Page 109 of Deadwood
I spun the glass on the counter, the liquid sloshing up the sides. “There’s not much to tell.”
“You truly haven’t jumped his bones?” Siara asked, disbelief in her tone.
“No.” And I didn’t plan to. We didn’t even want to get married to one another, let alone have sex. “We’re just marrying to”—my face scrunched—“restore peace.” I rested an elbow on the bartop, my chin falling into my palm. “But I don’t know if that’sreallythe reason.” The admission slipped past my tongue before I could stop it. Damn Lux’s ale.
Over me, Siara and Flynt shared a look, but I couldn’t decipher what it meant.
Siara let out a dramatically loud sigh, breaking their stare. “Everyone is so damned boring in this town.”
I snorted, ignoring how they didn’t acknowledge what I’d said. Lander and I were a mess these two probably didn’t want to get too involved in. “You’re in a town full of criminals and outlaws, and you think that’s boring?” My eyes widened on my drink for emphasis, my brows raising as I looked at her. “Try living in Amosite.”
Something akin to pity flashed across her face as her features softened, and I shook my head. “Oh, no. Don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?” she asked, her voice even softer now.
“I don’t need your pity,” I said before downing the rest of my ale. My mind was finally starting to feel the effects of the alcohol, and I was glad for it. “Go back to asking about my sex life or something.”
“It’s not pity,” she defended, not even a shimmer of intrigue lighting her gaze with my suggestion.
I slid the glass forward, hoping Lux would fill it soon. I couldn’t tell if the taste was growing on me or my body simply wanted the buzz so bad that it didn’t mind the pungent flavor anymore. “What do you know of my father anyway? Does everyone know what he does?” Like keep me locked in a castle. Or literally any other terrible thing he had done.
“Besides the fact that he’s the reason for a lot of people’s suffering?” Siara questioned.
Flynt instantly shot her a look that screamed,Shut up.
I froze, my eyes stuck on a particularly sticky spot on the counter top. “What?”
Siara glanced at Flynt. “If he’s not going to tell her, then I might as well.”
“That’s not your place, Siara,” Flynt warned.
“What aren’t you two telling me?”
Flynt shook his head subtly. “Siara, don’t.”
She stared at him, an entire argument playing out between the two of them in that look alone.
Unbeknownst to the war raging in front of him, Lux filled our glasses once more before moving back to the other patrons. With the silence stretching between Siara and Flynt, I stood from the barstool and tipped my head back to guzzle the ale down. After slamming the glass on the bar, I tossed three coins on the counter, then looked to them both. “I’m heading home, but next time you two want to hang out, make sure you’re willing to talk about the things you bring up.”
All of my anger truly wasn’t directed at them, but I wanted to enjoy my buzz, not wallow in it, so leaving was the best option.
But that didn’t mean I was going back to the house I was staying in.
No, the options were limitless in Deadwood, and the thought alone excited me all the more.
CHAPTER 34
AURIA
Despite the late afternoon sun reflecting off the rings in the sky, there was a cool breeze battling with the heat. I welcomed it as the wind rustled the leaves high above. The woods called to me. Each time my mind wandered, I wanted to go here. Perhaps it was the deprivation from a lifetime in Amosite with no forest to traipse through, but the various oaks and pines settled me, bathing my body in their endless shade.
Being enclosed in walls most of my life, the open expanse of the desert or meadows made me feel too vulnerable, exposed. Whereas the trees, huddled mere feet apart, gave me a wide, yet comfortable space, compared to the stone I knew so well.
I reveled in the last few days of freedom I had with no guard trailing me everywhere I went. Though helpful in some instances, they made being wholly myself difficult at times. Their injuries were bittersweet, along with the conversation I’d walked out on in the saloon.
Siara had insinuated that my father was the reason for people’s suffering, and while I wasn’t blind to his treatment of the citizens in Silicate now that I’d witnessed it firsthand—though my experience was brief—I got the feeling she was hinting at a much bigger picture, and yet again, information was withheld from me.
Was it me?
