“No one has acted suspiciously,” Maerel said. “If I knew something, I would tell you. It’s fair to suspect whoever killed the man has left town already, no?” Her words were clipped, irritated. The innkeeper was a convincing liar.
The man grunted. “And what of you? Where were you last night?”
“With me,” Maerel said, tone heavy with implication. “Kept me up all night. I doubt he heard anything either. I’m not quiet.”
Heat flushed my face, and I sucked in a breath. Though I understood the reasoning for her words, they still stung. Neirin was mine. Only mine.
“Is that true?”
Neirin’s response was nearly as convincing as Maerel’s. “You don’t think I’m sticking around here just for the cheap whiskey, do you?”
My heart sank.
I peered through the gap in the doors. The innkeeper’s arm was wrapped around Neirin’s waist, and his arm rested casually across her shoulders. Maerel reached up to him, and he kissed her. The air from my lungs left me in a rush, and I shut my eyes, leaning heavily against the wall.
The man, still out of my line of sight, dismissed himself. A moment later, the heavy front doors of the inn closed with a creak. Fire fueled me, and I left the concealment of the kitchen. Neirin turned to me and backed up as I pushed him against the bar.
I clenched my fists and set him with a stern expression, resisting the urge to strike at his chest. Knowing such an action was uncalled for, still, I huffed, my emotions getting the better of me.
Beside us, Maerel laughed, and I turned my anger to her. Neirin’s arm wrapped around my waist, and he pulled me against him, kissing the top of my hair. Damn him, I was trying to be angry.
“Are you jealous, love?” His words held a curl of amusement.
They were both teasing me. I set my jaw.
“Don’t be upset with him. He was only playing along. It was important that Aaron believed our story,” Maerel offered. “Though I will admit, I’ve wanted to kiss that man of yours since the day he walked into my kitchen naked.”
That planted an entirely new image in my mind. Turning in Neirin’s embrace, I scowled at him, and he grinned, revealing that damned dimple.
“I’m yours,” he reassured and brushed my lips with his.
My cheeks flushed. When had I decided I wanted that? To be his. But I did. I swallowed the knot in my throat. It was time to talk to Aureus.
“Walk her home, Neirin. Then we need to talk,”Maerel said.
Neirin’s smile faded. His chest rose and fell heavily once.
“Do you want me to stay?” I asked him.
Neirin nuzzled against my ear, and the affection of the gesture warmed my heart. It was impossible to resist the truth of it. I was falling for him.
“It’s alright,” he said, brushing another kiss to my temple. “Your brother is likely worrying about you. Let’s get you back.”
The brisk scent of fresh rainfall hung in the air as Neirin walked me back to my family’s shop. Dew clung to the grass and dripped from the leaves of trees that bordered the road. I held his hand, our fingers interwoven, and he stroked casually withhis thumb.Kicking stones into puddles, Calix walked a few paces ahead of us.
“Evera.”A gruff voice drew my attention.
Ruairc approached from the market, his brows drawn and his lips a thin line. Neirin’s thumb stilled, but he kept his hold on my hand. It was a statement, and, gods, maybe it shouldn’t have, but it made my stomach flip. Though he tried to hide it and give me control, there was still a possessiveness to Neirin. Despite myself, I ached for it.
“Where have you been?” Ruairc asked, his gaze avoiding Neirin entirely.
“I spent the night with Hadrian,” I told him.
Ruairc’s expression sank, and a coil of satisfaction held me at his dejection. But there was a bitterness to it, too. Because, despite his plotting with my brother, Ruairc was a good man. And at one time, we’d been friends.
“Who is this man, Evera?” His question was sharp and laced with judgment.
Any trace of sympathy I felt for him fell away.“It’s none of your concern, Ruairc. You don’t own me.” I met his scowl with my own.
