Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Dahlia
The tavern miraculously survived the initial attack, other than the back door, which had been destroyed by a massive rock. One that had almost taken Dahlia’s life.
Lia wiped the counter absently as she stared at the old doorway. It was partially blocked by the chunk of stone, but there was just enough room that she could squeeze outside in a pinch. It took a bit of wiggling, but it was better than having no escape route.
Speaking of which . . .
She scanned the area, trying not to wince at the number of Loriian warriors filling the large rectangular tavern. It was an unfortunate happenstance that the bar had become the main hub for extracurricular activities, worsened by the fact that it had snowed constantly for almost two weeks.
She’d managed to stay hidden a month since the initial attack.
The entrance door swung open, and she dipped her head down, letting her dyed black hair cover her face. Lia tried not to panic as they took their cloaks off. The tension between her shoulders relaxed when the faces that greeted her weren’t familiar.
Her heart raced in her chest, and Lia inhaled deeply.
Calm down. Don’t let them scent your fear. Or your paranoia.
Dahlia scrubbed the counter harder. It was only a matter of time before someone recognized her or Loshika. It was a bloody miracle that they’d managed to stay undetected for the last four weeks with the Loriian army crawling through town.
The one that scared her the most was Bacti.
She’d seen the lavender snake flirting with Jaiix two weeks ago, and Lia had almost run screaming from the building.
Even now, she could feel the phantom touch of his fingers wrapped around her neck as he whispered threats in her ear.
He knew about Cosmos. What he knew exactly was unclear.
But he would be a problem. Luckily, he’d only visited the tavern once while Dahlia was working.
Raised voices shook Lia out of her mind, and she sought out the root of the problem.
A drunk Loriian warrior tossed his cards at the local halfling’s face. His sky-blue skin darkened in anger. “You cheated!”
The halfling Skese clenched his hands into fists. “I did not! You’re a sore loser.”
The owner of the tavern—a grouchy giantess named Diaz—strolled toward their table and propped her hands on her generous hips. She glared at the two men. “You’re not starting a brawl in my establishment, are you?”
Skese knew better than to mess with Diaz. “No, my lady.”
The warrior eyed the giantess like he was looking for a fight but eventually deflated. Word got around. Diaz banished anyone who brawled in the tavern.
For life.
The warrior wasn’t about to risk his only escape from war and the camp.
If he was smart.
The warrior nodded and stood slowly, making sure not to jostle the table. Lia watched as he collected his cloak and left, not even slamming the door on his way out.
“Did the counter do something to you?” Jaiix asked, leaning her elbow on the bar, her cheek in her hand.
“No,” Dahlia huffed and set down her rag.
“You’ve been cleaning everything you could find this week.” Jaiix’s slim nose wrinkled.
“It’s my job.”
Kind of.
She was supposed to serve the patrons, too, but she’d been giving Jaiix most of those tasks and taking the undesirable ones.
It wasn’t just the fact that she wanted to stay unnoticed, but also because tensions between Loriians, halflings, and humans were at an all-time high.
Jaiix’s pretty smile was enough for most to forget her heritage, but Lia looked too human. Even with her dyed hair and skin.
“Your admirer is here again,” Jaiix said, bumping her hip into Lia’s.
Dahlia glanced at Felix and felt a blush rise to her cheeks when he caught her gaze and smiled.
Good lord. Not what she needed.
“He needs a refill, and I’m not doing it,” Jaiix chirped in a singsong voice as she backed away with a wink.
Lia filled a cup with a ladle of steaming mulled wine before she picked her way through the crowd. Sweat dripped down the back of her neck from the hostile looks thrown her way as well from the heat. There were too many warm bodies packed inside.
Finally reaching Felix’s table near the small stage at the front of the building, she set his wine down. He gave her a warm smile that lifted her own lips in return. The man was just too nice. “Anything else?” she asked, ignoring the stares from his companions.
“No.”
“Okay.” She took a step away, but he caught her hand. Lia froze. That was the first time he’d ever touched her in the tavern. She braced for the tug that would put her in his lap, but it never came. Instead, he turned her palm over and touched the recently healed skin.
“How have you been recovering?” he asked, releasing her hand.
“I’m alright. Just a few scrapes and a knock to the head.” She pulled a face that made his smile widen. “What about you? How is your back?” Lia genuinely meant it. He’d taken so many injuries to protect her.
