CHAPTER FOUR
BETH
I tore my fingers out of Bleddyn’s grip. Really? The there’s-only-one-bed routine? How stupid did this guy think I was?
When the bar wench had walked away, I hissed, “Did you plan this? There’s no way in hell I’m sharing a bed with you.”
Bleddyn glared at me as if I’d lost my senses. “I did not plan to meet you today. I did not plan to bring you here. And I did not plan to spend the night in a second-rate establishment in Emlyn, paying for it out of my own pocket.”
I dropped my head and groaned. Yes, he was right. He couldn’t have known I’d change my mind and stay behind when all my friends returned to the human world.
“I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I’m being ungrateful and whiny.”
Just then, the woman placed two bowls full of steaming stew in front of us. There was some kind of flatbread perching on the side of the earthenware dish. It wasn’t sophisticated fare, but the herbs and spices smelled so good that my mouth watered.
Bleddyn picked up his spoon, but I didn’t wait for him before taking my first bite. The moment the food hit my tongue, I groaned with abandon. “Oh. My. God. This is the best meal ever.”
My companion rose his eyebrow—a gesture I was becoming familiar with. “You are likely used to much better fare. I apologize for only being able to provide this meager offering.”
My spoon stopped halfway to my mouth as I stared at him. “I’m sorry, what? Meager offering? Dude, this is delicious. Sure, it’s simple, but it tastes great.”
Bleddyn still didn’t look like he believed me. “Since you are new to this wor—”
He checked himself, glancing to the side, before continuing. “Let me explain. This inn is run by honest people, but it is not of the highest quality. If you tried proper Fae food from before the separation, you would not deign to eat what is in front of you.”
“The separashon?” I asked around the next spoonful. Then I swallowed and grimaced. “I mean, what’s the separation?”
Again, Bleddyn made sure nobody could overhear us before bringing his head closer. “I will tell you another time. Eat up. We are drawing attention.”
I sat up straighter, glancing over his shoulder. There were several enormous Fae in leather uniforms with silver decorations. They occupied a table close to us, and the way they kept looking over made me think Bleddyn had a point.
Mopping up the rest of the stew with a piece of bread, I finished the meal as quickly as I could. I’d barely placed the spoon down when Bleddyn took my hand again. “We must avoid any confrontation. If they believe you are here with me as my cariad, they will keep their distance.”
“Your what?”
The tip of Bleddyn’s ears turned red. “Cariad is the word for mistress.”
I sat still for a moment, my distrust and anger fizzing inside of me like a shaken coke bottle. It erupted in a hissed accusation. “I knew it. This is all just a ruse to get into my pants, isn’t it? Well, you know what? Thanks for dinner, but I’ll be okay by myself. Have a nice life.”
I pushed past him before he could react and stormed out of the tavern. Outside, I stopped and listened. Nobody was following me. There were no shouts of “Stop her!”
Anger was still bubbling through my veins, mixing with a strange sense of being betrayed by a man I barely knew. But even as I stood, ready to walk away, a small voice in the back of my head warned me of the dangers that lurked outside.
I was in a foreign world, one that I hardly knew. Wouldn’t I be safer with Bleddyn, even if I had to buy his protection with my body? He wasn’t exactly bad to look at.
Night had fallen, but the air was warm. An owl hooted in the distance, and somebody laughed in a house nearby. I was in a city, for God’s sake. It couldn’t be that hard to find my way around. After growing up in in a big human city, a small Fae town held little danger.
Taking a deep breath, I dismissed familiar feelings—regret and doubts whether I’d done the right thing, staying behind when all my friends returned to the safety of the human world.
But underneath it all was an emptiness, a feeling I avoided as much as possible. The yearning for my dad made my chest ache. Unconsciously, I rubbed my hand over where my heart was.
When I noticed what I was doing, I clenched my fist and marched along the street before Bleddyn might get ideas about catching up with me. I was here on a mission, not to play footsie with one of the Fae.
The light from the lamp posts grew dimmer as I moved through the shadows. The noise of the tavern faded, and I was left with the rustling of vermin and the odd cat slinking away as I approached.
At one stage, I could have sworn there were steps behind me, and I turned sharply into an alley, hoping for cover as I walked away from the larger road. It might not be the smartest idea in an unfamiliar town, but there were plenty of doorways and cellar doors at street level to hide in.
Exhaustion clouded my brain like an ever-increasing fog, and I stumbled toward a horizontal entry in the ground. Maybe I could catch some much-needed sleep and be gone before the owners noticed. Pulling on the door, I lifted it with some effort. Then I turned to climb down the ladder.
My foot was already on the first rung when I realized there was a Fae giant in front of me. My face was in line with his crotch, and a strangled noise, half squeak, half hiccup, escaped me. I’d never heard the guy creep up on me. And he wasn’t alone.