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She gave me a feline grin.“Not that one.”
“Think you might keep him?”
“Perhaps.”
She was completely in love with him but still playing hard to get, which I got a kick out of.
We slipped inside the tavern, and I was surprised by the noise. It was large, and built into a tree like all the other homes in the city, which somehow made the whole kingdom feel like home to me. Some of my vines and flowers seemed to have invaded the place already, climbing down the walls and wrapping around the furniture.
One side of the space was taken up by a long countertop with a row of stools in front of it. Beside each stool was a cushion for an esu to sit on. Most of them were occupied, with only a few empty seats remaining.
The other side of the room was filled with tables of varying sizes, all of which were surrounded by multiple chairs.
Every table and most of the chairs were full of fae. Some were talking loudly and laughing. Others were quiet, seeming lost in their minds.
Off in the corner by the tables, a female fae was playing a smooth, soulful song on a stringed instrument I’d never seen before. The music filled the air and made the whole place feel more welcoming.
I didn’t see anyone I knew in the tavern, so I just headed over to one of the empty chairs and sat down.
The man to my right looked over and grinned. “You’re the king’s human?”
Well, that was agreatway to be identified. “For now.”
He laughed.
A female fae brought me a drink, but stopped before she handed it over, and eyed me with some suspicion. “I’m not sure how our ale will affect a human.”
“I’m not completely human,” I said. “Other than the ears, of course.”
The magic was a fairly distinctive difference.
The man next to me grinned, and the woman holding the ale looked curious.
Assuming that curiosity was for said ears, I dutifully pulled my hair away from one of them, turning to the side.
“Damn,” the woman admired.
The man next to me ran a finger over the curve of my ear without asking permission first. I shuddered a little, but not because it felt good. Something about his touch just feltwrong. Especially after Keirden had dragged his tongue over that same curve.
“Don’t touch her while she’s the king’s,” the man on the other side of me growled, reaching past me to smack the other fae’s hand away. “Do youwanthim to kill you?”
“He’s just using me for my magic. I really don’t think he’d care,” I said, though the words felt bitter on my tongue.
I honestly wasn’t sure how he’d feel.
“He’ll be territorial with the bond between you, even though he doesn’t want you,” the man who hadn’t touched me said.
I tried not to shrink at his words.
Even though he doesn’t want you.
I reached over and took the drink from the woman’s hand, and she leaned over the countertop for a moment. “If the king shows up furious and asks who served you, point to him.” She pointed to a mean-looking guy handing out drinks on the other end of the counter.
I nodded.
But I was pretty sure that if the king showed up and got furious, his anger wouldn’t be for the person who served me. It would just be forme.
“So what are you doing here?” the man who’d touched my ear asked. “Kier doesn’t have you chained to his side while he looks into the murders?”
