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KATERINA SLEPT THE rest of the day, the rest of the night, and late into the next morning. By the time she finally opened her eyes, stretching sleepily, she had all but forgotten where she was.
“Madge,” she called, lowering her feet to the floor, “could you bring me some—”
She fell off the sofa with a little shriek, landing on the floor in an undignified heap. An inexplicable cloud of pink dust rose up beneath her, and she sneezed loudly, remembering for the first time that she had left the castle far behind.
“Well, look who finally woke up!”
Before she could even push to her feet, Nixie pranced into the house with an armful of flowers. She flashed the princess a quick smile before curling her fingers through the air in a strange cutting sort of gesture. A glass vase appeared from nowhere, rattling on the kitchen counter as the fairy dropped the flowers inside and hurried back to the living room, perching lightly upon the armrest of the sofa as she stared down at her guest.
“What are you doing on the floor?”
Katerina stared up into the fairy’s enormous, curious eyes, and before she knew it she found herself smiling as well. She didn’t understand what her father had meant when he’d told her that all magical creatures were dangerous and not to be trusted. If anything, the young fairy reminded her of girls she’d grown up with at the castle. Spirited, sweet, and entirely too curious for her own good.
“I was checking for mice,” she teased. “So far so good.”
The little fairy erupted into yet another fit of laughter, swelling the blossoms in the vase as she rocked back and forth, clinging onto the sides of the sofa for balance. Her vibrant hair danced in the air around her, then floated up in a little cloud as she hopped down to help Katerina to her feet.
“You know,” she chirped, tugging the princess into the kitchen where a plate of biscuits and milk had been set out on the table, “you’re nothing like what I imagined a princess would be. To start, you seem to have forgotten your crown.”
Katerina grinned as she sat down at the table, realizing with the first bite that she’d never been so hungry in her entire life. “The queen gets a crown; the princess only gets a tiara.”
“A tiara,” Nixie repeated breathlessly, trying out the word for the first time. Her eyes drifted away as she tried to imagine it before darkening with a sudden frown. “Well, then, shouldn’t you be getting a crown? Since the king died and everything?”
The princess froze with a biscuit halfway to her mouth as the little fairy clapped a hand over her mouth, as if she could drag the words back inside. Her enormous eyes swelled to an even greater size before she pushed forward with the most awkward conversational segue ever.
“...you want honey with that?”
Katerina stared at her in shock, completely blown away by the fairy’s complete lack of filter, and she felt herself warming with another inexplicable smile. “Honey would be great.”
As Nixie danced off to the cupboards to get some, she took a tiny sip of milk—feeling her strength start to return to her, bite by bite. As she chewed, she tried very hard to put things into perspective. Yes, she should be in the throne room right now, kneeling on the velvet carpet as the priest placed the crown upon her head. No, she shouldn’t be sitting in a woodland cottage, accepting honey from a winged girl who came up to her waistline.
But you don’t get to choose your stars, and she was making the best of the hand that was dealt to her. For now, she was alive. For now, that would have to do.
“You know,” she said through a mouthful of biscuit, “you’re nothing like how I imagined a fairy would be either.”
Nixie leaned forward across the table, her eyes wide with anticipation.
“Better or worse?”
Katerina laughed. “Better—much better. Just...different.” She took another bite, dousing the feathery pastry in a spoonful of honey. “To start, I didn’t think you’d be able to talk.”
Nixie’s little face screwed up in disbelief.
“Not able to talk?! How could people even think—”
The door pushed open and Marigold and Beck swept inside, seemingly oblivious to the handfuls of leaves and twigs that had accumulated in their hair.
“I, for one, think it might be quite a relief,” Marigold said innocently, “if some of us were temporarily relived of that particular ability...”
Katerina pursed her lips to hide a smile, but Nixie was confused. She stared between them all for a moment before her face lit with sudden understanding.
“Oh,” she dropped her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, “do you mean Beck?”
