Helene seemed to wilt, her last familiar refuge gone. Isabel looked too tired for tears. She simply clutched Captain’s box and stared at me with hollow eyes.
“Food and something to drink,” I said, nodding to Isabel. “Then we plan.”
Nikella’s eyes cut to me. How could I have not realized why she seemed familiar? Hints of her brother stared back at me.
I suppressed another shiver.
“Agreed,” she said.
Aiden directed his horse toward a sprawling inn with glass windows and a sloping roof.The Twisted Tail, according to the painted board above the door. A running horse with a braided tail was painted next to the name.
Aiden slid off our horse, and I tried to follow, throwing one leg over and sliding as he did. But my muscles must’ve been beaten near to death by that gods-damned horse because I fell to the ground in a heap.
Aiden stretched out a hand to me, his lips pressed together as his eyes twinkled.
“Don’t you dare laugh,” I hissed, grabbing his hand and lurching upright. “Or tell Maz.”
His smile snuck out as his thumb stroked the back of my hand. “Never.”
The others dismounted much more easily than I did, with Aiden lifting Isabel to the ground. Perhaps I should’ve let him do the same for me.
A young boy sitting on the fence rails next to the inn took our horses for a tossed coin. We trudged inside to shouts of laughter and the smell of unwashed bodies and bean stew. A fire crackled in a stone hearth adorned with a wreath of cow horns. Roughly dressed men and women crowded the tables and the bar. No one looked up at our entrance, too busy eating, yelling, and playing Death and Four.
Helene hugged her daughter close, her eyes wide. But I was glad to be around strangers in a rowdy tavern. Much more comfortable than I’d felt in Asher’s ballroom.
Aiden sauntered over to talk to the bartender while Nikella glared our way to a table by the hearth.
He came back with a basket of bread and a bowl of butter that he set on our table. He sat next to me, our bodies touching from hip to toe. I didn’t move away.
Isabel snatched a brown loaf and bit into it like she was starving. Her box quivered on her lap. Helene stared at the bread as if she couldn’t imagine eating. She’d tucked her satchel between her dainty, muddied boots.
“Bartender said the inns are full tonight.” Aiden slathered a piece of bread with butter and ate it. “Cattle drive from Winspere and a host of farmers from Pravara for market day.”
I slumped in my chair. I’d rather sleep on the roof than get back on that horse.
“I’ll take them onward,” Nikella said, ripping off chunks of bread. “I have allies not far from here who will keep them safe.”
Aiden nodded. “Kiera and I will go back to Aquinon after dawn when the guards rotate, and the Wolves are gone. Maz and Ruru will be wondering where we are.”
So soon. Part of me wanted to run and hide. Evade Renwell as long as I could. But things might only get worse.
A barmaid thumped down five bowls of stew with wooden spoons and left. Steam curled from the thick brown soup,brimming with beans and chunks of vegetables. She returned moments later with a pitcher of water and a handful of mismatched mugs.
Nikella stopped her before she could leave. “Bring me a cup of fruit or wet greens if you have it. For the lizard,” she added to Isabel as the barmaid trotted off.
A glimmer of a smile appeared on the girl’s face. “Thank you, Teacher.”
Helene twisted her hands together. “I’d like to pay you all for this. For your help.”
“Not necessary,” Aiden said.
I looked away from the gratitude and grief shining in her eyes. I poured a mug of water and gulped it down. The barmaid came and went, dropping off a bit of lettuce and diced apple. Isabel slid a few pieces into the crate.
“Your husband is High Councilor Garyth?” Nikella asked.
My gaze shot back to her. How did she know that?
Helene nodded.
