. It was part of the reason Niamh had alcohol in her establishment, something banned by the church.