Before the other fairy’s inevitable retaliation, Marigold sent them both outside. Ordering them to flower the garden—whatever that meant—so she could speak to the princess in peace.
“I must apologize,” she said with a sigh as the door swung shut behind them. “We don’t get visitors from foreign parts very often. I’m afraid they’re a little overexcited.”
Judging by the explosion of multi-colored sparks shooting up from the garden, ‘overexcited’ was putting it mildly.
“They’re wonderful,” Katerina said earnestly. “You all are. I mean it. You’ve all been so kind...I don’t really know how to repay you.”
The fairy shook her head dismissively, her golden curls swishing back and forth. “It was our pleasure, Your Highness. There’s no payment necessary. Except...” A very peculiar expression flitted across her face as she looked the princess up and down. “...except to remember. Remember what you’ve seen here. Remember the kindness you were shown.”
Katerina set down her glass of milk, staring curiously at the little woman. “Well, of course I will. I don’t know how I could ever forget.”
The fairy brightened with a beaming smile.
“In that case, it’s time we sent you on your way. It’s already coming up on midday, and we’ll have to get a move on if we want to make it to the village before dusk.”
“Sent me on my way?” Katerina straightened up in alarm, shaken by the sudden change in conversation. “I’d hoped...I’d hoped maybe I could stay here for a few days. At least until I came up with some kind of plan—”
“My dear, I wish you could. But you’re hardly five leagues outside the castle lands. The last thing you should do is linger so close. No, we must get you as far away as we can.”
“But this place is protected,” Katerina argued, her voice rising in panic. “I saw it myself. It doesn’t look like anything to the outside world, until you work your magic on it.”
A strange emotion swept across Marigold’s face. An emotion that made the sun itself seem to dim as she reached across the table and took the princess’ hand with a sad smile.
“You really know nothing of this world, do you?” she murmured thoughtfully, more to herself than to Katerina. “You’re innocent to all this.”
Katerina’s mouth fell open in surprise, but she could think of nothing to say. It certainly hadn’t been the answer she had been expecting, and yet she felt as though all three fairies had been thinking the same thing about her since the moment she arrived.
“There are different kinds of magic,” the fairy continued kindly. “Our magic comes from the light. It’s meant only to make things brighter, do you understand? It wouldn’t do anything to shield you from the darkness that is sure to come.”
The princess’ heart fell as she glumly stared out the window. Come to think of it, she couldn’t see either Beck or Nixie putting up much of a fight against assassins.
“No,” Marigold continued thoughtfully, “you need to be with someone who can keep you safe. Someone who can protect you. Someone who’s done this sort of thing before...”
For a second, all was quiet. Then it was like a light clicked on. Marigold’s eyes lit up with sudden inspiration before settling upon Katerina, twinkling with a knowing smile.
“And I know just the man...”
* * *
THE TRIP DOWN TO THE village took the rest of the day, and considering that Katerina had recently trekked over miles of mountains in the dark, by the time they saw the thatched roofs and stone chimneys of the town square she was dead on her feet.
“Is that it?” she panted as the four of them came to a stop on a nearby hill. “Please tell me that’s it. If it isn’t, I vote that we give up and set up camp right here—”
“That’s it,” Marigold chuckled, staring down at the twinkling lights of the little village. “And the last thing you’re going to want to do is spend another night sleeping out in the cold.”
Fair point.
Katerina wrapped her travelling cloak tighter around her and began walking down the grassy incline, until she suddenly realized that the fairies were no longer behind her. In a fright, she turned around to see that they were all standing exactly where they’d stopped at the top of the hill.
“What’s the matter? Aren’t you coming?”
Marigold shook her head, and the others flashed her apologetic smiles.
“I’m afraid not, my dear. Our kind never goes into the village. Not unless we have to.” She tilted her head sagely, as if she was quoting a parable. “Spend too much time in the company of humans, and there’s no telling what nonsense might rub off on you.”
