Sterling’s eyes found mine, and then he looked me up and down slowly. “It wasn’t you, was it?” he asked.
Jasmine and I exchanged a tired look. Was he joking? Why would he even ask that? When I looked at him again, he smiled, holding back a laugh.
“You got me,” I said. “I cursed my own inn and then called the Force on myself.”
Sterling stood up, slinging his pack over his shoulder. “Easy. Open and shut,” he joked. “I’ll call the Force out here to have you arrested tomorrow. Goodnight.”
Jasmine laughed. “Slow down, tough guy. Where do you think you’re going? We haven’t even given you a room yet,” she said.
“I’m going back to Ladiall. I have no money.”
“That’s ridiculous. It’s a half-day journey from here. You’ll be walking all night, and it’s freezing out there,” I said, passing him to reach the door first. “Follow me. I’ll show you to your room. No more arguing.”
I held the door open for him and watched him struggle against his own reluctance until he finally said. “Thank you, Mr. Fibbersnap.”
“Cassian.”
STERLING
Cassian Fibbersnap was nothing like I expected.
For one thing, he was a lot prettier than I thought a country boy could be. He had light hair that framed his smiling face, blue eyes, and a light spatter of freckles across his nose. He mighthave been wearing Jasmine’s clothes, but maybe he always wore frilly blouses. It looked good on him either way.
From the tone of his letter, I thought he would be scatterbrained and lost, but he had the skills and the personality to run an inn. After one interaction with him, I completely understood why his grandfather left this place to him.
“Here’s your room,” he said to me, unlocking a door on the second floor before handing me the small brass key. “Room thirteen. They say it’s haunted. It’s not, but people like to say that.”
It was hard not to find him charming.
We stepped inside the small space together. There was not much to it, but it was enough. It had a bed, a small table, a window with a view of the stable and the woods beyond, and a small bathroom.
“Thank you, Mr. Fobbersnip,” I said.
He closed his eyes and smiled as if reminding himself it was just a joke. I know I shouldn’t tease citizens, but he made it okay when he teased back. “You’re the only person here aside from Jasmine and me, so let us know if you need anything at all, okay? I’m at your service any hour of the day or night. I’ll bring you breakfast in the morning. And coffee, since now I know you like it so much,” he said with a wink.
“That isn’t necessary. I brought my own food,” I said.
“Pfft, don’t be silly,” he said, waving a hand in the air. “I have to eat every day, anyway. Maybe you wouldn’t find yourself so burdensome if I shared my meals with you.”
“I’m not here to make things harder for you,” I said.
“Great, then I’ll see you in the morning. Sleep tight! Don’t let the bedbugs bite. Just kidding, we don’t have bedbugs. G’night, Sterling!” He stepped into the hall and shut the door behind him before I could say it back.
In the morning, he did just as he threatened and arrived at my door with a tray of breakfast and coffee, smiling as bright as the sun through my window.
“Good morning, Mr. Turnip! May I come in?” he asked.
I stepped aside without thinking, and he waltzed into my room in a tornado of hospitality with a spread of bacon, eggs, toast, and coffee.
“Mr. Fib?—”
“Sit down!” Cassian said, still smiling as he dropped into one of the small chairs at the table. I sat stiffly across from him, not used to having others in my space. It was my fault, though. I let him in.
“Thank you,” I said, sitting across from him. “So, um… I’ve been thinking about this curse. I may have an idea.”
“Oh yeah?” Cassian asked, watching me with his blue eyes while he munched on a piece of toast.
“Do you know the exact terms of the curse? Does it prevent money from passing hands, or is it a curse against any business taking place? Clearly, it doesn’t prevent people from entering the inn. It seems related to money, somehow,” I said while pouring myself a steaming mug of coffee.
