AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She swept out of the room and, although she didn’t invite me, I trailed behind her. We clipped down the steps and came to the crowded belly of the inn where people drank and played cards. The owner wiped glasses at the counter.
“Ladies,” he said. “Can I help you?”
Palaria smiled like a death sentence before singing her words. “Tell us what you know of the girl that came here last night with fair skin and dresses like ours. She arrived with a man with dark hair.”
The owner’s eyes glazed, and I looked over my shoulder to see if anyone noticed but it was late in the night, the lights flickered low, and most of the patrons were well into their cups. “A beautiful girl,” the owner said.
“Yes, she is.”
“They left not long after going upstairs. I didn’t like it.” He frowned even as his eyes kept their trance-like state. “That’s not the kind of establishment I run here.”
“Where did they go?”
He thumbed towards a back hall. Palaria’s jaw jumped. “Did you catch his name?”
“Sai.”
Palaria gasped. “You’re certain?”
There was no point to ask that question. She’d compelled him with magic, and he was human. He couldn’t lie if he wanted.
“I am.”
She ran her tongue over her teeth then breathed a note that released him from his spell.
“Anything I can do for you ladies?”
“Could we exit through the back?”
He scowled but gestured to it. We rustled down the passage and made a turn before pushing out a door that sat draped under lamplight. Palaria’s eyes flicked around, taking in the shadowed passages someone might use to escape this town without notice. I crossed my arms as the weight of the situation settled over me. Lira had run, and if we didn’t find her before the full moon ended, we could all face execution. “Do you know Sai? It seemed like a name you recognized.”
Palaria’s features hardened, highlighting the sharp line of her nose, the high slashes of her cheekbones. “I know of him. He’s infamous among our enemies.”
I’d grown up in this troupe and didn’t know much beyond it. We’d always stayed away from fairies and hid our magic. Most of the fae world I knew were the Seelie. I had no idea who Sai was, but the way Palaria hissed his name left me more uneasy than ever. My stomach sank, and I lifted my face to the bare tree limbs that slashed across the waning expanse of the moon.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
LIRA
I crouchedby a river that wound its way through the forest like a strip of blue silk. It glimmered with shattered reflections of moonlight. I scooped a handful of water and splashed it on my face. The chill shocked a breath out of me. I nearly forgot how close we were to the Seelie country—a world that remained eternally in winter—but the iciness in the water and the bite of the breeze was a reminder.
I couldn’t believe I agreed to help rob fae royalty. Sai’s group, despite their objections, seemed so confident. He gave them the opportunity to back out and not one member took it. I needed to keep my mind on the money. If we succeeded, I’d have enough coin to establish myself somewhere far from Mother’s ability to hunt me down. If they paid me enough, I might even afford passage and the things I’d need to cross the seas and return to the country of Madalia where I’d grown up. I’d missed it every day since I’d returned to the continent.
It was good to focus on the money because it shifted my thoughts away from Sai. If I were honest, he played a part in me agreeing to this. I couldn’t believe he still wanted me to join after I’d messed up at the fight. There was some allure he had to me which I couldn’t name, and it did nothing but deepen my uncertainty.
Snapping twigs picked my heart rate up as Sai walked behind me. It was like I could feel his presence, the intense appeal of him. I didn’t look back at him. Anytime my eyes connected with his, that tug pulled and tightened. It felt like a cord that would snap if we didn’t stop. Now we’d spend several days traveling alone together. Great.
He bent down beside me, and his smell overtook the forest’s earthiness which reminded me of the previous night as we sat alone in the dark. I longed to tangle my fingers into his hair, press my nose into it, see if that was the source. Or did he use some soap that provided his whiskey sharp and sweet aroma which brought warmth to my stomach?
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
His eyes sparkled with the reflection of the river, like it flowed through him. After the magic he’d exercised earlier, that wouldn’t surprise me. It had been intimidating, standing in the ripple of so much power. My stomach gurgled. That had to be it; I was hungry, and my body’s reactions had nothing to do with Sai. He chuckled and pulled a cloth-wrapped bundle out of his pack and placed it into my hands. “What’s this?”
“A taste of home.” His voice took on a reminiscent tone edged with the tart bite of sadness.
I unfurled the cloth to find two filled rolls that perfumed the air with spices. My mouth watered as I offered him one. He took a bite, his lips molding around the crust, his eyelashes fanning against his cheeks as he closed his eyes and groaned.
My mouth grew dry, and hunger wasn’t the forefront desire anymore. He swallowed, his throat bobbing against his ebony high-collared jacket. He remained like that for another moment as if he wished to preserve every drop of the flavor before he opened his eyes. “Are you going to try yours?”