Nixie and Beck made a strange movement, almost as if they were crossing themselves, and Katerina fought the impulse to roll her eyes.
Spend too much time in the company of fairies, and it’s likely to turn your hair blue.
“I’ll try not to take offense at that.” She glanced quickly over her shoulder, ears perking up at the distant clamor of the town, a feeling of dread stealing into her chest. “At any rate, can’t you at least walk me down to the village? I don’t...I don’t want to be alone.”
She felt stupid saying it. Like a child who burst into their parents’ room, only to flush and mumble something about having a bad dream. Still, with memories of her brother’s hell hounds still fresh in her mind, it was impossible to hold back the question.
A look of genuine sympathy stared back at her from three affectionate faces, but for the second time Marigold shook her head.
“My dear, this is where we must part ways. But fear not, you will soon be in safe hands.”
Katerina suppressed a sigh, staring down at a folded piece of paper between her fingers.
“You mean with this... Dylan Aires?”
How could they just send her off with someone she didn’t know? With someone whose whereabouts they didn’t know? They simply said the best place to start looking was at the local bar.
Nixie and Beck exchanged a quick look, while Marigold gestured almost sternly to the paper in her hand. “You be sure to give that to him. No matter what, make sure he reads it.”
My entire life depends on whether a drunken stranger reads a fairy’s secret note. Typical.
“I will.” Katerina folded the note and tucked it into her cloak. “And I really can’t tell you enough how grateful I am for your help. All of you.” Her eyes swept over each one in turn, misting over with an emotion she couldn’t control. “It’s a kindness I’ll not soon forget. I promise.”
Nixie and Beck lit up with matching grins, while Marigold took a step forward. Despite their comical height difference she put her hand on the princess’ shoulders, staring deep in her eyes.
“I may not know what the next chapter has in store, but I do know this: There is no such thing as chance, Katerina. You were brought here for a reason. All you must do now is have the strength and patience to find out what that reason might be.”
...and find a way to stay alive in the meantime.
Her fear must have shown in her eyes, because Marigold gave her an extra squeeze.
“Just find Dylan Aires. He’ll keep you safe.” She took a step back as the others clustered around her on the top of the hill. “The rest is up to you.”
A sudden bout of drunken laughter echoed up from the canyon below, followed by a shower of sparks as a flagon of ale tumbled carelessly into the roaring bonfire. Katerina’s eyes widened as she glanced over her shoulder, staring into the flames, before a sudden panic took hold.
“But Marigold,” she gasped, whirling back around, “what if I can’t—”
It was too late. The fairies were already gone.
“—find him.”
Like a deflating balloon, Katerina felt all the hope, and warmth, and security the three little creatures brought with them fade away in the chilly breeze. One second, she had been in a party of four. Protected by magic. Fortified with biscuits. And just like that she was on her own again. Just a lost traveler standing alone in the middle of the night... hoping to find her way in from the cold.
She stared once more at where the fairies had been standing, searching the hill uselessly for even the tiniest lingering glow, before turning slowly back to the village.
By now the sun had slipped completely below the horizon, and the place was coming alive at night. The roaring bonfire was the least of it. One by one, the shops were closing and the taverns were opening their doors. Scores of people—mostly men—were pouring out into the streets. Calling out loudly to one another. Shaking off the hard day’s work before heading inside to drink it off for good measure. Hunters were making their way back from the nearby woods with their daily kills, to sell the next day at market. Teams of soot-covered workers were coming back in from the mine. Farmers, burned and beaten by the sun, were finally putting their heavy gloves aside to join the rest of them as they celebrated the end of another long week.
Life had been hard for the villages since the rebellion. Katerina was ashamed to say that her father didn’t help. His idea of subduing his subjects was taxing them into oblivion. A policy that had accrued no small amount of resentment from the people whose backs were breaking under its weight. Anti-monarchy sentiment was high, and the more she thought about it the more Katerina suddenly understood the real reason for the bonfire. The real reason spirits were so high.
