Chapter 5 #3
Egghead took another step closer. “I should put your arrogant ass in the dirt right now.”
“I dare you to try.”
It was a standoff, meeting eye to eye—literally. I should just get this over and done with. Put him down, and show him that his ego was definitely as small as his manhood. But I wouldn’t . . . I shouldn’t. Instead, I should walk away.
So that’s what I did. I took a few steps back, twisted on my heel, and walked away.
“Fucking moron, piss off and don’t ever come here again,” Egghead muttered under his breath.
My steps stalled. Frozen to the spot. Slowly, I turned back to face him. “I beg your finest pardon?”
Egghead puffed up his chest, trying to look bigger. “You heard me.”
I laughed. Loud and sharp, like something snapping. The moment that bastard insulted me, it all went red. I lunged, grabbed him by the collar, and slammed his face into mine. Bone crunched. Blood sprayed. His howl echoed through the room, silencing every breath and every fiddle string.
Pain throbbed through my forehead, but I was unbothered.
My chest heaved, the weight of it all hitting me at once. I probably should’ve walked away.
I glanced up. The man in fine clothes with the greying beard leaned over the balcony, cigar glowing like an ember in the dark. He exhaled smoke, slow and amused.
Then my eyes found her. Sapphire. One brow arched, a little smirk playing at her lips.
I wasn’t welcome here—not now—not after smashing Egghead’s nose in. He still cradled his face, red blood seeping through his fingers. With one glance back towards the blue haired woman, I sauntered out of the Silver Finch, down the stairs, and into the shadows.
It wasn’t long before the cheery tune of the fiddle picked back up and the brothel returned to its usual business.
Icy winds pulled at my cloak, its chilly fingers gripping the fabric and wrapping around me. I longed for the warmth of Lucius, but I couldn't leave just yet. The king wouldn't ask me to watch this woman if it weren’t important. What was I missing?
Persistence.
The king said I’d need it.
Perhaps she just needed someone to talk to, but was too proud to admit it. Perhaps it was my job to lend an ear. To be a friend.
My glamour tugged inside my chest, and without thought, I released it, letting it conceal me from any lingering eyes inside The Grey. Then I pushed off the ground and into the dark expanse of the sky, hovering over the Silver Finch for a moment.
The golden glow of Sapphire's room bled on to the slate tiles. Shadows moved inside, piquing my interest. I landed soft on the roof, wings folding in tight as I crept towards her window. She was there—laughing, spinning, a drunken man trailing behind her like a stray dog sniffing heat. He was already fumbling with his shirt buttons, slurring something I couldn’t hear.
My stomach twisted in knots. I barely knew her, but seeing her with another male made my blood boil.
Then she turned—came up to the half open window.
Her laughter died the moment her eyes found mine through the glass—though she couldn’t see me.
Her smile cracked, just for a second. She closed her eyes, drew a breath so deep I felt it from where I stood.
When they opened again, the mask was back.
She spun on her heel with a twirl that looked practiced.
And that’s when it hit me. It was all an act. Every smile, every laugh, a painted illusion. The emptiness behind her eyes wasn’t a flicker—it was a damn void.
My breath hitched, and that foreign feeling that had been building in my chest erupted like a raging volcano.
The look she gave me when I caught her elbow earlier was a cry for help.
She was drowning—slowly and I don’t think she knew how to reach for safety.
Did she know there was more to this life?
Has she been given the chance to choose a kingdom?
I needed to offer her something. Anything.
I rummaged through my coat pockets, fingers numb from the wind, until they closed around a torn scrap of paper.
It was wrinkled, smudged, but it’d do. I took to the air, gliding low until I spotted a cold brazier on an empty balcony.
A half-burnt stick of charcoal sat buried in ash.
Perfect. I snatched it, then flew back to the Silver Finch before crouching on the rooftop beneath her window.
The words came easy.
There’s a light in you the dark cannot touch.
Simple. True. I folded the note tight and pulled a crimson feather from my wing—one of the smaller ones. Tied it with a strip of thread from my cuff and left it on her partially cracked windowsill.
I couldn’t bear to watch any longer. With a sharp breath, I launched into the sky, wings slicing through the cold night air as I flew towards Lucius.
The warmth of home waited for me—but it felt hollow.
How cruel, how tragic, that while I returned to safety, the place she called home was the very thing suffocating her.
A gilded cage, dressed in perfume and gold, where survival came at the cost of hope.