Page 106 of Until the Stars Fall

Matthias met us outside the tavern door with a smile that seemed altogether too happy considering what we were here to do. But then he wasn’t the one the fae’s family wanted to see strung up and killed. Connor, on the other hand, seemed appropriately somber, though I hoped it was due to his serious nature and not because he had a sense of foreboding. Under other circumstances, I’d likely find the contrast between the two males rather amusing, but not today.

“Well?” Connor shot his friend a pointed glare.

Matthias didn’t seem at all perturbed by the scrutiny and dove into his report. “Just the tavern owner, his wife, and their server are inside. He says the usual morning crowd should arrive within the hour, though he couldn’t say how many of them will actually show up. They all know we’re here. Word spread quickly last night, as we expected.”

Connor roughed a hand over his stubbled chin. “Let’s hope they come then. I’d hate for this stop to be a wasted opportunity.”

“And if there’s trouble?” Matthias asked.

Dipping his chin, Connor answered, “That’s why you’re here.”

Matthias’s grin widened, as if he was hoping for trouble to arrive just so he could have some fun.

Inside, the tavern was similar to the one I’d visited in Engel, though the owner looked nothing like Mr. Marstens. For one, he was much shorter, had far less hair, and wore a bitter frown that only deepened when his eyes landed on me.

Connor ushered me to a chair at a large table in a corner, settling into the seat beside me while Matthias charmed the young female server. Positioned around the room—leaning against columns, sitting at tables, and standing next to the bar—were Matthias’s guards. They waited and watched, their eyes trained on both the entrance and the door to the kitchen.

I leaned toward Connor and whispered, “I’d feel better if I had a weapon of my own.” His muscles tensed, and I clarified, “Not my knives. Just anything I could use to defend myself.”

“You have two generals and six guards here. You’ll be fine.”

“You sound rather confident for someone who looks so nervous.”

“It’s called being alert, not nervous.”

“Whatever you say, Wolfie,” I mumbled, slumping further down in my chair. Connor grabbed my elbow and hauled me back upright. I started to protest—to remind him we had an audience—but he was in my face in an instant.

Before he could say anything, Matthias cleared his throat, and Connor’s gaze skirted over to him. Pursing his lips, Connor closed his eyes and pulled in a slow breath, as if frustrated by the reminder that we were supposedly in love. When he opened them again, his gaze was gentler, calmer.

“Queens don’t slouch or cower,” he said in a patient yet firm tone. “Own the room, Sapphire. It’s yours to rule.” His eyes burned into mine, as though he could convince me any of this was true with a simple look.

He was trying to help, of course, but something in me still bristled at his statement. But with the guards present, I couldn’t sneer at him like I wanted to. Dropping my hand to his shoulder, I brought my lips close to his ear.

Why did he have to smell so damned good?

Focus, Lieke!

Licking my lips, I whispered to him, “It’s not mine. It will never be mine. This thing between us is—”

“New, I know,” he said, shifting so that our noses nearly touched. My muscles tightened. He couldn’t kiss me. Not here. He’d forbidden it. But instead, he slid his lips up to my ear. I tensed as his breath tickled my skin.

“Careful here. They can hear better than you think.”

I nodded stiffly once. Then his hands were on either side of my neck, and he had his forehead pressed to mine. Something about the gesture calmed my breathing and settled my nerves. At the same time, it sent my heart racing away from me, as if it wanted to run to him of its own accord, against my will.

And I couldn’t allow that.

We sat in the tavern for most of the morning without a single patron walking through the door. While this was decidedly beneficial for my safety, it did little good to help us win over anyone when they refused to even see us.

“How long do we wait?” I asked, pacing the small area behind our table and trying to coax the feeling into my backside and legs again.

Connor rubbed a hand behind his neck and pulled his legs down from the table, where he’d been resting them for the better part of the last hour. Before he could answer, though, the door to the tavern swung open and three fae males stepped inside. Their resemblance to Griffin was unmistakable, but even without the similarities, the murderous glares they pinned on me would have given them away as his family. The males stepped aside, revealing a smaller female who looked nothing like them.

Her red hair was cropped short, accenting her delicately pointed ears and bright green eyes—green eyes filled with malice. The long-sleeved black dress she wore covered most of her petite body, from her neck to her feet, and swished softly as she strode purposefully toward us.

More fae filed in behind her, filling up the tavern until I could no longer see the guards Matthias had stationed. As if the sheer number of them wasn’t intimidating enough, none of them sat. They all remained standing, watching us.

No—watchingme.

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