Chapter Four
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When going local, follow local customs.
Rui noticed the big, dark male the moment she stepped into the bar.
He was by far the most dangerous animal in the room, despite his casual posture and understated demeanor. She’d stolen many a surreptitious look at the warrior under the cowl of her mantle when she surveyed her surroundings.
And warrior he most certainly was.
His build was similar to Sorin’s. But where the latter male was like a blistering sun, this male was mysterious shadows and star-filled night.
Rui frowned and resolutely kept her eyes on the platters of food before her that the barmaid had plunked onto their table. Instead of what she wanted to do—
Which was to turn her head and stare unblinkingly at the human male sitting only a few feet away.
She hadn’t a poetic bone in her body. And yet the way she thought of the warrior just now was…
Disturbing.
Idiotic.
And completely out of Rui’s usual character.
A first for her, to be sure. And hopefully the last. She only viewed treasure in such covetous terms.
“Mysterious shadows and star-filled night” indeed.
She silently snorted and dug into her food, while Ere prattled on about various topics.
Heavens, but the male loved to hear himself talk. Rui was already honing the habit of tuning him out.
“Do you suppose they have rooms here? We need someplace to stay for the night. I’ll catch my death if we don’t get out of the deluge…” Ere was saying.
Rui did absorb this valid concern. Now that they were human, susceptible to human frailties, it wasn’t a good idea to risk the elements on a frigid night like this.
She hoped there was enough coin in the soldier’s pouch to pay for their lodgings, and perhaps breakfast on the morrow. But the money would soon run out. They wouldn’t make it very far or very fast on foot, as they had been doing the whole day.
At this rate, the arbitrary hourglass would be done sifting before they even caught a glimpse of the treasure they were hunting, never mind retrieved it.
She needed a plan.
But first, as if her eyes had a mind of their own, they practically stretched out of their sockets to turn her head so she could sneak another glance at the warrior male.
Bright, citrine eyes met hers directly.
Shit.
She fought the urge to look away guiltily, the way she felt when Master caught her stealing one of the magic peaches in the Celestial garden when she was still a dragonling.
Boldly, she held the warrior’s gaze, and purposefully let her hungry eyes take in everything she’d been starving to see. Though she kept her expression perfectly stoic, inside her chest, her heart leapt like a pod of dolphins through churning waves.
His hair was shorn close to the skull, the roots so dark it could be mistaken for black. But the flickering light from the nearby fire and torches hinted at streaks of gold and bronze, especially in the jaw-hugging beard.
Tiger’s Eye.
His hair reminded her of those changing colors, depending on the reflection of the light. Though they were rarely considered precious by humans, she rather favored the stones. She loved to gaze upon them in firelight. They made her feel calm and toasty inside.