Chapter 28
Twenty-Eight
“I’m so glad I spotted you!” Pip tugged him inside the bakery with surprising strength. “I need your opinion.”
Vaskel dropped the arm he’d cocked to defend himself as he allowed himself to be led into the bakery. He supposed he had time for a friend, and there was no doubt he could use the mood boost of baked goods.
"It's a new creation inspired by one of the flavors I’m considering for Lira's wedding cake. Sweet cherry nestled in buttery pastry with a sugar glaze—but I've made two versions and can't decide!"
Pip thrust two pastries into his hands. Like all the halfling’s creations, they smelled intoxicating and looked delicious.
Golden pastry was folded into delicate roses around dark red cherry filling; one was drizzled with plain sugar glaze as white and glistening as fresh snow and the other was crowned with a ribbon of dark chocolate.
"Try them!" Pip bounced on his toes and rubbed his plump hands together, his hair abristle.
Vaskel bit into the plain glazed one first. The pastry was buttery and light, giving way to tart-sweet cherries that burst on his tongue.
He licked at the sugar glaze that stuck to his lips, nearly moaning with pleasure.
Then he tried the second version, which was richer and more decadent, the bite of dark chocolate cutting the sweetness of the cherries.
"They're both delicious," he said honestly, “I couldn’t pick a favorite.”
The halfling clapped his hands, flour puffing into the air. "Wonderful! I'll make both! Oh, I must get back to the ovens—the next batch should be ready!"
He scurried toward the back of the bakery, leaving Vaskel holding the half-eaten pastries and marveling how Pip's enthusiasm had dragged him from his dark mood.
Then the bakery door swung open. Freezing air swooped in, carrying snowflakes and a presence that made every muscle in Vaskel's body go rigid.
Marina swept in like an icy gust, and before he could step back, she'd looped her arm through his, her touch burning even through his sleeve.
"Vaskel," she purred. "You've been avoiding me. I'm starting to think you don't enjoy my company anymore."
He tried to pull away without making it obvious, acutely aware of Pip watching them from behind the counter.
The last thing he needed was to cause a scene in the halfling's bakery, unless he was ready to reveal why he disliked Marina. But that would mean revealing his dark past, and Vaskel couldn’t imagine his new friends discovering he’d been part of a murderous crew and still smiling at him the same way.
"I've been busy," he managed through gritted teeth.
"Of course you have." She turned that devastating smile on Pip, who'd turned at the sound of the door. "And who is this delightful creature?” She fluttered long red fingers at the pastries behind glass. “The creator of these stunning treats, I take it.”
Pip practically beamed at the compliment. "Pip Brambleheart, at your service! Are you a friend of Vaskel's?"
"Oh yes," Marina said, squeezing Vaskel's arm hard enough to make the marks flare with pain. "We go way back. Practically family, you might say."
"Any friend of Vaskel's is a friend of mine!" Pip exclaimed, already reaching for a pastry. "You must try my newest creation—my treat.”
Marina accepted the cheery pastry, taking a delicate bite and closing her eyes in apparent rapture. "You're a true artist, Master Brambleheart."
Pip smiled brighter as he launched into chatter about cherries. Marina listened with rapt attention, one of her many techniques for charming strangers and winning their trust.
Vaskel used this distraction to slip free from Marina's grip, darting out the door while Pip handed her a crusty morning roll. But he'd barely made it three steps before he walked straight into another hellkin. It was the one he’d seen watching him in the market.
Before he could walk away, fingers like iron closed around his arm, yanking him to a stop. Marina had moved with the unnatural stealth she'd always possessed, catching him before he could get far.
"That was rude," she said, her voice still pleasant but her grip bruising. "Here I am, trying to get to know your charming new friends, and you run from me like I’m the enemy.”
"It's me you want," he snarled, no longer caring about maintaining appearances or about the young hellkin taking a menacing step toward him. "Leave them alone. Leave Thrain alone."
Her smile sharpened into something predatory, and she shared a knowing smile with the other hellkin.
"Time is running out, Vaskel. For you, certainly, but especially for your dwarf friend.
He's quite taken with the idea of adventure, and me, of course.” She leaned closer, her breath hot against his ear.
"He'd make such an excellent addition to my crew. All that passion and that desperate need to make his mark. He reminds me of a young hellkin I once knew.”
Rage boiled in his chest. "Leave. Him. Alone."
Marina pulled back, studying his face with mock sympathy. "If you behave, if you come willingly when I call, then you have nothing to worry about. Neither does Thrain." She slid her gaze to the young hellkin. “Karv would prefer not to crew with a dwarf, isn’t that right?”
The hellkin—presumably Karv—grunted and bared his teeth.
Marina’s fingers traced along Vaskel’s shirtsleeve and over the unseen marks. "But if you don’t come willingly…” She shrugged languidly. "Well, you do have such delightful friends.”
She released him abruptly, causing him to stumble. With perfect composure, she adjusted her cloak.
"The three days are quickly coming to an end, Vaskel. I told you I’ve missed you, and that was the truth.
I grow impatient of waiting for you to join my crew, so we can go back to the way we were together.
” She released a sigh that seemed laden with nostalgia.
“The choice is yours, just as it always has been.
Come willingly and fulfill the promise you willingly made, or I'll take what's mine anyway, along with anyone else who catches my fancy. "
Then she spun on one heel, while Karv stared at Vaskel for another few moments, his glare making it perfectly clear what he thought of Vaskel joining their crew.
As Marina sauntered away with her hips swaying, and Karv finally followed her, Vaskel watched them go with fury burning through his veins like acid.
His hands clenched into fists, the marks on his arms feeling like brands, like chains, like failure.
How did Marina not see that he wasn’t the hellkin he’d been? It was true that he’d once wanted to be like her, but that was so long ago it was hard to imagine himself so empty and power-hungry. A small part of him almost felt pity that she was desperate for someone who no longer existed.
He stumbled the rest of the way to the tavern, hesitating outside the door to the Tusk & Tail and bracing one hand on the rough stone.
Despite Marina’s threats echoing in his head, they were not what haunted him.
It was Iris’s green eyes glistening with hurt that mocked him.
It was the moment he'd almost been brave enough to reach for happiness that tormented him. Not that he deserved happiness or Iris. Not after the things he’d done.
The marks of the soul bind prickled again, reminding him of Marina's deadline and the dark fate marching toward him.
He felt more cursed than ever.