Not All Heroes Are Guiltless

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

“YES!” I screech out joyfully as I hop on a genuine bed. A real bed with goose feathers in the pillows and soft woven sheets. After nine months of traveling in caravans and camping with just a cloak as a bedroll. This is the first time ever he has decided we are going to stay in a well-furnished tavern and lodge.

When he ordered the room, he even asked for a couple’s suite with two heated baths. I am excited for an evening of relaxing, luxury, and most of all, a good vigorous scrub. I quickly stand up and then plop on the soft bed a second time. Staring at the wooden ceiling, I let the noises of human movement welcome me back to the warm memories of festivals in the palace. There are so many people going in and out of the tavern, creating a beautiful kaleidoscope of sounds to my increased ability to hear.

I focused on the tavern below, where my mate told me to go to the room, but he didn’t follow. I can’t tell if he’s still down there or if he left the tavern completely. He has an uncanny way of making it hard to track him even when I can see him. Instead, I listen to the wrench who likes to giggle at anyone’s attempt to flirt with her. The cheery burst of song from the tavern keeper who is back to mixing and cooking his oatmeal gruel. There are numerous conversations from all the people. Someone trying to sell a goat and another person asking about properties nearby.

I could even hear someone whisper, “When I got this message, I wasn’t even positive if it wasn’t a joke, but now you are here. Gentry has work for you.”

“Tell him you saw me, and I’m not interested.” The voice is instantly recognizable. It’s my mate.

“If I send him that message, I will be hung. He wants you to return. Says only you can help him with a task.” The man whispers sharply.

“Gentry? He can kill his targets. So much for an advisor to allow the weak king into that one-sided compact.” My mate slithers with fury, and I shiver from the cold feeling. I decided I’m not going to sit up here when he’s down there having a secret meeting with a Bellar spy. He mentioned the weak king in hushed tones. We aren’t on Bellarn soil.

I stand up and straighten out my clothes and hurry down the stairs. To my disappointment, when I reached the tavern hall, I found him, my mate, by himself with a mug in front of him. I walk over to my mate and sit down in the chair next to him. “Any luck finding work?”

“Nadar, just an old employer asking for me to return.” He says while watching me suspiciously, “He burned any bridge for my return, and even if his second-in-command asks nicely. I’m still not going back.”

“Burn, nice pun.” I smile as I grab his ale mug and drink on it. Burn because his decoy was burned at the stake.

“Am I interrupting you two?” A new deep voice erupts, and I almost choke on the ale in alarm. I didn’t hear anyone approach us until he was already there. The speaker is a sun touched dark brown and tan colossal of muscle and bone. He is probably twice the height of me, and he has a very broad chest. His tunic is cut close to his body, so it screams danger. He has a tattoo over his left eye and down his neck that almost shines like it is embedded metal. It is a symbol of some kind of things that I have never seen anything similar in my life.

“Nah, she was just stealing my ale.” My mate says with a laugh.

The tall man sits down on the seat in front of us, and that’s when I feel something so bizarre. A blast of magic washes around me, and I can see almost like a see-through glass jar encompassing our table. Everyone on the outside seems to be frozen in the midst of their conversations. The urge to vomit when I notice small movements is overwhelming.

My mate loops his arm around my waist and pulls me onto his lap. The anxious feeling is lost instantly. My mate turns to the visitor and lightheartedly jokes, “You are running away again.”

The dark man crosses his arms and then growls lowly, and I instinctively shudder. My mate hand strokes my arm, and I feel less repulsed if I just focus on his touch. “I’m not running away. Things are changing, and I need to be there in the probability that it all goes to oblivion.”

My mate growls lowly, “The one who can’t even make up from his own mistakes.”

“I am!” He roars loudy, and I can feel the table rattle from the intensity. My mouth drops in awe when I recognize he’s more than just a powerful bloodline of ancients. He’s a lion shifter. “I’m not leaving my debt to you unpaid.”

The lion eyes dart between me and my mate. It's almost like he wants to say more, but my presence makes him cautious. My mate though doesn’t even feel the same fazed, “Don’t worry about my nadar. She knows how to keep a secret.”

“Nadar?” The lion looks between us again. Then, in a hushed tone under his breath, he groaned “Your gods actually cared enough to give you Nadar?”

My mate doesn’t budge or take the insult. The lion rolls his eyes and with almost a defeated tone, “I’m not leaving it unprotected. If things change the way they seem, then I will be able to do more in the future. When I heard you were close, I actually hoped you would return for a few months.”

My mate just stares down at the lion, and I’m almost nervous if they end up fighting, I would be in the middle in some kind of time bubble. He pulls on me closer, and I nestle into him as if he needs the added touch to calm himself.

“So be it. If you keep this shield up any longer Carton’s men will be here, and changes won’t be for the better. I have other priorities currently.” My mate expresses, and the lion nods his head.

“It’s been good to meet you, Ms. Shadow.” The lion smirks at me and gets up to leave as the magic bubble dissolves, and everything around us swishes back into normal rhythms.

I twist in my mate’s arms and lay my head on his shoulder. I press my lips together contemplating, but he grabs his ale cup and sips on it while whispering, “It’s a story you are not privy to know.”

I smile and kiss his cheek. “Such an experience, though. Does that spell make you queasy, too?”

He nestles his head into the nook of my neck, leaving small pecks on the sensitive skin. I know the other people in the tavern will suspect we are lovebirds and not that he has had two questionable people come to visit him. I don’t mind being an alibi. “I’m not sure how much longer you will have those side effects.”

“Such an intriguing fellow to have him indebted to you. Occupation accomplice?” I say kissing his ear.

“Something like that.” He says while his hands graze over my hips. “Forgive me. But I do have a few errands to run. Go enjoy yourself in a warm bath and sleep in one of the finest bed’s a traveler could find. I’ll join you when I return.”

I pulled away from him to show him I’m not happy with the arrangement. The lack of emotion on his face, and I know he isn’t going to change his mind. “Alright, but as a warning. I’m not waiting up for you.”

“That’s fine.” His fingers still graze my side until I stand up and walk away from him. I can feel his eyes still on me as I walk back up the stairs towards our room. Of course, he would try to distract me while he obviously has his own business to attend.