“Is that what you’ve been doing? Where does all this wine and ale come from? It’s like a never-ending supply?” Andi asks as she finishes her plate.
I’ve never thought about it before, never thought to ask. “I was told they have a trade agreement with a village across the lake, every month, a boat comes through dropping off supplies. Or they steal it. Come on, let’s go before Arel drinks it all.”
She gloomily smiles, taking my hand, heading out to the fire, already surrounded by my friends. Arel gestures to a seat for Andi, ‘the throne,’ he calls it. Andi grimaces anytime someone makes mention of her newfound title, but it’s something she will have to get used to.
The sky has darkened, and we all huddle around the fire with blankets over our legs or bodies. The night is filled with stories and laughter, with Arel taking the lead.
“Then he started rolling, tossing these imaginary spiders off him like this.” Arel rolls on the ground, flailing his arms andlegs, pretending to cry. Andi wipes tears away from her eyes, clutching her stomach.
“I didn’t cry.” I scoff—what an imagination. It’s good to see Andi laugh, even if it’s at my expense. I can take the mockery from these guys as long as she keeps smiling.
Izaac has finally allowed Aron to leave the hut, since he’s feeling better, although he hides his wince every time he moves, in case he is escorted away again.
Andi snorts, saying, “You have always been such a wimp with spiders, remember that time I chased you through town with that enormous spider in my hand? You cried so much, Mum grounded me for a week. The funny part was that there was no spider.” Iza spits out her drink beside me, and even Ronan laughs out loud.
I scoff and reply, “Oh, we’re gonna go there, are we? Remember that monster you were terrified of? You swore you could hear it scraping outside your window? That was me.” Andi sneers at me, and I copy her.
Kaleb intervenes, “Alright, children, I think we need to get to know our Andi better.” He passes her the wine. “Tell us about your magic. That must have been so damn cool, waking up one day and having fire shoot out of your arm.”
Andi laughs a little. “It wasn’t quite like that. And fire isn’t the only thing I have, I can… I don’t know what it’s called, life, I guess. I’ll show you.” Andi stands, moving away from the fire. Digging her fingers into the soil, the dirt moves, and out of the ground grows a pine tree. Sitting back in her ‘throne,’ she twists her hand, and a bush grows from nothing, bursting with fresh berries. Kaleb gets up, grabbing a few berries and tossing them in his mouth.
“Oh man, so sweet.”
Andi sits back and brings the cup up to her face. I can tell she’s enjoying the praise for her magic instead of being feared like she thought she would be.
“Okay, that’s cool, but the fire magic, though. Ooof. Did you guys see the firewall she made with a little wave of the hand?” Kaleb swigs from the bottle. “No. The best was that other thing. What was it? Your eyes went black, and their bodies dissolved. Does that always happen with it?”
Over the silence of the curious folk, I could hear a catch in Andi’s breath. Everyone leans forward, waiting for an answer, except Ronan.
“Um… No, that’s something else. Something…worse.”
Chapter Forty-One
Andi
Smothered by the silence, folk mumble to each other, and I slink into my chair, refusing to meet anyone’s stare. Luckily, Kaleb moves on before it swallows me whole.
“Who wants to take me on. Come on, you bunch of ninnies,” Kaleb says, stumbling to his feet, swaying with the amount of wine he has drunk. He almost tumbles into the fire. Arel and Wyatt catch him by his elbows and haul him a safe distance away, steadying him. Wyatt looks at me, gesturing with his head to leave.
“I think I’ll stay a bit longer.” He looks at me and then at Kaleb, debating what to do. “Go help him, I’m fine.” Out of the corner of my eye, Ronan waves coyly to him. Wyatt's jaw sets, but he helps Kaleb back to his hut.
One by one, they all retreat to their homes, until it’s only Ronan and I left. From behind his back, he pulls out a black leather flask with a silver wolf on the front. Ronan reaches forward, taking my cup out of my hand and discarding the remaining wine, before refilling it with a golden liquid. He holds out my cup to me, and tentatively, I accept it, taking in its smoky aroma with a hint of cinnamon.
“You think I’m gonna poison you?” He takes a sip of his to prove it's safe. “Not my style. It’s whisky.”
I lift my cup to my mouth, taking a large sip. It burns my throat a little, but I try not to let on, Ronan laughs under his breath. I’ve never had Whisky before, it’s strangely delicious. Itake another sip, groaning as it burns my throat and warms my belly.
“Your fiancé must have been useless if a good drink makes you moan.”
I open my mouth to say something but snap it shut. Everyone here seems to fear Ronan, and yet here he is laughing and joking with me. He is by far the most mercurial man I have ever met.
Over my shoulder, Myles and Lura stroll in the moonlight, arms entangled in a sickening display. Lovingly enamoured, unable to go more than two seconds without caressing each other. How did I miss that? My stomach twists in knots.
I hand my cup back to Ronan for more whisky, “Not mine anymore, didn’t you hear?” I say, looking into the fire, pulling my sleeves up over my hands, and resting my head on them. The flames flicker and dance in a red and orange waltz, twirling and swaying, melding into each other. The crackling soothes me.
Ronan refills my cup, right up to the brim, and hands it back to me.“I must have made quite the impression.” He leans back, resting his arms behind his head.
I laugh under my breath. He reminds me of Wyatt. He’s funny and charming, too handsome for his own good. But his eyes have a dangerous look in them, always waiting for the fight or the kill.
