37. Clash of Stone and Steel #2
She’d counted about ten taverns alone just on that one main street when they rode in. Only two general stores and one apothecary, but ten taverns. Clearly the people in this town had their priorities.
She passed at least four of the taverns before she found one that had the atmosphere she was looking for.
The first had been too refined, if the finely-dressed patrons inside were any indication.
The second had been too dark and dismal, the kind of place people went to drink alone in the shadows.
By contrast, the third and fourth had been too busy and too…
cheerful, as evinced by the upbeat music drifting through the open door of one of them.
The fifth tavern was the right balance, busy but not so busy people were packed into it.
Talyn took off her cloak and hung it on a hook by the door before heading to the bar. She felt a few pairs of eyes on her as she took a seat next to a man who didn’t even try to hide the way his eyes roved over her.
Her sister had always been pretty. She wouldn’t have made as much as their mother had as a courtesan, but she would’ve had a regular group of clients.
Of course, it was better that their mother’s madame hadn’t wanted Julia.
Her sister had been too innocent, too delicate for the business of sex work.
Although now that she considered it, maybe it would’ve been better for her sister if she’d been hardened a little. Maybe her last days would’ve been easier…
Talyn shivered and ordered an ale from the barkeep.
“Are you cold?” the man who sat next to her asked.
Talyn looked up at him. “If you’re going to offer to keep me warm, save your breath,” she said, although not unkindly.
The man chuckled. “Oh, you won’t need me after a glass or two of ale here. This place makes theirs with ginger. It gives you a nice warm feeling after a while.”
As if on cue, the barkeep set her drink down in front of her.
“Put that on my bill, Henry,” the man told the barkeep.
Talyn thought about arguing with him, but then decided better of it. “Thank you,” she said instead.
“I’m Terrick,” the man said.
“Julia,” Talyn said before taking a sip of the ale. It did indeed have a bite of ginger that smoothed into a warming sensation on her tongue.
“Aren’t you going to introduce us to your friend, Terrick?”
Talyn turned to see two more men standing around her.
“Wasn’t planning on it,” Terrick said to the man who’d spoken, but his tone was friendly.
“How rude,” the man said, but he was smiling. He looked at Talyn. “I’m Selvin, and this is Drue.”
He gestured to the third man, who wore an expression that was as close to a scowl as one could get without actually scowling. Drue nodded to her and grunted in greeting.
“Hello. I’m Julia,” she said, already halfway to forgetting their names.
It was fine. She hadn’t necessarily wanted to drink alone, so if they wanted to keep her company, she’d let them. She was sure she could handle them if they tried anything.
“I’ve never seen you in town,” the man sitting next to her said.
Gods, what was his name again? Terrick?
“I’m just passing through,” she said as she took a long swig of her ale.
It was warm going down her throat, and she willed it to start numbing her mind. Maybe she should’ve gone for another glass of fyrebyne. Selvin looked uncomfortably like a young man she’d known once. Someone she’d cared for.
Talyn took another long drink of her ale.
“Do you like the ale?” Terrick asked her.
She shrugged. “It’s not bad.”
Twenty minutes later, Talyn was ready for her third glass of the ginger-infused drink.
The three men had all pressed in around her and were taking every opportunity to touch her when they could.
A brush of her shoulder here, a hand on her leg there.
One of them – Drue she thought – had even trailed his hand down the length of her neck after pushing a lock of hair behind her ear.
Between the alcohol, the ginger, and the press of bodies around her, Talyn was feeling pleasantly warm.
She’d even forgotten for a while about what’s-his-face and the barmaid he was probably fucking in their bed at the inn.
Actually, they’d likely use the woman’s bed instead.
He probably hadn’t even noticed Talyn was missing yet.
Cool air rushed in as the door to the tavern opened, and Talyn savored the feel of it on her flushed skin. The chill that stole over her next had nothing to do with the night air, though, and everything to do with the fact the tavern had gone unnaturally quiet.
“Nemesis damn me,” Selvin whispered, and Talyn sighed.
She didn’t need to look to know exactly who’d just walked in. She glanced quickly anyway, only because it would’ve seemed odd for her not to look when the entire place was suddenly so transfixed by the man who now stood in the doorway.
Her glance confirmed Samhail had finally found her, but she only took another sip of her drink, refusing to acknowledge his presence. She’d seen the expression on his face, and she knew enough about him by now to read his mood.
He wasn’t angry. No, the slight narrowing of his eyes, the stern set of his jaw, and his barely pursed lips told her he was, in fact, quite furious.