Laughter and the sounds of clinking glasses filled the space. There were two long tables in the center of the room, each with several sailors sat spread out on stools along them, their rough voices echoing through the rafters. Behind those tables were several smaller ones, hidden in shadow, where a few patrons lingered and one large man sat with a woman—dressed in with the least amount of clothing Kamira thought she had ever seen—giggling on his lap, stealing kisses, and allowing the man to touch her in the most obscene ways for a public setting. Kamira averted her gaze, looking to the other side of the room where a high-top bar was, and the kitchen could just barely be seen through a small window behind it.
Kamira continued to study those within the tavern, trying to discern if anyone might be approachable enough to discreetly question them about the Brothers. Adonis had never actually told her where they were within the city—only that a large group of the brothers resided here, and he was going to join them.
A good number of the patrons were definitely drunk and would probably be completely unhelpful, and a few others looked like they would rip someone’s head off if they were to be disturbed.
She didn’t get the chance to finish her perusal before the elderly woman brought over a plate full of smoked meat, a hearty array of roasted vegetables, and a thick slice of fresh baked bread. Kamira’s mouth watered at the sight, her stomach rumbling in anticipation. The smell of the meal completely drowned out the horrid stench of the patrons surrounding her, and she sighed in relief.
She barely waited for the woman to set the plate down before she dug into the feast, groaning with each steaming hot bite. Almost all of the meals aboard the ship had been cold, and while she was grateful for the food they had, she had very much missed a home-cooked supper like this one.
Kamira had practically inhaled the first half of her heaping pile of food before looking up and locking eyes with a man across the room. He was smirking at her, his deep set brown eyes dancing with amusement, illuminated by the flickering candle on the table in front of him.
His skin was a few shades darker than her fair complexion, his hair so dark it was almost black, but there was a hint of copper that shimmered when he tilted his head to the side. It was long on top and short along the side leading into the shadow of a beard.
She would have spent time studying his handsome features further if her view hadn’t been blocked when a stranger moved in front of her. She looked up, craning her neck to find a barrel chested man with blond hair grinning down at her with a gnarly smile.
“Are ye a lass or a lad?”
Kamira raised a brow. Should she be offended by that question? Granted, she was still dressed in Doraan’s old clothes, but she was no longer actively trying to hide her identity. Her hair had grown a bit over the past weeks, now curling behind her ears and annoying her to no end. However, she supposed its length still presented her with a boyish look.
“I’m not really sure why that matters to you, kind sir,” she replied, going back to her dwindling plate of food.
As she was about to spear a vegetable with her fork, the man’s hand came down hard against the table and the remains of her meal went flying from the plate in all directions.
“I asked yer’ a question,” he growled.
Kamira calmly set her utensils down and was about to tell the man exactly where he could stick his questions when a deep, velvet voice lilted toward them. “Don’t you know it’s rude to ask a person whether they are a man or a woman? Honestly, Logan, it’s a wonder how you have ever gotten a woman to sleep with you after a question like that.”
The blond-haired man, Logan, stiffened at the voice, his red face contorting into a snarl as he turned to face the owner of the voice.
It was the man she had locked eyes with only moments before, that same smirk still plastered across his face as he slowly walked toward them, his eyes never leaving hers. He was all broad shoulders and lean muscles, almost a full head taller than anyone else in theAle and the Wench. It wasn’t until he was beside the blond man that he finally broke their eye contact and turned to Logan. “Besides, anyone could see that she is obviously a lady.” He cast her a quick glance and winked before facing Logan once again.
Kamira’s heart skipped a beat and she looked away quickly, heat coloring her cheeks. She chanced a glance back at the two strange men, who were now caught in a silent staring battle, Logan’s eye twitching with the strain of it. A slight movement had her looking down to find Logan’s hand balled into a fist just before it arched up straight at the handsome stranger's face.
Kamira pushed up from her chair, mouth ajar, a breath away from warning the dark-haired man, but the words never came. Logan’s fist hit the man across the jaw, his head whipping to the side, and then the entire tavern erupted into chaos.
Skies above.Kamira ducked beneath the flying limbs of the brawling men, hoping to make her way to the door and secure her escape, but she couldn’t help herself…. she looked back once more toward the man who had tried to help her. Their eyes met with an almost electric force. His russet eyes went wide, and he yelled out to her just as a fist flung out from the crowd and hit her square in the nose.
The entire tavern froze as if stuck in slow motion. Pain flared through her skull. She reached out blindly toward the nearest table as she fell, grappling for something to grab onto. In a blurry haze, she caught the handsome stranger's gaze once again as he sprinted toward her, shoving patrons from his path until he was just inches from her. She desperately stretched out her hand to meet his, their fingertips brushing briefly against one another just before everything faded to black.
23
Kamira
Kamira’seyesflewopen.She sat up, instantly regretting that decision as her head seared with a pounding pressure from the sudden rush of blood. She brought a hand up to her forehead, pressing against the pain before moving it gently to her throbbing nose, wincing.
“You should lie back down.”
She froze, remembering that soulful, almost rhythmic voice, and then it all came crashing back to her. She looked beside her and was greeted by that same boyish smirk and honeyed brown eyes from when she was in the tavern.
“You took a nasty punch to the nose and hit your head when you fell,” he said, wincing as if seeing it again in his mind. “I tried to catch you, but…well, I obviously didn’t make it in time.”
It was so quiet with just the two of them in a small room. Kamira blinked a few times, recalling a brush of rough flesh against her fingers and then nothing.
She looked down, startling as she realized she was on someone's bed. She jumped up to her feet, swaying slightly, and grabbed her head as the room spun around her. She felt as if she was rolling downhill in a rum barrel. She stumbled, placing a hand on the wall beside her.
The man was quick to stand in front of her, placing his hands on her shoulders, and steadied her before she could even comprehend his movements. His touch seared her skin—as if he had just placed them into a pit of burning embers.
“Don’t touch me!” she yelled, pulling away from his grasp and slapping one of his hands.
