The First Loss: Vaelor x Elora (Rogue X Ara Book 3)

Chapter 4

“Let’s just go.” Alivia tugged on my hand. “It’ll be fun.”

“I don’t think Godrick would appreciate us leaving after explicitly asking us not to leave,” I said flatly, resisting her pull. “And Goddess, imagine how Emma would react if she found out.”

“She’s asleep, and besides, this would normally be your idea.” She held my hand to her chest and gave her best pleading look. “Please. For me? I can’t go alone.”

I rolled my eyes with a groan. “Fine, but I swear to the Goddess, if we get caught, I’m telling him you forced me.”

She squealed and bounced up and down, her dark cloak falling back to reveal her blonde braid. “Fine, yes. Let’s go.”

She pulled her hood back over her head as she turned and opened our chamber door. Peeking her head out, she glanced left and right before giving me the thumbs up and slipping out the door.

“This is such a bad idea,” I muttered before following behind her.

The night air was crisp as we snuck through a seemingly unnoticed door and stepped into the back courtyard, the moon our only light.

“You know I’m normally all for going to the tavern, but Godrick asked us to stay in this night for a reason. The meeting is tomorrow, which means Fae are roaming the towns.”

“So? When did you become such a scaredy-cat?” Alivia whispered, peeking over her shoulder. “We’re here for the peace treaty resigning, which, in case you didn’t realize, means they’re not looking for a fight, El.”

“I’m not scared. I was respecting Godrick’s wishes,” I mumbled.

Godrick took me in as an infant when my parents, his childhood friends, died in a tragic accident, and Emma accepted me with open arms. Together, they’d raised me alongside Alivia, treating me like their own daughter, and had always been so, utterly kind. I loved them for it and wanted to show them the respect they deserved, the respect they’d earned.

Although, if Fae were roaming around tonight, maybe there was a chance he would be there. A spike of adrenaline shot through me, and I took a slow breath, pulling my cloak tighter around my shoulders.

Her steps slowed and stopped when we came to the dirt road. She looked left and right before turning to me. “Do you…happen to know where the tavern is?”

I glared at her, my mouth pressed into a flat line, but she shrugged her shoulders and widened her eyes as she threw her hands up.

“Well?” she asked.

With a deep sigh, I pointed a finger down the path. I knew exactly where it was because I passed it every year on the way to the orchard I loved so dearly; if not for the darkness of night, we’d see the trees from the tavern’s entrance, massive and green, speckled with shining red apples. She grinned, giving my shoulder a quick squeeze before taking off in that direction.

We made it to the tavern within the hour, finding it alive with people and music. Patrons came and went steadily, the golden light from inside pouring from the open doors and windows. A slight breeze blew, and the scent of cyser drifted along with it—their sweet apple mead.

I inhaled deeply, reveling in it before Alivia looped her hand through mine and tugged me forward. When we walked in, I scanned the room and bit at the inside of my cheek, stifling the uncomfortable feeling in my gut. They were only humans.

Alivia jumped up, waving a hand as she spotted Evander in the corner with a few other soldiers. Evander’s face lit up when he saw us, and we waded through the packed tables to them.

“Didn’t expect to see you two here,” he said, his eyes shifting from Alivia to me and lingering.

“Well, while we’re here…” I grabbed the whiskey shot from the table in front of Evander and downed it.

His brows shot to his hairline, but he lifted another small glass in offering. With a grin, I took it too and relished the burn. As bad as I felt for disobeying Godrick’s one request, we were already here, the tavern was lively, and I knew the liquor would be bought with the crown’s coin.

Might as well enjoy the night.

“Final round!”

My head spun with alcohol and anticipation, my heart thundering, but no one beat me in Coins, Evander included, and he wasn’t going to now. The goal was simple: bounce the coin into the cup and chug the mead.

I could barely contain my giggle as Alivia counted down from three.

At two, I shimmied my shoulders, and Evander nudged me with his, giving me a sidelong glance. At one, I zeroed in on my mug, the smile sliding from my face, and at “go,” I bounced the coin and landed it on the first try. The tavern erupted in cheers as I snatched the cup and downed the mead in a few gulps before slamming it back down.

Evander grinned, arms crossed over his chest and eyes on me, not bothering with a second toss of his coin as I destroyed him. He didn’t look upset, though. Another emotion lingered in his eyes, in his smile, more than mere happiness. Humor didn’t quite cover it, either. Pride, maybe? But that didn’t make any sense at all. My brows furrowed, and he opened his mouth to speak but didn’t have a chance to say a word before Alivia threw her arm around my shoulders.

“Atta girl!” Alivia gave me a quick squeeze and swiveled me to our table, Evander following behind.

I plopped down in an old chair, my hands jerking out as the wood creaked under my weight, and I paused in fear it would give way beneath me. When it didn’t, we burst into laughter again, our drunken euphoria a welcomed feeling, but then, seemingly out of thin air, a deep brown hand set a vial in front of me.

