I felt odd, like a fish out of water. The moment I closed the door behind me, I could feel the buildup of nerves crawling under my skin. And the nearer I got, the louder the music grew. My heart thrummed with its beat. Clattering and mumbling, too, came closer with every step.
I took in the crowd, slowing my descent, my left hand gliding down the metal handrail. To my right stood a vibrant sandstone stage, and revelling on top of it were four men, each playing a different musical instrument. From the way they moved theirbodies, their mouths, and fingers, I could tell they were playing their hearts out.
The inn was packed now, mostly with men. The few women I glimpsed seemed to either work there or needed something from the men whose laps they were sitting on. The chaos intensified—people shouted, laughed, spilled drinks, and danced around. Perhaps it was a bit too much for someone who had never been to an inn before, or anywhere else for that matter. So I turned on my heel and made to climb the stairs, but someone touched my elbow. I looked back.
“Join us,” Aegir said.
I took in the crowd once more. “I—”
“You must. You have to eat and drink something. We’re in that corner over there; it’s not as crowded.”
I finally nodded. Aegir pushed people out of our way, often glancing behind him as if he was expecting me to disappear any minute now.
Eat and drink something indeed.
The white Fae from Silch occupied a high table at the very corner of the tavern, and in the middle of it was a food feast. A tray was piled with meat and vegetable kebabs, another brimmed with fried potatoes and cheesy bread. To the side were bowls filled with a variety of dips. And, of course, haphazardly surrounding the food mountain were pints and pints of ale.
“Eyy, there she is!” Joel yelled, lifting the hand he held his pint with and holding a meat kebab in the other.
“Here, lady, eat something,” Darius said, handing me a vegetable kebab.
“Oh, thank you.”
I nibbled on my food, noticing the people around me, their revelry echoing like a memory I couldn’t quite reach. I spotted Georgious in the crowd, dancing with a carefree Sijari woman. A Sijari female, I realised, when she lifted her long brown hairwhile moving her body, revealing tapered ears. In contrast, Alarik, I noticed, was standing solo at the very corner of the tavern, sipping on his ale and smoking what smelled like hesh. Aegir was listening to Torvin’s whispers, nodding his head, clearly with no real interest whatsoever.
“Have a drink with us,” Darius exclaimed, handing me a pint of ale, then clinking his own cup with mine. “Cheers, lady.”
“Cheers!…Oh, and you can call me Delia, by the way.” I took a sip from my ale and grimaced at its bitter taste.
Darius laughed. “Don’t tell me you’ve never tasted ale before, girl—I mean, Delia.”
“I have not,” I admitted. I found its aftertaste to be quite pleasing, though, so I dared another sip, then suppressed a shiver.
Joel chuckled and bellowed, “Then get her another pint!”
I hoped he was joking. He must have been. But the waitress who seemed to often pass by our table placed another pint in front of me and gathered the empty tankards.
Great.
I reached for a couple of fried potatoes.
Theodor grabbed Torvin around his shoulders and moved him towards the crowd, relieving Aegir. I restrained my gaze and forced it to remain fixed on my pint, even though I knew he drew near. From the corner of my eye, I glimpsed the waitress placing a hand on Aegir’s chest and her mouth close to his ear. That’s when I lifted my head. If I’d read her lips correctly, she told him, “Just let me know if you need anything else and I’ll be at your service.” The small voice in the back of my head whispered in a tone raspier than Torvin’s,Butyouare his servant.
I took one generous sip. Then dared another.
Aegir propped himself on one of the stools and leaned over the table, gulping down his ale like it was sugar water. Then he helped himself to some bread and meat.
Darius cracked us up with a joke about a man who walked into a bar and somehow ended up dying. He received a howled laugh and a slap on the back from Joel, and a chuckle from Aegir and me.
I had to admit that my knot of nerves was slowly loosening, and the music—it felt as if it called to me and I was unknowingly answering. For some reason, I couldn’t help but tap my feet and bob my head with the beat of the drums.
I was surprised to see that I had almost finished my first pint. But before I could take the last swig, Joel locked his elbow with mine and, with a wide grin, said, “Now we dance, lady.”
“I don’t know how to—”Dance, I wanted to say, but he didn’t let me finish. He hauled me up like the wind does a kite and without a warning, snatched me away. Joel spun me around, taking a quick hold of my other hand before pulling me towards him. The ring of my own laughter caught me by surprise. And as the tavern whirled around us, I may have glimpsed Aegir trailing the soft ripples of my giggles, as if he, too, was surprised by the strange sound. Darius appeared to my left and hooked his arm with mine, stealing me from Joel’s grip. The music swelled, alive and unrelenting. It dizzied me—the good kind of dizzy.
I had never danced before, and the people I had seen dancing at the castle of Ramel moved differently, systematically. What we were doing here was nothing of the sort—it was chaotic, like everything else around us…well, except for Alarik, who remained unfazed, back glued to the wall.
Torvin appeared out of nowhere and bellowed, “My turn,” before placing one arm on my back and snatching my hand with the other. I swore he didn’t know how to dance just as much as I didn’t.
