“I don’t feel well. I…I think I need to lay down.” She looked at me, green eyes flooding with guilt.
“Did you think I expected you to walk hereandback today?” I gave her a lazy smile. “Claudya told me about an inn. Let’s go check in and get you off your feet.”
Mira’s mouth fell into a heavy frown. “I love you so much.” Her eyes welled, and the lip tremble began. These hormones were doing a number on her.
“You are the world.” I repeated the line from one of our favorite poems and regretted it instantly when tears trailed her cheeks. I chuckled, wiping them away with my thumbs. “Come on.” We walked a couple blocks until we reached The Lone Oak, Claudya’s first recommendation. Using her name as a reference would apparently get us a discounted rate, and establishing mutual connections was another step in my plan.
The inn had a pair of decorative antlers above the door, and we stepped into the rustic wooden lobby. A hulking man stood at the reception desk, speaking with the clerk. We stood a few feet behind him, waiting for our turn. Mira’s gaze trailed the lodgings, taking in all the details. It was something I noticed she’d started doing more, observing without restraint.
Any attempt to grant the men in front of us privacy was thwarted by my heightened animal senses.
“They’re royals, they have a horse for every man. Keep them in the stables behind the back, not the ones by the street,” the tall man attempted keeping his voice low.
“What if they aren’t hungry?” the aging clerk asked. When the large man swayed on his feet, elbows resting on the desk before him, the clerk caught sight of us. “Oh! Hello! Welcome!” the short man said.
The towering man at the counter turned his head, showcasing eyebrows and an untamed beard like a forest of black and gray. He stood to his full height, standing nearly a foot taller than me. My grip around Mira tightened. The man’s scent hit me, a mix of blood and sweat. Not human blood, though. The hairs on my arms rose, the beastly part of me deeming him a threat to my wife.
He casually swaggered to the side of the counter, gesturing for us to proceed with our business in an irritated fashion. I walked with relaxed ease, but my senses were honed on his every movement. His deep breath, hollow in his chest, but rapid, as if he was nervous. I’d shred him to ribbons within a split second if he tried anything.
“My wife and I are looking for a room for the evening,” I said through a forced smile.
“Preferably one with a tub,” Mira added.
Any exhilarating thoughts of what I might see or do to her in that tub faded when the clerk replied, “I’m sorry Miss, but we’ve been rented out for the evening.” He craned his head to the side, giving us a sorrowful look. His heart rate was elevated too.
“For the royal convoy?” I gathered it from their conversation. I hadn’t heard from Nicholas or Nora since before our trip. They might even be sending us a shipment of extra supplies already, which would be extremely helpfu—
“No,” the towering man barked.
I whipped my gaze to him, holding his darkening stare. Unnoticeable to anyone else in the room maybe, but I noticed the pull on his upper lip, the muscles fighting off a snarl. Clearly he hadn’t wanted us to overhear, and my hackles rose beneath my human skin.
In an effort to disguise where I’d heard the information, and playing up our charade of friendly harmless visitors, I said, “Oh, I heard rumor in town today that they were coming. Was it from the baker? No, the shoemaker? I can’t remember, we’re meeting so many people for the first time today. Claudya sent us from Solei.” Despite wanting to pull a power play and hold my own with the simmering male to my left, I chose to soften my voice. It took more than a little control to appear unthreatening, but judging from the diffusing tension radiating from him, I knew I’d made the right call.
“Ah, well, I hope you’ll come back another time, then. There’s Merchants Crossing a few blocks south, they might have some rooms for you,” the clerk said with a kind smile, but one that told us there was no further conversation to be had here.
“Thank you for your time. Come on, darling,” I spoke into Mira’s curly hair, pressing a kiss to her head as we unhurriedly waltzed out of the inn.
The warming afternoon air cleared away the stifling annoyance from that interaction.
“I hope the next place has a tub. Wait, why did you lie? We haven’t met a shoemaker,” Mira said, apparently oblivious to the charged encounter we’d just shared.
I decided not to tell her what I’d sensed. It would only cause her to worry, and I knew my beautiful woman wouldn’t be able to rest like she needed to. “The more we appear to mingle, the easier we’ll be accepted.”
“Risky to lie. What if that other man was the local shoemaker? Then he’d know you weren’t truthful.” She didn’t approve of me lying, but I wouldn’t explain that the rambling deescalated a situation she hadn’t even been aware of.
“He wasn’t, I think he was a butcher. He reeked of animal blood and death.”
She sighed heavily. “I don’t know if I should be impressed or irritated.”
“Try impressed.” I smirked, and she glared up at me with playful vexation.
32
Nicholas
Blood pounded through my head like a raging river, waves of throbbing disorientation crashing against my skull. I couldn’t tell how I was oriented in the world. Which direction was up? Was I laying down? Were my eyes open, or was it simply dark? Was this death?
My bones felt like they barely held their form. I thought I pried my eyes open. I thought I tried moving.