The king is dead. His people are celebrating.
A wave of fear swept over her as she nervously tucked her red hair into her cloak.
...and his daughter is coming to stay.
She was almost on the verge of turning around. She was almost on the verge of forgetting this Dylan Aires altogether and setting out on her own. But Marigold was right. She might also have been hopelessly unrealistic, but she was right. If Katerina stood even a chance at making it to see the next full moon, she needed protection. And in order to get that protection, she needed to go into that town.
“Come on, you little coward, one foot in front of the other...”
* * *
DESPITE HER PRESENT state of hysteria, Katerina made the greatest possible effort to compartmentalize those feelings as she marched down the hill and onto the dusty streets of the village. A hundred different dialects, and smells, and strange creatures bustled around in the night beside her, but she kept her face a perfect mask of calm, eyes locked on the road.
Marigold had been right about something else as well: She was innocent to the ways of the world. And if she wasn’t careful, that innocence was going to get her killed.
“Watch your step!”
She gasped, and leapt out of the way as a wagon full of empty milk bottles went careening past her. The driver turned around long enough to make a very rude hand gesture before turning back to the road, on a race to get to the next village before dawn.
Her heart pounded as she stared down at the giant ruts in the mud—just inches away from where she had been standing just a moment before. Had no one else seen what had happened? The villagers were carrying on exactly as before. Did no one else think it was at all strange that a man almost killed a young woman and then screamed at her in the middle of the street?
Apparently not.
After another quick glance around, Katerina decided to take quick action. The longer she was on the street, the more she risked being recognized. She needed to find the tavern the fairies had told her about as fast as possible. Before any other milk wagons went careening her way.
“Excuse me?” She tugged on the sleeve of the safest-looking pedestrian, safe being on a relative sort of scale. At any rate, it was one of the few women. “Have you heard of a place called The Dancing Bear? Do you know where I might find it?”
“The Dancing Bear?” the woman repeated in an accent thick as mud. She looked the princess up and down, not even bothering to hide her judgement. “And why in the world would a young thing like you want to go to The Dancing Bear? Interested in a new line of work?”
Katerina sensed there was something not quite appropriate in what the woman was implying, but she lowered her head politely and gave nothing away. “I’m meeting a friend.”
The woman stared at her a second more, cocking her head down the street. “It’s at the end of the block. Right before you get to the butcher. But I’d be careful if I was you.” She reached out and touched the edge of Katerina’s cloak, smoothing the fine material between her fingers. “All sorts go to The Bear. But I promise, there’s not a soul there who looks like you.”
Katerina’s pulse quickened as she discreetly tugged herself away before the woman could get a better grip. “Thanks, I’ll...I’ll keep that in mind.”
Without a backwards glance, she hurried away. Keeping her head low, and her fiery hair swept carefully out of sight, she headed down the street to the bar.
What kind of place had the fairies sent her to? Did they know about its reputation? And what kind of man could this Dylan Aires be if he made a habit of frequenting such a tavern?
Katerina had the sinking feeling she was about to find out.
Just a few minutes later, she slowed down as the bright lights of the tavern twinkled into view. It looked rather picturesque and peaceful from the outside, but already she could hear the sound of half a dozen drunken brawls going on inside. She froze a moment on the frosted sidewalk, silently debating the risk versus reward, before she decided to put her trust once again in the fairies, took a deep breath, and pushed open the heavy oak door.
It was everything she could have imagined... and so much worse.
Her eyes took a second to adjust to the dim light, then widened to little saucers as she stared out over the extraordinary scene. It was as if the entire magical community had come together under some sort of uneasy truce, and had then proceeded to drink their weight in alcohol.
