Chapter 25 #2
It didn’t take long before a waitress came by to take their order and bring back their food and drinks.
The delicious smell of roast chicken and vegetables filled her nostrils.
She breathed in the scent, her mouth watering in delight.
Adara and Dominic both picked up a fork and dug into their food.
They were silent as they took the first few bites, the only sound that of the chatter around them and their utensils occasionally clinking against the plates.
“So,” Dominic started. “How long did you live here?”
Adara swallowed her food, wishing he hadn’t spoken because it cut into her time of devouring the delectable meal.
This tasted like a meal made for royalty compared to the provisions they’d been living off while sailing.
“About a year. I was on my own for a few months before I met Damon. Then he took me in and we set sail for Andreilia.” Adara explained, then dove right back into her dinner.
She swallowed a bite. “How much time have you spent here?”
Dominic shook his head and let out a bitter laugh. “I’m beginning to hate how much you’re starting to seem like me.”
Adara paused, her fork hovering over her plate as she cocked her head, silently urging him to go on.
“I wasn’t originally from Lykrios,” he started.
Everything Adara assumed about him was thrown out the window. She’d thought that he’d been born here, grew up knowing the lore of the Plagued Sea and Andreilia and the creatures that inhabit it. Thought that was why he’d been the first to complete the journey and live to tell the tale.
“I met Damon here a long time ago.”
She was tempted to interrupt to ask where he was from, but Adara had the sinking feeling he wouldn’t tell. She listened intently, slowly eating her food, as if she would miss something important if she chewed too loud.
Dominic suddenly became very interested in picking at his food with his utensils, poking and prodding and pushing them around the plate.
“Everything went to shit when we set sail.” He stopped abruptly, clearly not wanting to reveal more.
When his eyes finally met hers, they were glossy, distant, like he wasn’t fully present.
The image of his grief was entirely different from any other. There was no anger, no tears. There was nothing. A hollow shell, devoid of emotion. It made him dangerous, volatile.
Adara abhorred that look on his face. She’d much prefer that calm rage simmering in his eyes.
Or that seductive smile that could easily be mistaken for insane maliciousness.
His stupid cocky smirks that she despised were better than this look she couldn’t stand.
Couldn’t stand it because it proved what he truly was: heartless.
His heart was at the bottom of the Plagued Sea or perhaps swallowed by some gruesome creature in the ocean.
She could not let herself forget that. Sometimes she questioned if the monsters of the Plagued Sea were the result of Dominic tossing his dark, rotten heart into the ocean.
That his malice had created such demonic creatures.
How could she win the key to his heart when he didn’t even have one? She prayed he hadn’t tossed his key into the sea as well. Surely he wouldn’t do such an idiotic thing when there were mermaids beneath the waves who could benefit from the power his key held.
“Well, if it makes you feel any better, my life went to shit when I set sail with Damon too.” Adara breathed a laugh.
“But it was worse before I even set foot in this Hel-hole.” She would say anything to wipe that vacant expression off his face, to wipe away the reminder that she was sitting across from a heartless boy who was a master at manipulating others into giving up their keys.
She was desperate to relieve her mind from the stress of debating how she could make it out of this war alive.
“Not that it makes anything better for either of us,” she rambled on. Of course, it wouldn’t make anything better. She’d only meant to distract him from whatever thoughts were at war in his mind, hoping to catch the attention of his sadistic side that would laugh at her suffering.
Dominic only returned his attention to the food on his plate, cutting the meat with lethal precision before stabbing it with his fork and taking a bite. Adara wondered exactly how much damage he could do to someone with simple cutlery.
Silence stretched between them, long and awkward as the only sounds around them were those of their utensils scratching against their porcelain plates, and shouts echoing from the gamblers across the room.
The ruckus near the back of the tavern had them both turning their head toward the gambling tables.
Adara’s eyes widened at the sight of Evreux being roughly grabbed by an old man who was clearly drunk.
“Cheater!” the man shouted in Evreux’s face.
Evreux flinched and tried to back away but he was caught by the collar of his tunic.
Dominic cursed under his breath, rising to his feet. Evreux was clever when it came to cards, but not clever enough to lose every now and then to avoid suspicion, it seemed. Adara cautiously followed Dominic’s motions, pulling the straps of her rucksack over her shoulders.