Our laughter died off as my gaze followed the arm, climbing each band of gold, each emerald to the person it all belonged to, and found the most beautiful woman to have ever existed—I was sure of it. The memory of him waiting for his mysterious lover flashed in my mind, and I couldn’t help but wonder if this was her, because she was as beautiful as he was handsome.

“This will prevent a hangover,” she said, her voice smooth, ancient. I met her gaze, and her irises were an unnatural amber—Fae, a voice whispered in the back of my fuzzy mind. I couldn’t see her ears as they were hidden beneath voluptuous curls, highlighted with small golden beads that matched her rings, but I knew. I could feel it in my bones.

“I don’t think we’re supposed to take things from strangers.” I chuckled awkwardly and peeked at Alivia. She was as mesmerized as I was, her attention glued to the woman, but she shook her head faintly.

“You can trust me,” the Fae woman said, and for some unfathomable reason, I believed her. She handed another vial to Alivia before a man joined her side. With short, brown curls and deep, blue eyes, he was attractive, but not in the way this woman was, not in the way my Fae friend was.

He didn’t suck the air from the room with his devastating appearance like the other two, but he did look kind and wholesome, his skin tanned from years in the sun, and his ears… My head tilted to the side as I stared at them. They were eerily similar to a human’s but pointed where they should be rounded.

Fae, then. They’re definitely Fae.

He looked at the woman, and I knew, without a doubt, he was hopelessly in love with her. I had a knack for seeing these things, and it was as clear as day in the way his eyes warmed as he neared her. His features softened, and when she peeked back at him, he smiled, a dimple appearing in his cheek.

“Come on. Let’s get back,” he said, tilting his head toward the door.

She nodded, returning his smile before she turned back to me. “Be safe, and take your cures, all right? I have a feeling you’ll thank me in the morning.”

With that, she looped her arm through her friend’s, and they strode out the front door without another word.

Alivia and I glanced at each other, pausing for a moment before lifting the vials and examining them closer.

“I don’t think I’m going to take this,” she said, unsure. “I don’t trust people enough for that.”

Maybe it was the alcohol deciding for me, but I trusted her, so I popped the cork off and swallowed the bitter liquid. When I finished, Alivia and Evander’s wide eyes were on me, their faces fallen in shock.

Alivia placed a hand over mine as she leaned in. “That could be the most foolish thing you’ve ever done.”

“Oh, it absolutely was,” Evander said as he jerked a chair out and sank into it. He took my face in his hands and his eyes flicked left and right between my own, as if to check for any signs of impending death.

I pulled my face from his grasp. “I’ll be all right. I trust her.”

“You didn’t know her, El,” Alivia said. “She was a stranger and a Fae. How do you know that wasn’t a spell or magic or just plain old poison? You can’t ingest things from strangers!”

Under normal circumstances, she’d be right, and maybe she was even now. Maybe I wouldn’t make it until morning, but I did know that right now, in this moment, I could feel my head clearing and my stomach settling with each passing second.

It could be my mind playing tricks on me, wanting to believe I made the right choice, but I didn’t think so. “No, I think it’s working.”

Alivia sat back in her chair with a sigh, concern pressing between her brows. “Yeah, all right. Well, I’m going to keep whatever wits I have left and choose not to take a strange liquid from a strange woman.”

I rolled my eyes and swiped her vial before holding it out to Evander, giving it a light shake.

“You really believe this will prevent a hangover?” He took it and held it up to the light, watching the small bits of herbs floating inside. “You don’t feel like you’re going to drop dead at any moment?”

“Yes, I do.” I stifled a laugh and shook my head. “And no, I don’t.”

With a deep inhale, he popped the cork off. “Aw, hell with it. If you say so.”

He tipped it back, and Alivia groaned, slapping her hand on her forehead. “You two better not die on me.”

“No promises.” I winked at her, and her mouth fell open, but she chuckled and swatted my shoulder. “Are you ready to head back? I believe it’s already well past midnight.”

She sipped from her mug of mead one last time before answering, “Yes, I need sleep. Immediately.”

Standing, I formally extended an elbow to her, and she grinned, dipping into a curtsy before sliding her arm through mine. A comforting warmth settled in my chest as I led her through the tavern toward the exit, heated by alcohol, contentedness, that strange tonic, or a potent combination of all three. Whatever the cause, it pulled the corners of my mouth up, etching what seemed to be a permanent smile on my lips.

As I opened the door, we waved over our shoulders and shouted simultaneously, “Goodnight, Evander.”

“Goodnight, princesses,” he shouted as we stepped out into the night, his voice carrying over the remaining patrons with a humorous lilt.

My face jerked back to him with a glare, even as I suppressed a small laugh, but he only winked and lifted his mug to me. I rolled my eyes, shaking my head as the door closed with a soft click, cutting him from view and ceasing the tavern chatter.

He knew I hated being called that.

I was not a princess, nor did I ever want to be.