9. Theo
Chapter nine
Theo
T he cold bites harder than it did earlier.
Or maybe it just feels that way because my chest is still aching from what Vaelin said.
I keep walking, but I don’t have a destination in mind. Hearthwynd stretches endlessly around me, the cobblestones slick with frost and lantern-lit street bustling with Yuletide cheer. Laughter echoes from a nearby tavern, and the scent of roasted nuts drifts through the air.
None of it reaches me.
He lied to me . I thought I’d finally found a friend here, someone who would watch my back…but he was planning on putting a knife in it the whole time.
From the beginning, he looked at me and saw a mark; an easy target.
And the worst part?
He was right.
I stop on the edge of the Market Square, my breath fogging in the cold air. Across the street, kids are playing in the snow, shrieks of laughter echoing through town. The lanterns sway in the breeze, casting warm light over garlands of holly.
It’s beautiful.
It’s festive.
It feels like it’s mocking me.
I shove my hands deep into my pockets, and my fingers brush against something small and smooth. When I pull it out, the little wooden fox Vaelin bought for me stares back, its carved eyes wide and playful.
The memory stings more than it should.
He didn’t have to buy it. He didn’t have to take me to visit his family, let me sit at their table while his mother smiled at me like I belonged there. He didn’t have to get me the information I needed…
…he didn’t have to kiss me.
Because now, I’m not only left with nothing–I lost the thing I thought I gained tonight. A friend, maybe more.
And he was right about one other thing: I can’t afford another night in a tavern.
The city feels like it’s closing in around me, twisting streets a maze I can’t seem to escape. I grip the wooden fox tightly, the tail pressing a divot in my palm.
Then my feet start moving before I even realize where I’m going.
This might be a horrible idea…but it’s the only choice I’ve got.
The warm glow from Golden Crust Bakery already feels like it’s welcoming me in as I come closer, trying to peer through the windows to see if Vaelin’s family is still up. It’s late and I don’t want to wake them, but with the snow and my empty pockets, I have no other choice. I hesitate for a moment, my hand hovering over the door…
…but before I can knock, it swings open.
I have to look down below waist-level to see the man greeting me.
“Well, look who it is!” Merrick grins. “Come on in, lad, you’ll freeze out there.”
I step inside, the heat from the ovens warming me up right away. The smell of cinnamon and baked apples fills the air, and my stomach rumbles–again.
“You hungry?” Merrick asks. “Me and Calliope were just putting an apple tart into the oven. Come in, come in!”
I follow him, finding Alessia doing needlework in the sitting room. She looks up at me, smiles–then she frowns when she realizes what’s missing. “Where’s Vaelin?”
“We um…” I trail off, unsure of what I’m supposed to say. “We got into a bit of a disagreement.”
Alessia frowns but doesn’t press. Instead, she waves me to sit down on that tiny sofa again. “Sit. You look like you’ve had a rough night.”
I sink onto the couch, collapsing into a puddle of melted snow and despair. Alessia reaches out and pats my knee–and it just makes me feel worse because it reminds me of Vaelin doing the same thing when we were at Garnok’s cottage.
“Oh, sweetheart,” she says. “You look like you’ve had a rough night.”
I nod. “I’m sorry I came back without him, I just…I’m broke and I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”
“Well, like we said, you’re always welcome here,” Alessia says.
“Are Theo and Vaelin back?” a voice calls from the kitchen. Definitely Calliope, with that sing-song voice.
“Just Theo!” Alessia says, then gives me a knowing look. “Vaelin is probably…well, working, hm?”
My eyes widen. “Wait–did you know?”
“Do I know about Vaelin’s job? Yes,” Alessia says. “Did he…oh no–did he try anything?”
I bury my face in my hands.
Alessia puts her needlework down.
“Oh, Theo…”
“He lied to me,” I say quietly, my voice cracking slightly. “When we met, he…he saw me as a mark. Someone he could rob.”
Alessia hums and nods along, trying to soothe me. I can hear Calliope coming in from the kitchen, I can smell the apple tart.
Oh gods. They’re all in here, watching me break down.
“Did he take anything from you?” Merrick asks. “We’ll try to help–”
“No,” I mutter. “He told me he changed his mind, but it feels like a lie. Like I was just…convenient for him.”
I know this must look truly absurd–a giant, over-sensitive half-orc having an emotional breakdown in a halfling family’s sitting room.
But they don’t seem judgmental at all.
When I look up, Merrick has taken a seat in a big armchair by the fire, while Calliope is sitting on the floor in front of it. An enormous apple tart sits on the coffee table, steam rolling off of it.
“I don’t think he saw you as convenient,” Calliope says quietly. “In fact…he probably saw you as pretty inconvenient.”
Merrick scoffs. “Well, sweetpea, that’s not going to make the poor guy feel better–”
“No, I mean–Vaelin doesn’t just bring people home,” Calliope says. “I think he really cares about you, Theo.”
“Then why did he lie?”
Alessia bites her lip, shaking her head. “Vaelin…we tried our best with him, but he’s always been stubborn.”
“Like his mother,” Merrick mumbles.
Alessia gives him a playful shove with her foot.
“Anyway…we did try, but he’s been very private and closed off since he was a kid. Even when he was little, he hated asking for help. And after the Arcane Academy…well, he came back with more walls than ever.”
I frown. “What happened, exactly? He mentioned it, but it didn’t seem like he wanted to talk about it.”
“Vaelin was a scholarship student for one semester,” Merrick says. “We weren’t rich enough to get him there ourselves—and I know that was hard for him, for all of us–but he made it happen. We were terrified he would go into debt, and this world isn’t exactly kind to debtors, but he did it without telling us. Then, when he got overwhelmed with his studies…well, he quit.”
“He just quit?” I ask. “But–he did magic for me. He obviously knows how.”
“It’s partially because he’s embarrassed, I think,” Alessia says quietly. “Vaelin is proud, and when he came back, he wouldn’t let us help. Instead, he threw himself into this whole…new persona, like it was easier to pretend he didn’t care than to admit that he was hurting.”
I stare at them, my chest tightening. “But he let me in,” I murmur. “For a little while at least. Why would he do that?”
“Because he likes you ,” Calliope says. “Because you’re cute and he wants to–”
“Honey, please do not finish that sentence,” Alessia cuts in. “But what I think she’s trying to get at is that–you’re the kind of person that makes it impossible not to care, Theo. And Vaelin knows that.”
I sit back, chewing on their words. He did come clean to me…and I can see all these things being true. His family knows he has problems, but they want to help him.
And I think…no.
I don’t have time to help him, do I?
“Thank you for your hospitality, again,” I say, unable to figure out what else needs to come out. “I hope there’s room…”
“Well, we don’t have any beds big enough for you,” Alessia laughs. “But you can sleep in Vaelin’s old room. We store some things in there now, but you should have space for some pillows and a blanket.”
“And of course, we have to treat you to a tart before bed, right?” Merrick says.
I grin at Vaelin’s little family, nodding.
At least I have somewhere warm and safe to sleep…and at this point, it’s all I can ask for.
We eat our tart and laugh together, and talk…and I start to feel even more at home. I don’t want to lose these people; they’re kind, decent.
And I think Vaelin is too.
He lied to me. But he also let me in. He cared, in his own strange, infuriating way.
And now I don’t know whether to be angry at him…or at myself for still wanting to trust him.
Whatever the case, I can figure it out in the morning.