It was jam-packed. People stood shoulder to shoulder. Orsatshoulder to shoulder, if they’d been lucky enough to nab a stool from one of the four long tables. And the room was massive; twice the size of most cafeterias. So for it to seem claustrophobic with this crowd…
“The entire city is here,” Cheriour said, no doubt catching my slack-jawed expression.
My eyes roamed over the sea of people, and I got a jolt of excitement when I realized most were holding wooden beer mugs. “Oooh, is this open bar? What kinda beer do y’have on tap?” The beerhadto be better than the whiskey. Even the cheap-ass beers from back home were drinkable.
Cheriour simply motioned for me to follow him into the room, weaving in and out through the tight spaces between people.
“I swear I won’t get shitfaced! Although, Iama happy drunk—oh crap! Sorry!” I exclaimed when I trod on someone’s foot.
The guy smiled. He was an older man with bushy gray eyebrows and a friendly face. “‘Tis no—”
He cut himself off, eyes widening, as he turned to face me.
“We’ll explain later, Jael.” Cheriour ushered me away.
“Is…wait…was that about my eyes?” I asked. “Again?”
Cheriour said nothing. But, as we parted the ocean of humanity, dozens of others twisted around, stood on their tiptoes, or craned their necks to stare at me.
“Is anyone else gonna try tokillme because of my eyes?” I whispered. “Should I be on high alert right now?”
“No,” he grunted.
“You sure?”
“Yes.” Cheriour found a somewhat quiet corner to shove me into. It was still crowded. But I recognized most of the people who stood around us. Like Kaelan. And Belanna and Braxton.
“I’d not fuss much, Addie.” Belanna sidled over, clapping her hand against my shoulder. “Yer eyes are so fecking bright, people can’t help but notice.
I rolled myfecking brighteyes at her.
“But the stares will stop soon enough.” She shrugged. “My soldiers didn’t gawp at ye on the ride over, did they?”
Kaelan, who leaned against the wall next to Belanna, huffed out a laugh. “They were too scared.” He glanced over Belanna’s head and stage whispered:“She threatened to gouge their eyes out.”
“Staring is quite rude.” She smacked my shoulder again. My knees almost buckled beneath the force of her impact. “And ye had enough to be worryin’ about.”
“Please tell me you were just messing with them,” I said. “You wouldn’tactuallyhave mutilated their eyes. Right?”
“Aye. She would’ve,” Braxton chuckled.
At the same time, Belanna scoffed, “If ye make a statement with no intention of following through, ‘tis nothing but an empty threat. And they’ll know it.” She said this in a sing-song voice. “Ach, there’s Quinn.”
Holy moly. She was alun-a-tic. Fully certifiable. “The heck is wrong with y—” I started. But then Cheriour tapped my arm and I realized, too late, that silence had fallen upon the rest of the room.
And I was a loud talker.
Oops.
Belanna, Braxton, and Kaelan snorted. A few other people laughed too. Most spun around, gawking at me, only turning away when Cheriour shook his head or made quiet sounds of disapproval.
Across the room, Quinn stood on a table, elevated over the crowd. He looked no less miserable today. He had his arms crossed over his chest and a wretched pout on his mouth. Although, thankfully, he ignored my outburst. “I’m sure you’ve all heard about Bafrus” His blue eyes swept the room. He waited until he had everyone’s attention before he continued. “It has, indeed, fallen.”
A low murmur wafted through the hall. Beside me, Belanna’s laughter died. She went rigid; her face pale.
“Belanna and Braxton evacuated most of Cynerik,” Quinn continued. “But were unable to reach the rest of the towns. At this time, we are asking everyone here to stay within the borders of Netheridge. And we may need to discuss evacuating the towns close to Bafrus’ border.” He glanced at Cheriour, who nodded slowly.
“Now,” Quinn folded his hands together, twisting his fingers and cracking his knuckles. “We have also lost Lamex this week to Elion’s plague.”
