Page 29 of The Mountain King
Chapter Ten
The Lords escortedthem back to the faire and the last of the daylight fled behind the mountains, and that was when all therealfoolery began. Hrutha appeared with Serephone at his side and beckoned to his brother and father, his expression serious for once.
Maddugh frowned and glanced at Kailigh. “I doubled my men in the crowd. You’re still free to wander, but be even more vigilant, mistress.”
He was awfully calm, almost as if he’d been expecting trouble. It wasn’t that Kailigh didn’t understand, in theory, how to relax and have a good time—but there were too many faces she didn’t recognize, most of them male. It struck her, the inequity between the male and female dragon Dwyrkin. There was three men for every woman. That never boded well. Some foolish females might think it meant they had their pick of mates, but they would soon be disabused of that notion when subjected to the not-quite-friendly advances of desperate males. At least that’s how it worked among the humans, and women who migrated to the mining town looking for easy husbands soon fled if they didn’t learn how to handle themselves.
Still, despite the revelry—and there was plenty—the Dwyrkin did seem a bit better behaved. A bit. They were just as roguish—Kailigh gave a gimlet eye to a few dozen men who dared her crossed-armed company—but didn’t press their attention once rebuffed. It made her like them, and their Lord, a bit better. And well into the evening, when she still had not seen hide nor hair of the troublesome deal-striking man, she managed to relax.
Cinvarra was having a bonny time. She’d slipped Kailigh three times before Amnan shook his head.
“I’ll shadow her, mistress. The more you try to cage her, the more she will slip your leash.”
He walked away before she could blast him for the word ‘cage.’ She wasn’t trying to cage her daughters. She just wanted to see them properly wedded before they did any bedding, and for purely practical reasons. It was hard raising a child alone, and she didn’t want that for her girls.
But she relented, knowing that if the princeling himself couldn’t keep rogues away, then there was no hope for them anyway.
Serephone finally wondered off as well, towards a band of musicians, betraying her intrigue by the tilt of her head and lack of scowl. Young men and a woman with dark hair and electric instruments. The noise they played seemed to please the younger folk, and Kai could somewhat understand the appeal of the caterwauling music. It was all broody and about being misunderstood by the universe. Perfect music for young people with no mouths to feed.
She snorted and moved away, strolling a block before she stopped in front of a small herbalist shop, wondering if she should inquire about the kinds of herbs that helped regulate the monthly flow—and make prevention of accidental pregnancy easier. A woman sat on the poured concrete porch, sipping a brown bottle of brew. She noticed Kailigh and waved her over.
Kai raised a brow at the casual friendliness, but approached. A close look told Kai she was likely human.
“Sit,” the woman said. “I’m Lucide. You’re one of the hybrid girls the Lord put word out about.”
Kailigh sat, realizing as she did that it was highly out of character for her. But the woman’s frank look and casual demeanor was badly threatening.
“Word got out quick,” Kai said. Hybrid?
“Small town.”
Kai snorted. “Lots of people for a small town.”
“He let in the humans, which he doesn’t normally do.” They both knew who thehewas. “And the mountain folk always come down where there’s free beer.”
“I imagine.” Kai studied the woman’s attire out of the corner of her eye. Dark washed denim pants, a deep-blue oversized shirt with blousy sleeves and multi-stranded beads around her wrists and neck. “You’re a Traveler.”
“I was.” She jerked a shoulder at the shop. “Been settled here for a while. But I am Traveler enough still.”
The way the woman said those words caused Kailigh’s back to stiffen, just a bit. The casual tone had lifted, enough to indicate this wasn’t a chance meeting.
“Your aura is an interesting one,” the Traveler said.
“I don’t have any gold to cross your palm, Lucide,” Kai said.
Lucide shook her head. “I don’t need your money. I like auras. They’re mostly the same around here. Dwyrkin are frenetic, and all of them think they have a grand destiny awaiting—the Fae are even worse. All that pent up noble blood withering away in their veins. They dream of the day when they can be useless again.” Lucide eyed her. “You’ve got that look about you. Grandparent?”
Kai watched the street, thoughtful. “Don’t know, never knew my grandparents, or my father, for that. It’s true then? The stories that they were stranded here from their home world.”
“Same world, different dimension. It’s true. I had a cousin whose brother-in-law had a grandmother who went over before all the gates crashed closed.”
“Hmm.”
“Your aura, though—it’s closed. And you know what they say. Closed mouths, and all that.”
“I eat from my own hand.”
Lucide shrugged. “I’m sure you’ve done well. But if you relax a bit, you’ll find life goes a bit easier. Sometimes the universe awaits us to be ready to receive help. Stay here, I’ll be right back.”