There were creatures there that Katerina had never seen before. Creatures she only vaguely remembered from the captions and pictures of her childhood books. Men were laughing with shifters. Goblins were gambling with dwarves. A contingent of brightly-colored pixies was perched on a lantern hung by the stairwell, drinking from little thimbles of nectar, while a massive creature that looked suspiciously like a troll was dancing by himself in the corner.
The noise was deafening. The patrons seemed constantly on the verge of breaking into a fight. It was chaos. Absolute chaos. But no one seemed to mind in the slightest.
In fact, no one seemed to even notice.
Katerina ducked down with a gasp as a bottle of what she hoped was red wine shattered over her head. She was able to dodge the majority of it, and hurried quickly towards the bar, keeping her eyes on the floor and her hands pinned tightly to her sides.
Under any other circumstance, her entrance into such a place would have caused quite a commotion indeed. But the room was in such an uproar that people hardly noticed she’d passed by until she was safely on the other side of the table, her long cloak swishing quickly across the floor.
“What can I get for you?”
The question was fired out almost as soon as Katerina touched the counter. She’d expected the bartender to be the world’s burliest man—the sort of person who could serve as an enforcer should the rowdy crowd get out of hand—but what turned around was one of the most beautiful women Katerina had ever seen. Her eyes widened for a moment as her lips parted in shock.
Never before had she seen such a blatant display of sexuality. Red lips, painted eyelids, and a deliberately torn dress that left very little to the imagination.
“Honey, you want a drink?”
On second thought, she didn’t know if she’d call the woman beautiful. She was certainly striking, that much was sure. But there was something almost aggressive about the way she presented herself. Something that made the hairs on the back of Katerina’s neck stand on end.
She quickly shook herself out of her trance and flashed a polite smile. “No, actually. I was hoping to book a room for the night. Is there a chance I could speak to the owner?”
The woman leaned back, her eyes sparkling with curiosity as she looked the new customer up and down. While she might have been able to hide her fiery hair, Katerina was completely unaware of the other rather obvious differences that set her miles apart.
“Bill!” the woman called over her shoulder, keeping the princess locked in her gaze all the while. “There’s a girl here who wants a room. Doesn’t look the type to rent by the hour...”
There was a tittering of laughter from those who were seated close to them at the bar, but before the flush had even died from Katerina’s cheeks a tall grey-haired man hurried out from a room in the back, wiping his hands busily on his apron as he pulled out a worn ledger.
“A single room, you said?” He hardly even glanced up as he hastened to put on his spectacles. “Just for the night?”
“Yes, I believe so.” Katerina leaned a bit closer, lowering her voice in an attempt for at least a mild degree of privacy. “I’m actually here looking for someone. A man named Dylan Aires.” She paused hesitantly, staring hopefully across the bar. “Is there any chance you know who that is?”
It was a gamble, saying the name out loud. But by that point, Katerina didn’t know what else she could do. Was she supposed to go around table by table? Canvass the entire bar?
“Dylan Aires, huh?” The curvaceous bartender started cleaning out an empty glass with a grin. “And what could a girl like you want with Dylan Aires?”
“Get back to work, Mika.” The proprietor finished scribbling down in his ledger, then looked up at Katerina for the first time. His eyes did the slightest double-take before he raised his voice, somehow making it heard over the entire bar. “This young woman is looking for a Dylan Aires.” He paused deliberately, eyes sweeping the room. “Is there anyone here by that name?”
There was a sudden hush as the bar abruptly fell quiet. People froze with cards still in hand, with drinks halfway to their mouths. Even the troll in the corner stopped dancing long enough to turn around with the others and look towards the bar.
A second later, all those eyes landed upon Katerina.
Oh...shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.
She tried her best to keep steady. Tried her best to meet the horde of probing eyes. It wasn’t easy. From the second the man called out the name the entire place had frozen into the world’s strangest assortment of statues.
