“I’ll let you know how delivery goes. This is as much your order as it is mine,” she says.
She trots out of the kitchen, appearing happy with the prospect of meeting her wool merchant.
The wild dragon inside me is raging. Ready to burn the town down just to rid us of said fellow. But I squeeze my fists, breathe slowly in and out, then leave the bakery as it should be without so much as a spark coming from my mouth.
But as I head into the night, my mind continually flashes images of another male holding Kaya’s hand, kissing her lips, making her laugh, and I am about ready to shift to my wild form and burn the world.
Betilda is sitting on a bench near the town fountain, chatting with a few other female orcs and fairies. I walk in quick strides to join them, hoping to glean some information from our town gossip.
“Have you seen the tourist who went to the ruins?” I ask the group, trying to simply look concerned for the fellow.
“Oh yes,” Betilda says. “He is doing rather well. His ankle is still swollen, but aside from that, he seems good.”
“He’ll probably die tomorrow,” one of the fairies says.
The orc beside her nods.
I guess Delixian is keeping his mouth shut about Kaya and me. That’s good.
Betilda shrugs. “Maybe the curse is finished bothering folks. Magic can run dry in old places like that.”
“That’s true,” I say. “And maybe poor Bentaki just couldn’t withstand the fright of seeing a ghost?”
“I didn’t know there was a ghost,” the fairy says.
Nodding, Betilda pats the fairy’s hand. “There have been sightings. Nothing for certain, of course.”
“Well, you have a lovely night, folks.” I wave and lope off.
Once I’m on the darker side of town, away from most of the homes and evening entertainment spots, I inhale deeply, then take off into the sky. Only the possibility of discovering more about my kind will be able to distract me tonight.
Chapter 12
Kaya
At the Goat and Dragon, I’m at a long table playing the dice and card game, Kings and Plots. Tully eyes her cards, and her minotaur mate, Argos, rolls the scarlet dice. Laini and her gargoyle mate, Rom, laugh over their hands of cards. The wool merchant, Devin Dyer, is here too, and I can’t stop blushing at the idea that he came here to meet me.
Why did I agree to this? I hate these kinds of awkward meetings. They’re unnatural. Relationships should happen naturally over time, not shoved into place. But Devin isn’t hard to look at. He is tall and human like I am, but he does have an odd sheen to his skin. I think the information Laini mentioned about him having some vampire blood is likely correct.
I do my best to smile, ignore the pain in my broken thumb, and join in the conversation as we play.
“So Halvard is going with you to Kingstown?” Laini asks.
He’s not, but they don’t need to know that. I can do it on my own. If word gets out that I’m going alone before I leave, Cyrus will insist on going with me.
“Yes, I think so,” I lie.
Tully finishes her drink. “Good.”
We play another hand and chat about the upcoming May Day festival. The conversation breaks into pieces, each couple chatting on their own.
Devin eyes me as he deals out the next hand. “What do you like to do when you’re not baking?”
I huff a laugh aimed at myself. “I’m hardly ever not baking.”
Cyrus is always telling me I need a holiday. He is probably right, and since I’m finished with this big order, maybe I’ll finally take one. Lady Egrettington’s money will help with that.
“How about you?” I study my cards.
