I shook my head to clear the rising tears, pulling my hand from hers.
“But that’s why I’m here. To forget that any of…thathappened. Not to talk or think about it,” I said, giving her a quick nod. “So please, can I have another?” I asked, lifting the empty mug.
With pity written into every feature of her face, she obliged, leaving the pitcher with me as she reluctantly tended to the rest of the bar.
Chapter Three
Rogue
Ihated being on this side of the border.
Not only did I have to hide my wings behind glamour, but I was also among humans.
Auryna had been ravaging my kingdom for years, as long as I could remember. Three years ago, they had managed to kill my father, the king of Ravaryn, and effectively ended the Ten Year War. Since then, they had continued raiding and pillaging our border towns, destroying homes and livelihoods as they encroached on our land, but we didn’t have the numbers to fight back. After ten years at war, my people were too tired, depleted, and disheartened. We had lost too many.
That is why I was here—to find secrets, weaknesses, anything to hold over Adon’s head.
It was at his command, or rather his general’s, that my father was murdered. One of my own kind, a Fae, infiltrated my father’s court as a mere servant, giving them easy access to his bed chambers, where he was assassinated in his sleep.
Of course, there would have been no other way to kill a dragon.
My father was a Draig, a dragon shifter, the last of his kind, and he had been ferocious. Cruel and unforgiving. Merciless. Attempting to murder him while he was awake would have been a fool’s mission, a suicide, and while I wasn’t entirely devastated by his death, the fact that he was murdered so easily in our own home enraged me.
Sighing, I stood from my perch in the shadows.
This had been a complete waste. I’d been here for three days, sulking in the outer corners of the castle courtyard, hoping to overhear any useful bits of conversation. I’d learned nothing so far. Adon was extremely private, hidden deep within his castle, guarded at all times. I hadn’t come across a single person who had actually met or even spoken with him, much less knew him and his secrets.
Clenching my jaw, I stalked out of the courtyard, shouldering a man when he got in the way. Frustration boiled in my gut.
I hated the humans. They were greedy. Selfish.Mindless.They just wanted to marry, rut, have a few children, and grow old without ever seeing the world. And they didn’t even have the ability to find their true mate, so they spent their entire lives with the wrong person. It was disgusting.
The sun was setting when I stepped onto the worn dirt path, and I decided to make a last-ditch effort at the local pub where guards, servants, and maids tended to frequent.
No one knew more secrets than a castle worker and no one talked more than a person drunk on mead.
Walking up to the door, I pulled the handle. As soon as I stepped inside, I felt the stares.
They must not get many newcomers here.
Scanning the room, it was quaint with dirty off-white walls and a long, wooden bar along the right side with several mismatched bar stools. On the left side was an arrangement of tables filled with patrons, half of them already drunk. In the back corner, a game of cards was being played.
I stifled a smile. There was my in.
The men scowled at me with distrust as I strolled to their table.
Definitely no newcomers.
“Hey, no harm here,” I said, holding my hands in front of me. “I was just coming to ask if I could join your game.” I pulled out a sack, giving it a shake so they could hear the jingle of coins inside. “Next round on me?”
Glancing at each other, they shrugged, scooting the chairs around to accommodate another, unknowingly accepting a snake into their coop.
A few hours passed as I feigned ignorance in the game, allowing them to win several hands, and bought another round of mead with each loss, gaining their trust and loosening their lips.
As it turned out, they were a group of guards from General Starrin’s estate, and with this much alcohol in their systems, they were more than happy to complain about their job—the long working hours, the lack of sleep, even mentioning the shift change schedule.
“And now, not only do we have to keep intruders out, we have to worry about keeping his unruly daughter in,” grumbled one of the guards.
I silently sat forward at his words.The general has a daughter?