The shifters were looking at her appraisingly, the dwarves were surveying the price of her fancy cloak, a young man in the corner was staring intently over the rim of his glass. And even as she stood there, four pale men with a table full of empty glasses pushed to their feet.
“How about it, folks?” the owner called out again. He was simply teasing her now, already preoccupied with the stack of papers in his hand. “Going once... going twice...”
“I can be your Dylan Aires.”
Katerina’s eyes shot up in surprise to land on a drunken man standing in the middle of the bar. He was holding a flagon of ale in the air—toasting the very idea—while all around him the icy tension in the room began to thaw and crack.
People relaxed. People started openly laughing. People started calling out, one by one.
“No, let me be your Dylan.”
“No one could make a better Dylan than me.”
“I’m the real Dylan. Come here, sweetheart, let me prove it to you...”
Katerina’s heart fell as the bar slowly came back to life. A few moments and several obscene propositions later, the patrons had all but forgotten about the interruption. Only a few eyes lingered on her curiously, but she was quick to turn back to the bar. It was obvious these people didn’t exactly like outsiders. Even if the outsider happened to be a young woman, travelling by herself. If the real Dylan Aires was anywhere in the vicinity he’d no doubt already heard about the commotion down at the tavern, and would be keeping his distance. Marigold’s brilliant plan had failed.
Her fingers closed around the note in her pocket as her shoulders fell with a quiet sigh.
I might as well read it now. Since he’ll never be reading it himself.
She was right about to pull it out and open it, when a cold hand tapped lightly upon her shoulder. Her head snapped up and she turned around in surprise, only to see the four pale men she’d noticed earlier—the ones who’d been sitting around a table full of empty glasses.
“Excuse me, miss?”
Up close, they were even paler than she’d realized. And far more beautiful. Snowy white skin offset with sparkling dark eyes. They each looked somewhat alike, close enough to be brothers, yet there was something entirely different about all four of them. And something not entirely safe.
“Yes?” Katerina pulled her cloak tighter around her, careful to keep her famous crimson hair out of view. She didn’t know if news that the princess was on the run had left the castle, but if it had no young woman travelling alone would be above suspicion. Least of all, someone who looked like her. “Can I help you with something?”
“Quite the contrary.” The man flashed a row of pearly white teeth. “I was rather hoping instead to buy you a drink. Forgive my impertinence, but you seem to be here on your own.”
There was something strange about the way he said it. It was stranger still that his three friends remained silent behind him. And yet, Katerina felt herself drawn to the manner in which he spoke. Growing up in the castle, one learned to speak with a constant degree of formality. A degree that had been distinctly lacking on her journey thus far. It was nice to come across someone with manners. Especially when those manners were directed at her.
“I am,” she said gratefully, “and thank you very much. But I’m afraid I’m going to have to decline. It’s been a long day, and I’d really better get up to my room.”
The man nodded curtly, but didn’t move. Neither did his friends.
“A drink for me, then?”
Katerina glanced quickly between them, growing more confused all the while.
“I beg your pardon?”
The man’s dark eyes glittered with a cool smile as he leaned closer, close enough that she could see the flames of a nearby lantern flickering across his pale face.
“Just a taste—you’ll return to your room unharmed.” His lips curved up in a chilling smile as he made to sweep back the hood of her cloak. “You must admit, you look most inviting...”
Katerina cringed from his touch, her eyes wide with fright, but a second before the man could touch her a figure blurred in between them, knocking his hand out of the air.
“I believe the lady said no.”
The princess and the four strangers whirled around in identical surprise, gawking at the stranger in their midst. It was like he’d come out of nowhere, materializing from somewhere in the shadows. His back was towards her, so she couldn’t see his face, but the other men could. And they clearly didn’t like what they saw.
“Is that right?” The man who’d been reaching towards her took an instinctive step back, but was far from backing down entirely. Quite the contrary. With his three friends at his back, he seemed frightfully confident of his chances. “I heard nothing of the sort.”