He shrugged out of his sleeveless robe and turned so she could see his bare back. Dahlia’s eyes heated at all the stitches and healing wounds. Ones he’d taken to protect her. Without a doubt, she could have died from such injuries.
Her bottom lip wobbled, and Lia bit it.
“It’s healing up nicely, I’d say,” Felix replied, shrugging his robe back on before glancing at her again. His eyes rounded. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“I’m so sorry for your pain.” Lia leaned down and kissed his warm cheek before she could think twice about it. “Jiaell vei.” Thank you.
Her face heated when he blushed, flashing a crooked fangy smile. “It is just a few stitches, valles. Nothing more.” He reached out and squeezed her hand. “Think nothing more of it.”
Humble words from a sincere man. Lia could see what her life could have been if she had stayed in the border towns instead of traveling with the theater troupe. She would have met a nice giant like Felix and maybe started a family herself.
But she was not a nice girl.
She was a bard masquerading as a queen, now turned traitor to two nations.
There would be no happily ever after for her.
Lia was sure there would be one for Felix.
The doors opened once again. This time, carrying in a familiar face.
Olwen.
Dahlia gently pulled her hand from Felix and murmured a quick goodbye before weaving her way back to the bar top. She pushed past the swinging kitchen doors and leaned heavily against the massive prep table.
Olwen was here. Surely, he would recognize her?
Diaz sampled the stew her husband, Hunt, was seasoning. “More salt.”
The burly mountain human glared at his wife. “You take that back.”
“Only if you kiss me, niliov,” Diaz purred. Her husband was the only one she softened for.
Hunt chuckled and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “Now be gone with you.”
The older giantess smirked at him before turning to Lia, her playfulness melting away. “I saw you with that merchant. He carries hearts in his eyes for you.” Hunt grunted in agreement.
Tipping her head back, Lia stared at the ceiling. Felix was the last of her problems. “Would you mind terribly if I worked in the scullery tonight?” Perhaps she could avoid Olwen all night.
Diaz tsked. “My nephew is cleaning dishes tonight. I have no need of you back there. What I need is a young pretty valles doing her job instead of hiding in my kitchen.”
Lia winced and then nodded. She could not lose this job, but entering the main tavern could mean her life.
The older giantess sidled up to her and held Lia’s chin gently between her claws, scrutinizing her face. “You hold shadows in your eyes. That merchant might be able to add light to them. Only if you let him.”
“I can’t.”
“So you say,” Hunt called over his shoulder. “There are always ways to find happiness. You just have to be willing to reach for them.”
“Hush you,” Diaz scolded her spouse halfheartedly.
“I know these last few weeks have been difficult with the warriors bringing their prejudice here. The war has made it worse. You will tell me if anyone is harassing you, no?” Her eyes narrowed on Lia’s face.
“We do not allow such behavior here. Everyone is welcome as long as they follow my rules.”
“Sei.”
Diaz hummed and released Lia. “Now, out with you.”
Dahlia inhaled deeply, shook out her hair, and stepped through the double doors behind the bar. The cacophony of sounds was an assault to the senses. She jogged over to Jaiix. “I will pour and clean if you want to take the tables tonight.”
“Again?” Jaiix whined.
“Do you not want the extra tips?” Lia asked, knowing talk of coin would turn the halfling’s mood right around. She had expensive taste in clothing.
The halfling grinned. “I get all the tips?”
“They’re all yours.”
Jaiix squealed and tugged Lia into a hug. For a moment, she let herself sink into the valles’ heat. There was something so infectious about Jaiix’s enthusiasm.
“Thanks! Perhaps I can purchase something that will catch the king’s eye.”
Lia didn’t react to the words. Jaiix had been gushing about Neve for days since she’d served him wine. Jealousy reared its ugly head each time, but she mercilessly stamped it out. She had no claim to the Frost King.
“I’m sure whatever you pick will be lovely.” The words tasted bitter on her tongue.
“You’re the best!” The halfling pranced away, arms laden with drink and an extra spring to her step.
Lia shook her head, a silly smile on her face. Jaiix was so bubbly. The world needed more of that.
Her smile melted away when she heard Olwen’s laugh cut through the din. Her shoulders pulled up toward her ears, and she turned her back to the room to prepare more drinks. The reflective copper wall gave her a view of the tavern.
Olwen was at a table on the right side of the room.
