“And if I dae nae?”
“Then I shall enjoy nae kenning,” he grinned. “Mystery has its charms.”
She shook her head faintly. “Ye are far too confident.”
“Perhaps,” he conceded. “But ye are smiling.”
She immediately forced herself into severity, which in turn, made his grin even more prominent. That unsettled her more than she cared to admit.
“Ye mistake politeness for interest,” she defended herself.
“Dae I?” His gaze briefly dropped to the loose strand of hair that had escaped her hood, brushing her cheek. When his eyes returned to hers, they were intent. “Then forgive me. I would hate tae flatter meself unnecessarily.”
At that exact moment, the sound of the tavern door opening cut through the easy moment like a blade. Elaina’s smile faded at once.
Three men entered together, pausing in the doorway, before marching inside. They did not laugh. They did not linger at the bar. Their eyes swept the room with practiced efficiency, pausing on faces, on corners and on exits.
Her blood turned to ice.
Nae… nae yet.
She knew them by instinct as much as memory: the cut of their cloaks, the way their hands rested near their belts, the faint air of entitlement that came from serving a man who believed the world owed him obedience.
Me faither’s men.
Elaina rose so abruptly that her chair scraped the floor. She ignored it, just like she ignored the curious glances it earned.
“I must go,” she said, already reaching for the coins in her pocket.
The man frowned. “Now?”
“Aye, immediately.” She pressed the coins into his hand before he could refuse. “Thank ye fer the company.”
“Wait—”
But she was already turning away. She moved with purpose, not haste, because haste invited notice. She slipped behind the hanging cloth near the back, and found the rear door exactly where she had marked it earlier.
A woman in hiding must ken every way out.
The door creaked as she pushed it open, and she froze for half a breath, listening. Voices carried faintly from within the tavern, but none followed her. She stepped outside into the cooler air, with her heart hammering as she pulled the door shut behind her.
Drawing her cloak tighter, Elaina rushed ahead. But her traitorous mind could not forget the image of the man she had just met. His eyes divulged everything: his interest, his awareness, and the perilous pull she had indulged without thinking.
Ye fool,she thought to herself.
That attraction for those warm eyes and easy confidence had nearly cost her everything. She could not afford softness. She had to be stricter with herself, because she knew that her life depended on it.
She turned sharply into a darker alley, which was narrow and damp, with its stone walls pressing close on either side. Her boots struck the ground too loudly now, while the echo of her own footsteps was chasing her forward.
Then a voice sounded behind her.
“Did ye truly think ye could get away with this?”
Elaina stopped. Then slowly, she turned.
All three men stood between her and the mouth of the alley, spreading just enough to block her escape. Daggers glinted in their hands, catching what little light the tavern cast behind them. Their faces were hard with satisfaction, as though the hunt had never been in doubt.
Her pulse thundered in her ears.
