Outside, Aiden leaned against the wall, resting in the shadows. His eyes warmed when they spotted me.
That subtle change unnerved me.
Even though we were now both fully clothed, I felt like I’d exchanged a piece of my armor for his, leaving me vulnerable. The more he knew me, the more he could use against me. But I could do the same to him.
I wasn’t sure I wanted that power.
“Headed home?” he asked.
Home.I had no home. “I told Ruru I would meet him for a treat at the market.”
Aiden dipped his head. “I will leave you to it, then.”
I blinked in surprise. “You’re not going to follow me? Have I finally earned your trust?”
“Trust.” His expression twisted as if he didn’t like the taste of the word. “Trust is knowing the sun has risen thousands oftimes, yet never being sure of tomorrow. It’s a promise, yet always a question.”
“Then you don’t trust anyone, truly. Not even the sun.”
His cheeks furrowed with a small smile—one so bittersweet my heart prickled. “I can hope for sunlight while still guarding my own flame should I find myself in the dark.”
His words soaked into my mind like ink into parchment. Like a letter written from his heart to mine. Words that I understood without having to think of them.
“Then I will do what I can to be a light,” I said.
Even I didn’t know if that was a lie.
Aiden simply nodded, his features stern. But his fingers brushed mine as he walked past me.
I stood there for a moment in a daze, unsure of which way to go. But eventually, my boots tread back to where they knew I had to be. In the alley behindThe Crescent Moon.
Every other thought abandoned me as I stared at the wall where I’d left my mark.
A horizontal line was slashed through it. Deeper and longer than my scratches. The ferocity of it made my stomach quiver with unease.
I had to meet Renwell tonight.
Chapter 20
Kiera
The crowdatThe Crescent Moonwas very different than that ofThe Weary Traveler.
Dim candlelight shone over the sparse tables and hushed conversations. Curtained booths provided some privacy for the small groups of hooded customers shuffling to and from the bar.
I peeked into one booth where a woman sat in the lap of a man nearly as tall as Maz but twice as wide. She whispered in his ear, and he chuckled. He started to turn his head, and I darted away before he could see me.
Why in the deep, dark, wandering hell had Renwell chosen this tavern? He hadn’t specified much, other than I was to wait for him inside. My nerves felt like dry twigs ready to snap.
After everything that had happened, this meeting was not going to go well.
My fingers shook as I climbed onto a stool at the end of the bar and waved down the bartender.
“Coin first,” the grizzled old woman rasped.
I tossed her a copper—one I’d just earned from doing an errand for Sophie. My cover for being out alone. Aiden, Maz, and Ruru hadn’t even been home when I left. After meeting withRuru and a short, painful rehearsal with Melaena, I’d sat with Sophie until she’d given me work to do.
The bartender passed me a pitiful mug of brown ale. Her gaze lingered on me for a moment. Probably wondering who I was meeting since it seemed everyone else was here for one illicit affair or other. I scowled at her until she looked away, then drained the whole mug.
