1. Saige #2
“I’ll send word to my—employer,” the man says, inching towards the exit.
That uneasy feeling in my gut is back, the nape of my neck tingling as I watch him retreat. “See that you do,” I reply—I need the business after all.
When the door clicks closed behind him, Raven turns to me. “He was… strange.”
“He was Azkari,” I tell her, trying to rub warmth back into my arms.
“What?” She stares after him as though she can still see him through the swinging door. “How could you tell? Don’t they usually weave some sort of veil over themselves?”
“I don’t know, but the eyes gave him away.
Yevna told me once that they have metallic flecks—gold, silver or copper woven through the iris…
It catches the light, supposed to be mesmerizing to look at.
I’ve been wondering if Leo made some sort of deal with them…
That one isn’t the first to come in here of late. ”
“No?”
“No,” I tell her, frowning. “Two others over the last month or so. Both asking after Leo.”
Raven shrugs. “Not exactly surprising. He was respected even among their kind. But he’d never make a bargain with them, respected or not. Remember the lectures we used to get from him and Yev?”
“All too well: Never bargain with the Azkari—not with words, not with blood, and never, ever with a kiss,” I repeat with a grin.
“Gods…” Raven scoffs. “You couldn’t pay me enough gold to kiss one of those beasts, no matter how pretty their eyes are. Think that one will come back?”
“Not in a million years. I should have just said Leo was out.”
“Should have,” she replies with a nod. “Men—or Azakari like that don’t do business with women.”
“Men like that are pricks.”
“And as common as the rats in the streets unfortunately.”
“Also, sadly true.” I laugh.
Raven shakes her head for the tragedy it is. “Enough about them. I came to ask if you’d come to the Copper Kettle tomorrow night? Yevna said she hadn’t seen you in—”
“I can’t, Rave,” I interrupt. “I have so much to get through here.”
“Saige, you’ve barely left the bindery in months… We used to dance on tables for Triad’s sake!”
I laugh as the memories come back to me thick and fast: Raven and I drinking too much and clambering up onto the bar at the tavern, linking arms and twirling in circles, convinced we could grace the royal theater with our talents.
As wonderful as that season of life was in many ways, there are some things I don’t miss.
The constant self-doubt and insecurity, the longing to fit in, the fear of standing out for the wrong reasons. Learning to manage my pain… and myself.
I pat her arm sympathetically. “One minute you’re dancing on tables, the next you’ve got a favorite spoon and a senior bedtime hour.”
“That’s just sad.”
I’m smiling as I shake my head at my friend. “That’s life, so I’m told.”
“You’re thirty-five, not eighty-five. You just need fresh air—”
“The Kettle is hardly fresh air. And besides, I love this place. You know that,” I tell her.
Raven sighs. “I know you do, but I also know that Leo wouldn’t want the world to stop spinning because he’s gone.
You haven’t been yourself lately… You’re usually the bright spark between the two of us.
Leo would want you to live, to get out of here from time to time.
The best way to honor him is to do just that. ”
“The best way to honor him is to do the work—to make sure his—my—business—succeeds.”
“What is it you’re always saying, Saige? Steal your joy while you can! One night won’t make a difference to the shop. Besides, I’m sure there’s plenty of returning customers from Leo to keep you afloat.”
I don’t tell her that she’s right, but that with my ongoing healer fees and the payments I already owe, the strings of my coin purse need to remain more than tightly knotted.
But not only is Raven’s brow furrowed with concern, there are shadows beneath her eyes.
Not for the first time I remember that I’m not the only one who lost Leo.
Raven and Yevna are grieving too. I need to be there for them.
I can be their rock, the light at the end of the tunnel for them.
The Triad knows they’ve done that for me for as long as I can remember.
“You’re right,” I concede. “Ignore me, I’m just feeling sorry for myself. I’ll be there. But I need to visit the Underhill Exchange after.”
Raven’s smile freezes. “Why would you go there?”
“One of Leo’s old contacts is looking for a specific tool. From what I understand, it’ll fetch a pretty price at the market. It’s nothing to worry about, I promise.”
My friend’s hazel eyes narrow. “If you need to borrow some coin, you know all you have to do is ask. The consortium would be happy to chip in. We did it for Gia when her husband was sick—”
“You’ve got to stop calling it that.”
“What? That’s its name—the Consortium of Difficult Women.”
“It doesn’t have a name, Raven,” I argue, brushing the hair from my brow and suppressing a long-suffering sigh.
She’s referring to the small community of women in Hanniel who have come together over the years.
Many of us run businesses, or run a man who runs a business, and we help each other out here and there.
Raven and I have been the unofficial leaders since we were in our early twenties, and she has insisted on that damn name ever since.
Now, she squeezes my shoulder. “Whatever you want to call it, we’re here for you.”