He sat with his back to the doors, laughing with other warriors.
No one she knew, at least. His eyes lifted, and they locked gazes.
She froze, waiting for him to rise and come for her.
But nothing. Instead, he looked away, engaging back in his conversation.
Minutes passed.
Then several hours.
Lia managed to stay behind the bar.
Unnoticed.
With her head still attached to her body.
She wiped out glasses, humming to the merry jig of the bard.
Lia glanced at the copper wall, watching the young man play the fiddle like his fingers were on fire.
Cosmos would have loved it. The bard was quite good and had managed to keep his head down when several giants had taunted him throughout the evening.
The song ended, and Dahlia found herself clapping with the rest of the patrons. He bowed low before starting a new melody that was a little jaunty and a bit cheeky. Lia handed Jaiix a cup of wine when he began to sing:
There once was a king who took a queen,
That led the world to chaos.
She caused quite a scene,
And left the fool in ashes.
Oh no.
Dahlia spun around, eyes wide, wishing that the bard would stop singing. He did not want to ridicule the king when his men and closest friend were in the room.
Oh, where, oh, where did you go?
How did you disappear like smoke?
The queen who destroyed a king.
And made him the kingdom’s joke.
Lia’s pulse thundered in her ears as more faces turned toward the young human bard. Perhaps he wasn’t as smart as he seemed. He grinned out at the crowd without a shred of fear. The musician knew exactly what he was doing.
Did she beg and cry,
When you were between her thighs?
She ran from you,
You’ll always be her monster.
Blushing furiously, Dahlia glanced at Olwen, who had slowly stood from his table, his attention locked on the bard. The crowd booed, and yet he continued on, a gigantic smile across his face.
Oh, where, oh, where did you go?
How did you disappear like smoke?
The queen who destroyed a king.
And made him the kingdom’s joke.
Diaz stepped out of the kitchen, her eyes scanning the tavern, assessing the situation.
The bard continued:
Such a small trinket,
But she almost felled a king.
What did it look like?
The secret in the ring.
Her stomach dropped to her toes. A ring with a secret. Somehow, the musician knew. He knew what Dahlia had done. How? There’d been no decree or announcement of what she’d done. Perhaps he was a spy of Astera? Was this Bacti’s doing?
The thought turned her cold.
Olwen reached the bard and yanked his fiddle out of his hands before smashing it against the stone wall. Lia ducked behind the counter as chaos ensued. Daiz rushed Jaiix to Lia’s side.
“Stay down, valles. I’m going to take care of this.”
The giantess pulled a short sword from beneath her apron. Lia gaped at the shiny weapon as Diaz grabbed a club from beneath the bar with the other hand. She jumped up onto the counter above the girls and pounded her club against the bar.
So that was how all the dents were made . . .
“Listen, all you heathens,” Diaz shouted over the crowd. “No one is allowed to get rowdy in here but me.” The sound cut off immediately.
Lia crooked her neck so she could see the giantess point the sword at someone, her heartbeat rushing in her ears.
“You will not fight in my establishment. If you wish to punish the man, take it outside and make sure it is legal. No blood on my floors; no deaths at my door.”
“Sei, Lady Diaz,” Lia heard Olwen reply.
“As for you.” Dahlia flinched at the growl in Diaz’ voice. “We welcome all here, but not you. While we appreciate a bit of silliness and fun, we do not tolerate humiliation of our king, who has been fighting for both our kingdoms. Get out. I never want to see you again.”
“You stupid bentai! I wouldn’t sing here if it was the last place on earth,” the bard shouted.
Lia gasped out loud at the slur.
Diaz leapt off the counter and out of sight. There was a thunk and a muffled cry. “Take him out of here.”
Lia wrapped her arms around her legs and tried to tune out the screams as the bard was dragged from the tavern. The conversation slowly started up again.
Not a minute later did the giantess stroll back behind the bar, sheathing her short sword and stowing the club away. She dusted her hands off and held one out to Lia and Jaiix.
“What did you do to him?” the halfling asked, eyes wide.
“I broke a few ribs. He’ll be thinking about me for months to come,” Diaz replied with dark delight.
Dahlia stared at the carved doors. “What will they do to him?”
“The stars only know, but nothing good, I assure you.”
Lia swallowed hard.
If they were that brutal to a musician for singing about what Dahlia had done, what would they do to her?
Nothing good.