Snowmelt lay nestled amidst lush pine trees and rocky, sloping hills. A wooden palisade ringed the perimeter and a large open gate led in from the road. Brightly painted wooden cottages lined narrow cobblestone streets.

  We wandered through, past scattered shops and smiling faces. The townsfolk were friendly and made pleasant conversation, asking about how the roads had been.

  My answers were honest. Most people laughed off my warnings and assured me that Snowmelt had been perfectly safe for decades. Nothing otherworldly had been seen since the time of the Nightmare.

  The sun hung low in the sky when we reached a squat wooden stable. Standing outside was an older man with weathered skin, soot-colored hair, and a scraggly beard.

  I gave him a friendly smile.

  “Hello! We’re-”

  “I ain’t got nothing.” Wary blue eyes met mine.

  I parceled through that statement. “You… I’m sorry, you don’t have any horses?”

  “Aye, an’ I’m sorry about it, too.” He spat something brown onto the uneven cobblestones. “Last nag met a snake, end of the Growing Season. Didn’t go well for her.”

  “Oh. I’m very sorry. Um…” I turned to my companions, not sure how to proceed.

  Renner examined the dark, damp stalls. “Huh. Innkeeper out east said you had horses for rent.”

  “Used to have ‘em. Lent ‘em out.” He sniffed. “Or the snake got ‘em.”

  “The snake got more than one?” Renner’s eyes narrowed.

  The man regarded us. His expression was markedly unfriendly. Finally he answered, “Different snake.” The stablemaster coughed. He raised a hand, wiping spittle from his chin.

  I tried not to stare; two of his fingers ended in knobbed, fleshy stumps at the knuckle.

  Teela chimed in next. She was wearing her broad hat, brim pulled low, with her tail bundled beneath my spare cloak. “Is there anyone else in town who has horses they’d be willing to rent? We can pay.”

  “No.” Watery, unhappy eyes looked her up and down.

  I gnawed my lower lip, nonplussed. “Well… alright then. Er, thank you anyways, sir.” I turned to my companions. “What now?”

  Teela hummed thoughtfully, gesturing to a two-story building down the street. The words Snowswept Inn were painted above the door in bright, curling script.

  “Might as well, right?” she asked, shrugging.

  The stablemaster spat again, scowling at Renner.

  Renner scowled back.

  I sighed, gingerly tugging his cloak. “Might as well.”

  “Something’s not right about this,” he muttered as we turned away.

  “Well, some snakebites can be deadly to-”

  “Not that, ladyship.” He cast a dark glance over one shoulder.

  I followed suit. The man was watching us.

  Renner rubbed his jaw. “That old bird said she’s getting regular supplies from here. She should’ve known they didn’t have horses.”

  I mulled that over. “Maybe she thought… I don’t know, maybe she doesn’t talk about livestock with her delivery people.”

  Teela shrugged. “Or she just forgot.”

  I bobbed my head agreeably, trotting up the Snowswept Inn’s uneven stone steps. “Exactly. We shouldn’t assume the worst of people.”

  That came out a bit more tartly than I intended, but Renner seemed too preoccupied with brooding to take offense.

  I opened the door for my companions. Cheerful music and golden firelight spilled out into the chilly evening air.

  We entered into a delightful din. A ruddy-faced older man strummed a wooden lute beside a merrily dancing fireplace. Several townsfolk danced and whooped nearby, their centerpiece a blonde woman pirouetting on a wooden tabletop. Her faded skirts twirled and her laughing face shone with sweat. The luteplayer beamed at her.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  I drank the scene in, smiling shyly. Feels almost like home.

  Teela spun through the mix of people, fixed the laughing bartender- an enormous man with red cheeks and sparse ginger hair- with a bright smile, and engaged him in conversation.

  I found an empty table and watched the dancers, tapping my feet to their rhythm. Some of the tension eased from my shoulders. Renner settled beside me.

  “See?” I chirped. “It all worked out. Even without the horses, this makes the walk up worth it.”

  He snorted, but his expression was already less dour than usual. “Whatever you say.”

  I grinned. “Do you dance?”

  The amusement vanished, replaced by a flash of surprise. “What?”

  “I’m not asking you to!” I gestured towards the twirling townsfolk. “I just meant… er, you’ve had a rough few days. If you’d like to…I mean, I know you’re keeping an eye on me and all, but if you’d like to go and enjoy yourself...”

  “‘Enjoy myself’, huh?” One eyebrow arched, the corners of his mouth curving upwards.

  “I’ll stay out of trouble. Promise.”

  Amused copper eyes cut towards me. “I’ll believe that when I see it.”

  I huffed. “I’ll have you know that I’ve lived an entirely peaceful life for twenty-two years. Boring, you could even say.”

  Teela came bounding up, carrying two pewter mugs. She placed one before me. The liquid inside was the color of cloves and smelled warmly of ginger, apples, and honey.

  “Ciderwine,” she announced as I breathed in the enticing aroma. She took a deep breath above her own mug and gave a lazy grin, looking distinctly catlike. “That’s what he called it. Asked him for the best drink in Snowmelt.”

  I took a sip. It was piping hot, pleasantly sweet, and left a spicy aftertaste on my tongue. Whatever wine was present didn’t taste very strong. I immediately took another, larger, gulp. “It’s delicious.”

  Teela took her own sip. “Mm. Wow. I ordered us dinner, too.”

