Page 14 of Feathers and Thorns

“Yeah”—he coughed a few more times—“just great.” Coughing fit over, he sat down next to Enara and put an arm over her shoulders.

“You don’t seem shocked by of this,” Soren said to Jai as she gestured to the bar’s drugged-out customers.

He barked out a laugh. “Well, as a tracker, I end up in some interesting situations. You should see the drinks they make in the Esinian Isles. I drank one once and swore I had an out-of-body experience.”

Soren rolled her eyes. “Must be nice to be so well-traveled.” The sarcasm in her tone was heavy.

Before he could reply, a barmaid in a tight, dirt-stained corset, with breasts pushed up to her chin, stopped at the table. “What’ll yuh have?” she asked, her accent was so harsh that Soren thought she said “waddle.”

“I’ll have water, thanks,” Jai replied.

The woman gave him a sensuous smirk, and he cringed at the crooked, yellow teeth that lay below her chapped lips.

She leaned in so close that her breasts were nearly grazing his shoulder. “There is much more I could offer yuh … later tonight,” she said with a wink.

“I’m fine, thank you,” he replied.

“You know where um at if yuh change your mind,” she said, tracing his sleeve before turning to the rest of the group. “What about the rest of yuh?”

“Three of whatever ale you recommend,” Baz said politely.

Soren and Enara just nodded in agreement.

“It’s all shite, but I’ll bring what we ’ave.” She sauntered off, swishing her rather large hips behind her.

“I think I lost my appetite,” Baz said once she was out of earshot.

Soren snorted, and Jai spat some of his water on the table.

Enara stifled a laugh as she looked him. “It’s a miracle. Baztien Greymark, for once, is not thinking about food.”

They all hid their smiles as the lady returned with their drinks. It wasn’t her fault, really. She was doing what she needed to do to survive, just like the rest of them. They all felt a little guilty about laughing at her expense.

The trio took tentative sips of their ale while Jai looked on.

“She wasn’t lying. This tastes like horse piss.” Soren cringed before snatching up Jai’s stein and downing the rest of the contents.

Baz and Enara made a few pained facial expressions before spitting the brown liquid back in their glasses.

In unspoken agreement, they stood and left, handing the barmaid a nice tip over the counter in thanks. She smiled her crooked smile and waved them off.

They found lodging two streets over in a ramshackle inn that was even less welcoming than the bar. Separate rooms were not an option, so the four of them agreed to split the night fifty-fifty, spending half the evening on the questionably stained mattress and the other half on the broken floorboards with the mice.

Enara spread out the canvas overtop the bedding and placed the three bedrolls they had previously acquired on the floor. She sat on the end of the bed, and Baz went to join her.

“Whoa, lover boy.” Soren held up a hand, stopping him in his tracks. She nodded in Jai’s direction. “You can sleep with Your Highness tonight.”

“And I thought we were becoming the best of friends,” Jai quipped back as he lay on the bedroll, leaning on his elbow, as if posing for a portrait.

Baz looked at Enara longingly before plodding over to Jai.

“I call big spoon,” the tracker joked as Baz settled in beside him, shaking with laughter.

The girls climbed onto the bed, choosing to sleep in their clothes, and pulled Soren’s cape over themselves. It was minutes before Baz’s soft snores filled the room, Jai silently dreaming beside him. Enara couldn’t help but smile as he murmured in his sleep.

“I’m happy for you two,” Soren whispered from beside her.

Enara’s cheeks warmed. “I wish I would have told him sooner,” she admitted.

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