The demon frowned, her face softening with concern. “Is everything alright, miss?”
“Yes, fine. I thought I was being followed, but I think I was just imagining things.” Faye laughed softly.
“Would you like me to send my husband to check?”
“No, no, but thank you for the kind offer. I’m just exhausted and my mind is playing tricks on me.”
“Well, I suggest you—”
The main door creaked open and caught the woman’s attention. Faye watched as the demoness’s eyes widened once more.
“Mercy me, what in Hestaesia is going on,” she muttered, wiping her hands on her apron and heading off towards the door.
Faye felt pinpricks of majick dance along her skin. A familiar feeling of terror and dread washed over her. Whoever or whatever had been following her had tracked her down. And it was inside this very building.
She sat completely still, frozen with fear, holding her breath and straining to listen to the conversation behind her.
“Can I help you, sir?” the demon woman asked.
Closing her eyes and willing the tears that sprang forth to recede, Faye listened to his heavy footsteps.
“I’m looking for someone,” a deep voice answered.
Faye’s majick churned within her and her hands shook as she quickly removed her gloves. Her palms were glowing, already charged and ready to fire off a blast of majick if needed.
There was a moment of quiet, mumbled conversation before the heavy footfalls began making their way closer to her. Faye shrank back into her chair and lowered her head.
To her surprise, the man walked right past her. His chair screeched as he settled himself down at a table on the other side of the room. Faye grasped the sides of her chair so tightly her fingernails dug into the wood.
They both sat in silence. The princess’s skin crawled with morbid curiosity. She and the man were alone in the deserted bar. Surely if he meant her any harm, he would have attacked her by now?
She pressed her lips together and stared at the steam swirling from the tea in front of her. Her throat was dry and she ached to take a sip. With a shaking hand, she reached out and grasped the cup. Tilting her head, she brought the hot liquid to her lips and her eyes quickly glanced beneath her hood for a glimpse of the mysterious man who sat a few feet away from her.
Eyes darker than anything she had ever seen met with hers. Faye gasped with surprise and turned her attention away. Her heart pounded and she felt dizzy. What was happening? Faye’s majick was responding unusually to this stranger. She had never experienced anything like it. Who was he? Why was he here?
Feeling braver, she raised her cup to her mouth once more, but looking across the room, was alarmed to see the man had vanished. Frowning and pulling her heavy velvet hood down from her face, she glanced around the now empty room. She twisted in her chair to look back at the bar. Nothing.
That was strange, she could have sworn—
“Put your hood back up before somebody sees you.”
Faye startled, nearly knocking her cup over. The stranger had reappeared and was sitting in the chair on the opposite side of the table.
He was a demon, though perhaps some sort of cross-species. He was much taller and heavier built than the old man who had gone to care for Gaia, and younger too. Faye supposed he probably wasn’t much older than she was. His skin was pale and smooth and his hair and eyes were blacker than black. A set of dark horns jutted from his head, curving backwards in a far grander fashion than the innkeeper’s. Tucked away at his back was a pair of large black wings. Though not nearly as gruesome as her father’s books had portrayed them, this man was much more akin to the beasts of nightmare she had been expecting. She froze, glued to her chair with fear. He was terrifying.
The man looked her up and down curiously, his dark eyes taking everything in. Faye swore she saw the corners of his mouth quirk into a smile, but it was so fleeting she couldn’t be sure.
The demon’s attention flickered over Faye’s shoulder momentarily as the entrance to the inn creaked open. With a tiny, almost imperceptible flick of his fingers, Faye’s hood flew back up over her head. The air tingled with majick and Faye’s own rose to the forefront of her consciousness.
The stranger shifted in his chair as footsteps approached. Faye glanced up, shielding her face with her hood. The old innkeeper stood beside their table.
“Your mare is in the stables for the night. I’ve rugged her up and given her some hay. She seems to have settled in nicely.”
“Thank you,” Faye replied, her voice cracking.
The old demon man lingered, glancing between her and the mysterious demon. “Is this man bothering you, miss?” he asked with a cold glare in the stranger’s direction.
Faye paused, contemplating how to answer. She glanced across at the demon opposite her. He stared back, his dark eyes glinting with interest. He was handsome. Much more so than Faye had initially realised. Despite her better judgement, she was curious as to where he had come from and what he wanted.
