3. Raelyna #2
“Don’t let ’em get to you, Rae. You know how they can be.” Xavier’s voice sounded to my side, but it was too stars-damned late. I’d had just about as much as I could take between the bar and King Lucanus tonight. My rage and frustration were bubbling inside me as I stormed over to the table.
Slamming the drinks down onto the table with slightly more force than necessary, I watched in pure satisfaction as the amber liquid swirled around before sloshing onto the tabletop.
“Busy night?” The male to the left of the shadows spoke. “Or is it just us?”
“Next time, sit at the bar if you just want a drink.” A strand of curly dark brown hair fell from my bun as I sarcastically bit out the reply. “But hey, thanks for drinking at the Tilted Tavern, feel free not to come again.”
A low rumble of a chuckle sounded from the man in the shadows as I turned on my heel and quickly rushed to greet another customer, but not before I heard his response.
“Oh, we’ll come again, even if it’s just for the pleasure of such high-end service.”
The night passed in a flurry of orders intermingled with the occasional laugh with some of our regulars. And before I knew it, my shift was nearly over.
The low rumble of a motorbike sounded from outside the tavern doors, causing me to ever so briefly glance up from behind the bar at the sound.
As my gaze swept across the tavern, I noticed that the table with the stunning male was now vacant.
Good. We didn’t like many outsiders coming to the tavern, especially at this hour of the night.
My eyes scanned the room as I nearly sighed with relief, only to collide once more with piercing amber eyes as the male from the shadows stopped halfway out the tavern door, his mask covering the lower half of his face, and winked, before vanishing into the night.
The motorbikes outside revved their engine once more as the door swung shut behind the towering male. I stood in place, my heart beating far too quickly as I listened to the bikes speed off into the distance.
“Wishing you were heading off on one of those bikes right now?” Xavier nudged me with his elbow as he asked, knowing me all too well.
“You already know I do.” I smirked back. I hadn’t been able to feel the wind against my face as I tore through the streets of Solis Quarter in far too long. Not since . . .
My thoughts paused as my gaze once again drifted down to the bargain mark visibly noticeable across my left wrist. I sighed in frustration, rubbing at a mark that would not disappear, before continuing with my shift.
I walked back to my apartment late that night, alone, body weary from exhaustion.
I kept my hand resting against my waist, feeling the comfort of my small knives against the side of my belt, knowing that this wasn’t the best area to be caught in.
The Nox District never was. But I’d lived here my entire life.
I knew every block and every path to avoid.
And as a lower, it was also one of the only districts I could afford to live in.
Even so, alone at night, my footsteps hurried across the pavement of the Quarter cloaked in darkness, other than the twinkle of the skyscrapers in the distance.
I rushed home, the sand biting against my skin as I hurried down one block and then the next, before making a turn and darting up the stairs to the main elevator in a rush.
It was quicker than I wished I had to be moving my body at this hour.
Still, my pulse didn’t slow until I was pausing in front of the elevator door, my fingers keying in the code for the elevator to open and take me to my floor.
I rested my head against the cool metal of the elevator as it shot up eleven floors, before the chime sounded and the doors once again slid open.
Forcing my legs to work, I quickly made my way to my apartment, my finger resting against the sensor on the door as it read my print.
A breath of relief coursed over me as I felt the familiar hum.
The lock sprang open, and I turned the handle, entering my apartment and sinking against the back of the door.
I slid to the ground, ungracefully, in an exhausted heap, as I kicked off my shoes and rested my head against the back of the door.
Attractive, I know, but what was a female to do when she lived alone?
I could feel the cool door through my clothing as I was finally able to relax for the first time all night.
I knew I would have to be up in a few hours. I knew that tomorrow would be long, and I was already preparing myself to be ready to do whatever it would take to help my sister survive her own Marking Day ceremony.
But until then, I rested against the door, just breathing in the comfort of being home.
No pressure.
No need to see anyone.
Just a moment to myself, alone in the darkness with my thoughts.
I felt the warm nuzzle of soft fur against my leg, and my gaze shifted down as a smile formed on my lips.
“Hey there, Loxl.” My fingers stretched out absentmindedly as they began to stroke along the fur on my fennex fox. I smiled as a contented yip resounded from him, his large, pointed ears perking up, and he pressed himself closer to my skin, demanding attention.
I’d found Loxl shortly after Orela’s Marking Day ceremony, his star-shaped paw prints forming a trail of silver as he trotted alongside me at the market one day, refusing to leave my side.
He’d refused to part ways ever since.
Fennex foxes were common across Aurelia, but most preferred to live in the deserts surrounding our Quarters, surrounded by their packs.
Essentially, they were not pets.
Except for Loxl.
He seemed to have adopted the demanding lifestyle of a house cat, enjoying having his every whim catered to. I’m nearly positive it was considered illegal to have one since it was believed they were a gift from the gods, but I hadn’t found it in me to care when I’d adopted the fox.
My fingers rubbed behind his ear as a low keening noise rattled in his chest, and he settled in beside me on the floor.
A few moments later, a low chime drew me back to the present as I briefly glanced down at my phone to see a text from Finn, a slow smile curving up my lips as my best friend checked in on me, ensuring that I’d made it home safely.
After sending a quick reply, I ever so gracefully pushed myself up off the floor, deciding to call it a night, knowing that whatever happened to Kira had the potential to alter my fate once again.