Page 21 of Voices in the Stars
It was cold. So much for him waking me when food got here. It had to have been sitting for hours. By the time I finished it, a thin film clung to the roof of my mouth. Glancing around, I tried to find some water. There was nothing. Not even a separate bathroom that I was starting to desperately need.
I let out a huff before plopping back on the bed, covering my eyes with my arm. This was my life now. Somewhere there was a man waiting to drag me away. I wasn’t dumb enough to think he had left me here. I just needed to think. If I could get away from him, I could find my way home. Tell everyone about the world I found. Surely my stupid wedding would get forgotten over that. I just had to survive long enough to get back. Between this world and my kidnapper, that seemed almost impossible.
I jumped up from the bed as the woman from last night walked into the room. She let out her own shocked squeak, clutching a bundle of bedding close to her body.
“I’m so sorry,” she apologized, starting to back out of the room. “I thought you had left with Atlas.”
Fear churned the stew in my stomach at the thought of him leaving me here. I stood, grabbing my cloak off the floor before following her out. He might have been an ass, but he knew this world. I justneeded to buy myself time. I finished tying off the cloak, reaching a hand up to smooth out the hair I was sure was flying around like crazy.
“Do you know where he went?” I asked.
“Downstairs,” she muttered, her gaze stuck to the floor.
I offered her a quick thanks before squeezing past her, making my way back down to the tavern.
I paused halfway down the stairs as the tavern came into view. This was completely different from last night. Each table was filled with laughing, drinking people. The standing area around the bar was filled with people screaming at a barmaid as she ran from one end to the other, filling glasses. Chairs squeaked as they were shoved from table to table. The clinking of glasses chimed above the many voices.
I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to appear smaller as I squeezed past everyone. My hands wrapped tightly around the edges of the cloak, keeping it drawn around me. The hairs on the back of my neck stood straight as I felt people staring as I walked by. Shoulders rammed into me as others tried to get closer to the counter. My mind reeled as it tried to make sense of all the voices swirling around me, some in a language I couldn’t understand. I focused on keeping my gaze moving, trying to find what seemed like the only set of horns here.
Breaking out from the main crowd of people, I felt like I could breathe again as I stood in front of the section of tables. I took my time scanning the room now that I could fully see it again.
Standing at one of the tables toward the back near the windows was a hooded figure. They were hunched over as they spoke to someone. Their back was to me, but their hands waved wildly with their words. The argument seemed to end as they slammed their hands against the table, making the glasses shake. With a shake of their hood, they turned and left. There was a flash of white hair under the dark hood. The majority of their face was covered in a cloth, all I could see were the blue eyes staring at me before they disappeared out the door. Glancing back at the table, I was met with the other half of the argument already staring at me. It was Atlas, drinking from one of the glasses that were set out.
His brows drew together into a scowl as I made my way toward him. Ialmost laughed at his obvious avoidance as he shifted his body to stare out the window as I sat beside him.
“Who was that?” I asked, refusing to let him ignore me. He wanted me here, now he had to deal with me. For as long as I was stuck here, at least.
His shoulders tensing was the only sign he heard my question. I rolled my eyes at the childish behavior. He only glanced at me when I snatched one of the other cups sitting on the table, downing the water inside.
My throat seized at the sudden burn of alcohol. I coughed, eyes watering. Atlas laughed, using his knuckles to slid one of the others toward me. I finished this cup almost as quickly as the other, the cool water soothing my poor throat.
“You didn’t wake me.” I tried to get his attention once again.
He snorted, quickly glancing out the window again. His gaze slowly scanned the horizon. There was something he was looking for. If he was worried about something, I probably should’ve been looking for it, too, but I couldn’t pull my attention away from him. The morning light poured through the window we sat in front of. It turned his eyes into a warm brown that I found myself leaning toward as I stared at his long lashes. Several strands of hair fell across his face. It would be so easy to reach across and push the strands away. He might even let me.
My cheeks burned as I pulled my gaze away from him, sliding my hands into my lap before they acted. I turned toward the window, praying to the gods that he didn’t notice me staring at him. There were a few people walking between the spaced-out buildings. No one stood out, they certainly weren’t watching us through the window like he was doing to them. Even the hooded stranger was long gone.
“Sorry, princess,” Atlas finally spoke to me, “didn’t realize that was my only job here. I’ll try to remember next time.”
I just stared at him, feeling the anger starting to heat up. “You said?—"
“I know I did, and I’m sorry,” he interrupted, leaning across the table. The smell of leather and citrus wafted from him. “I try not to leave women disappointed in bed.”
I raised an eyebrow at his arrogance. “Really? I figured you’d be used to it.”
I smirked at his shocked look. Something close to humor shined in his eyes before it was quickly snuffed out with a shake of his head. His glare hardened again as he continued to drink.
“A little early for that,” I pointed out, as he drained his glass.
He raised an eyebrow as he set it back down. “Next time I’ll make sure to ask permission first. Any other disappointments you’d like to point out? You’re quite needy for it being this early.”
The way he was looking at me made me feel like he was trying to gauge my soul. His gaze slowly trailed down, catching on the scar on my chest. I pulled the tunic up higher as I shifted in my seat. I glanced away from him, hating the way his stare made my chest burn. People around us had started dancing together even with the lack of music. It seemed like there was no such thing as too early here.
“Who was that earlier?” I asked, ignoring his question as my own curiosities crept back into my mind.
“Who?” he questioned back.
My gaze narrowed as I turned back to him. He didn’t seem like the kind of man to just lie. His fingers drummed against the tabletop as he twitched in his seat. Maybe I was making too many assumptions about him. All I knew was that he enjoyed kidnapping people. Gods knew what else he did in his free time.