The man leaned against the counter, a picture of ease. Not only did the four-to-one odds not seem to faze him in the slightest, but Katerina could have sworn she saw the hint of a smile.
“Didn’t you?” he asked innocently. “It must have been too quiet, as she seems unbearably polite. I believe what she meant to say was, back the fuck off.”
For a split second, all pretenses dropped. For a split second, Katerina saw a glimpse of what was about to come. Then the man flashed a bright smile.
“Or something along those lines...”
There was a strange hissing sound as the four friends gathered together. Gone was the pleasant demeanor. Gone were the charming smiles. As the façade finally cracked, Katerina was able to see them for what they really were. Not beautiful—enticing. Not polite—conniving.
A little shiver whispered up her spine as she took a step back, feeling as though she’d dodged a threat she hadn’t even seen coming. If only for now. As grateful as she was for his presence, for the life of her she didn’t see what chance the man possibly had. Not against four others.
“This hardly seems like a fair fight.” The man who’d propositioned her stepped forward with an oily smile, looking his opponent up and down. “And I don’t know if we’ll be able to control ourselves once so much of your blood has spilled upon the floor.”
Katerina paled with both fear and confusion, but the man protecting her simply smiled.
“Guess I’ll have to take my chances then.”
For a split second, nobody moved. Then, all at once, the bar was a blur of action.
The princess staggered back with a stifled shriek, clapping her hands over her mouth as she tried to reconcile the impossible scene. One second, her fearless protector had been standing in front of her. The next, he was some sort of mythological warrior come to life. Dazzling her eyes with the blinding grace with which he moved. Sending devastating vibrations up through the floorboards as he felled his opponents, one by one.
The first fool to step forward had his head smashed through the bar. The second was used as an unfortunate weapon to take out the third. And the last man? The man who’d come up to her and started all the trouble to begin with? He received the fiercest treatment of all.
A piercing cry echoed through the tavern as the man broke a glass and held the shards to her attacker’s neck. Katerina watched in horror as the serrated edge trailed across his pale skin, leaving a fine line of crimson in the white. The rest of the patrons went perfectly still, and she was about to look away entirely, when the man suddenly dropped the glass, pointing to the door instead.
“I agree,” he said quietly. “It wasn’t a fair fight.”
For a split second, it looked like the broken man wasn’t going to accept the offer, that his pride would demand he cry to continue the fight. Then one of his companions groaned weakly by his feet, and he whirled around with an angry hiss—sweeping towards the door.
“We won’t forget this,” he swore as the four of them staggered out into the cold. “Not as long as we walk this earth—we will never forget this.”
Katerina froze in terror, but her charming savior merely smiled—chuckling quietly as he reached across the bar and poured himself a shot of whiskey. “You know where to find me.”
Bold words. Ones that sufficiently ended the conversation.
Just a second later, the door slammed shut.
A rush of blood poured back into Katerina’s frozen limbs, and she felt as though she could breathe for the first time. Her eyes flickered anxiously to the back of the man’s head, along with the rest of the bar, but he stayed right where he was—quietly sipping his whiskey. A few seconds later, his eyes drifted apologetically up to the owner, who looked back at him with a mixture of intense amusement and frustration. The barmaid joined in with a little grin before her boss leapt up onto the counter, stretching his arms out with a wide smile.
“Why so quiet? This isn’t a house of prayer! The next round’s on the house!”
The little tavern burst to life again as the fight was forgotten and people started pouring forward to get their free drinks. The man melted back into the crowd, leaving his own glass on the counter, and Katerina was quick to follow, desperate not to lose him in the crowd. She hurried this way and that, wishing desperately that she’d gotten a better look at his face, when a hand came out of nowhere and pulled her gently away from the drunken crowd.
“You were looking for Dylan Aires?”
Katerina stared up in disbelief, only to see a pair of blue eyes twinkling down at her.
“You just found him.”
