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Jasmine
THE TAVERN WAS FULL. The sound of music and the smell of food hit us at once as Kieran and I walked down the stairs and entered the main area.
I hadn’t moved in two days, which meant my muscles ached as I walked down the stairs with his help. But walking made me feel better despite the tiredness it caused. My stomach growled upon picking up the delicious scent coming from the kitchens.
The fae at Terlyth did not realize that the Prince of the Unseelie walked among them as we stood there, observing our surroundings. Though a few patrons glanced our way, I did not pick up on any suspicion from the crowd.
“There,” Kieran pointed toward a table in the back, away from the crowd but not completely private. Our friends were sitting together, and as we approached them, they waved at us.
The minstrel played a cheerful tune, but the crowd was almost somber as they ate and drank in relative silence.
I did not know what time of day it was, but it could not be too late as the inn was full. The lack of liveliness had to have been caused by something else.
We sat. Kieran sat beside me. I met Fiona's gaze and hoped she could not feel the excitement rising in me.
"You are walking too quickly, brother," Fiona said. "You should be careful not to..."
Her gaze darted toward me as she stopped herself before revealing Kieran's injury to me.
"It's okay," Kieran said. "Jasmine felt my injury. She healed it."
My cheeks burned. Our friends could not know how that healing took place, but Fiona stared knowingly at me as the feelings rising in me reached her through her empath magic.
She smiled, but luckily, she did not say anything.
The innkeeper appeared next to our table before I could even adjust my chair to face the minstrel.
Her light brown eyes were cast down as she stood over our table, expressionless. I could tell that was not how her face usually looked. There were wrinkles around her eyes and mouth that suggested a life full of laughter. But tonight, she was just as somber as the rest of the inn.
“What are you having?” She asked dryly.
“Ale and food,” Dearen replied. “Bring us whatever food you have. Enough for five at least...”
“Preferably warm,” Fiona added.
The innkeeper gave her an odd look before she turned away and left.
“We don’t have money,” I realized suddenly. “We should cancel our order. We can’t pay them using Unseelie gold.”
“We won’t,” Dearen replied with a smirk, patting his pocket for emphasis. “I found some gold.”
Fiona’s expression was tight. She leaned away from Dearen as if she didn’t want to be associated with him.
“How?” I asked.
“I stole it,” he replied calmly, then, before I could say anything else, he added, “It’s what I did before I was chosen for the trials.”
Fiona was looking at me to see my expression. She wasn’t going to get what she wanted.
“Huh,” I said calmly, leaning against my chair. “That should be a useful skill.”
Dearen’s expression softened. “It will.”
We both smirked as Fiona’s expression darkened, but she did not say anything.
The food arrived shortly. The innkeeper placed the plates on the table randomly. Once she was done, she took off without saying anything.
My stomach grumbled as I stared at the honeyed chicken drumsticks placed neatly on top of a bed of green vegetables. Another plate was filled with warm bread with butter spread on top. It seemed the free rein that Dearen had given the innkeeper had resulted in her giving us the best food, which was reflected in the amount of gold Dearen put on the tray before she left. We had an apple pastry that I did not recognize and a perfectly cooked piece of venison with a cream sauce that looked delicious.
