And I waited some more.
And he never showed.
It was now 7:00 a.m., and Quill was still nowhere to be seen. He had been consistently on time for the last five weeks. This was the first time he hadn’t shown.
What if he regretted what happened between us? What if he got in trouble? What if he was hurt?
My mind instantly went to the worst-case scenario, and I was brought back to reality by Mother’s hand on my shoulder, her deep green cloak on as she was about to head over to our stand.
“I’m sure everything’s okay. He may be busy today.”
I frowned and looked at my feet. “I’ll just wait in case he shows up,” I said quietly.
Mother nodded, then left.
I finally went to deliver orders just before 9:00 a.m. The entire time I was delivering, my mind kept wandering. I kept glancing around, hoping to see him, but I never did. Once the last order was complete at 9:38 a.m., I decided to walk through the Inner Ring in the hopes of catching him. Like always, I passed well-dressed folk who gave me dirty looks like I was some rat. Normally, it would bother me, but I only cared about seeing Quill.
I should know where he lives.
It was almost 10:00 a.m., and I sighed in defeat, making my way down the steps and back to the Outer Ring. As I made my way home, I glanced back at the darkened area that was Serpent’s Cove, and my stomach dropped.
What if they took him?
I froze.
What if he never made it home? Or what if he did, and they stole him from his home?
Fuck…what if he’d been there this entire time?
What if he was being tortured?
Anger took over as my thoughts continued to spiral, and I found myself charging towards Serpent’s Cove.
If I knew one thing for certain, it was that Quill would do whatever it took to protect me. He’d proven that on multiple occasions. So, if the Serpents had him and were trying to find me too, Quill would remain silent.
They better hope to the Gods he is okay.
Under my cloak, I gripped my dagger, staring at the men smoking outside, backs resting against the brick building of the tavern from before. Despite it being morning, there were many outside, probably all drunk.
I made eye contact with a man I had seen last week; his smug look turned to disdain as I charged towards him.
“Where is he?” I demanded.
He cackled. “Who do you think you’re talking to, little girl?”
I whipped out my dagger and, without thinking, swung it at the man. He cursed as he dodged it.
“You bitch,” he huffed, then wielded the sword on his back.
Panic overwhelmed me as he prowled toward me. My head craned up to meet his sneer, and I feared I was in over my head.
No. Quill needs me.
I smothered the panic down until all that was left was vengeance. The man began swinging his sword, and, using the maneuvers Quill had taught me, I dodged every one of them.
“Tell me where he is, you bastard! What did you do to him?” I shouted.
The man let out a cruel laugh, and I bit back my tears. I spun my dagger when I saw an opening and slashed his leg.