  Renner cocked an eyebrow. “‘Us’?”

  “Me and Brin. Obviously.” She stuck her tongue out at him.

  I bit down a grin.

  He rolled his eyes and headed towards the bar. On the far end of the tavern the luteplayer finished his song, to a chorus of clapping, then began another lively tune.

  Warmth blossomed in my chest at the sight. “This reminds me of Fellbrook.”

  “Yeah?” Teela took another drink, licking her lips. “Pretty happy place, huh?”

  “Very much so.”

  “Sounds nice. Y’know, Respite’s pretty spectacular and you can always find something to do, but I kinda see the appeal of these small towns. Well,” she wrinkled her nose and leaned in, tapping the brim of her hat, “Assuming people are okay with you-know-what.”

  Renner returned with a large mug. Earthy-smelling foam licked the rim.

  “I certainly can’t speak for this place, but I promise you’d be welcome in Fellbrook,” I said solemnly.

  Teela’s red eyes glinted at me from across the table.

  “Doubt it,” Renner muttered, sitting. “Your home’s bound to start getting as cynical as the rest of the world, now that their isolation isn’t keeping them all safe.”

  Teela looked down, lips thinning.

  I frowned at him. “Well… this place isn’t isolated, you know. And so far everyone here- at least, almost everyone- has been lovely.”

  “And yet,” he raised his mug towards the Fae-touched young woman, “She keeps her hat on.”

  “Begging your pardon, ma’am.” A rosy-cheeked young woman in an apron faux-curtsied, smiling down at us. Her face was wide and expressive, with full lips and eyes the color of chocolate. “Sir.” She repeated the gesture towards Renner. “Master Lewen said these are for you.” She held out two small iron keys, one with a blue smudge of paint and one with a red. Her eyes cut towards Teela. “You already got yours, Miss?”

  The Fae-touched woman bobbed her head as I accepted the blue key.

  The young lady smiled. “Rooms are up the stairs. Can I get you anything else? Anything… ah, catch your eye, sir?” She turned her attention towards Renner, leaning in a bit and grazing the dark sleeve of his jerkin with her knuckles. Thick, dark curls spilled down, close enough to brush his own hair.

  My jaw dropped at the woman’s brazenness. Wow. Just like that. I guess it shouldn’t be… terribly surprising. We’re new to town and Renner… I suppose he could be considered handsome. When he’s not glaring and being snide. Which is most of the time. But she doesn’t know that.

  The man in question gave a rusty chuckle, tilting his face up and looking quite like a cat that had found a dish of cream. One gloved finger twisted around a lock of dark hair. “You gonna be here til nightfall, sweet thing?”

  Heat flooded my chest and neck at the very vivid memory of our first encounter. Sweet thing. Ugh. How can that possibly work on anyone?

  She giggled. “I can be.”

  Teela snickered into her cup.

  The young woman winked and sashayed back towards the bar.

  “Wow. That easy, huh?” Teela shook her head. “It’s ‘cause she doesn’t know you. Five minutes of conversation and she’ll be out the door.”

  “I don’t think we’re gonna do much talking.” He smirked.

  I shook my head in amused disbelief. “So… is this what life is normally like for you? When you’re not taking innocent young women hostage, I mean. Leaving broken hearts up and down the realm?”

  Renner chuckled again. “With these rugged good looks, how could I do anything else?”

  Teela leaned across the table and cupped a hand beside her mouth. “‘Rugged,’ he thinks,” she whispered, though loudly enough for him to hear. “More like ‘unwashed.’”

  “Uncivilized,” I whispered back, cutting my gaze towards Renner and biting down on a smile.

  She giggled. “Unkempt.”

  “Uncouth.”

  “Unamused.” He took a long drink. The gray mug didn’t quite cover his grin.

  Wow. This is… nice. It’s almost like I’m back home, sitting in Nightmare’s End with Royce at the end of the day, jibing and not worrying about anything and… ashes, I miss this. I… I wonder if I’ll have it again.

  ‘We’ll continue this tomorrow night.’

  His voice rippled through the back of my mind. My heart clenched. My smile wilted. I wrapped both hands around my warm mug, gazing down into the fragrant liquid.

  There was a monster waiting for me upstairs. One that I couldn’t harm or dissuade or escape. My eyebrows knotted together, knuckles growing white.

  “Something on your mind?” Renner’s voice was mild. He was side-eyeing me with that flat, unreadable expression again. Casual, barely interested, and yet… as if he was daring me to answer.

  I cleared my throat and tried, unsuccessfully, to meet his gaze. “Um, y-yes, actually. I… I…” My throat closed. Yet another salted tear slipped down one cheek. I swiped it away. “I’ve been having some pretty t-terrible dreams, and I… would one of you mind waking me up in the morning? As soon as you get up. Even if it’s before sunrise.”

  “Bad dreams, huh?” His voice was a low, dubious drawl.

  “Well, who wouldn’t?” I rasped. “After the last few nights, the things out in that awful fog and in my… my home.” I lifted my chin and met his eyes firmly, hands clenched. “Who wouldn’t?”

  “I’m an early riser,” Teela interjected, leaning forwards. She smiled warmly at me, nudging one bony elbow into Renner’s side. “I’ll come knocking as soon as I’m up. Promise.”

  I looked down, wiping away another traitorous tear. “Thank you.”