More people were shouting now, trying to regain order, but the old man was yelling in Evreux’s face, his words incomprehensible as he raised a fist. A flash of white hair, and Vesper was at Evreux’s side.
A loud crack resounded throughout the cavern, and everything stilled, except for the man who had been about to punch Evreux.
He was groaning on the floor, hands covering the blood pouring from his mouth and shaking away the splinters of wood from the broken chair that lay upon him.
Vesper stood over him, chest heaving with exertion.
Dominic swore again, eyes searching for the others amid the tavern. “Go,” Dominic whispered to Adara.
Adara’s ears rang with silence before all Hel broke loose within the tavern.
“You cheating bastard!” the old man growled, scampering to his feet.
Evreux retreated a step, only to be grasped by what must have been the man’s lackeys.
Vesper tried to pry Evreux from their hold.
Desmond and Tyson’s chairs at the bar toppled over behind them as they dove into the fray, fists flying.
Tyson tackled Evreux’s assailant to the ground, wrestling himself between them so Evreux could get away.
Blood sprayed as Tyson delivered a swift blow to the man’s nose.
The sound of wood splintering, bones cracking, and yelled curses filled the tavern. Evreux ran from the chaos, the others who’d come to defend him right behind him. The rest of the Andreilians, who had been seated at a large table quietly eating their meal, scrambled up from their chairs.
“Go, go, go!” Dominic ordered.
Adara made for the exit. The door burst open, slamming against the outer wall as they hastily left the tavern. “This way!” she yelled as they ran rampant down the street, angry drunkards from the tavern hot on their tail.
“How many times do I have to tell you not to get caught!” Dominic yelled breathlessly as they sprinted through the crowd.
People shrieked, leaping out of the way before they were trampled by the Andreilians. They shoved their way through the crowd, weaving between wooden carts, decorations toppling over in their wake.
A low chuckle sounded in response. “I can’t lie,” Tyson said. “Starting a brawl was fun.”
“Plus, now we can all pay for an inn to sleep in tonight instead of that cramped cabin on The Lykren,” Evreux replied, grinning from ear to ear as he lifted a pouch, heavy with coins.
Desmond clasped Evreux on the back as they ran. The dark skin around his eyes crinkled with a smile. “I’m sorry for ever doubting you.” He laughed.
“Well, we won’t get to use that money if we get caught!” Ace barked as they all turned down a barren alleyway.
They met a dead end, but that didn’t stop them.
Tyson and Desmond ran to the front of the pack, stopping at the base of the wall and clasping their hands together.
Tobias sprinted forward and leaped onto their palms to use as a makeshift step.
Tyson and Desmond launched him upward, and Tobias grasped onto the edge of the roof, hauling himself up. Vesper followed next.
“Come on!” Tobias called to the rest of them. Strands of his chin-length dark hair hung in his face as he glanced down at them. He tied his hair back, offering his hands down to the next person.
“They’re gaining on us!” Vesper warned, watching over the streets from the rooftop.
“Zephyr, you go first,” Asher said, ushering the young boy forward. He ran to Tyson and Desmond, who easily tossed him up.
Tobias and Vesper grasped onto his arms and pulled him to safety. Being the next youngest, Silas and Niran followed. Then they hoisted the others up one by one. Evreux, Caleb, then Sawyer. Next was Asher and Ace.
Shouts and footsteps drew closer. Adara and Dominic glanced back at the group of furious gamblers rounding the corner.
“You’re next, love,” he ordered.
“Don’t have to tell me twice,” she said and sprinted for Desmond and Tyson, planting her foot upon their hands and leaping up. Her fingers locked around Tobias’s and Vesper’s arms and they pulled her over the ledge. She peered down at the three remaining in the alley.
Dominic nodded to Tyson and Desmond. Tyson crouched, lacing his palms together for Desmond to step on. Then Dominic did the same to send Tyson up. They all watched over the edge of the roof as Dominic turned to face their assailants.
“Hand over our money!” one of them demanded.
“Cowards!” another shouted, his head angled up to the rest of them on the rooftop.
“Come and get it,” Dominic challenged, a wicked grin on his face.
A man charged at Dominic, and the next few seconds were a blur. There was a flash of silver, the stab of a knife aimed at Dominic, but he was already ducking behind the man.