Page 176 of The Poison Daughter
The fiddlers play at a volume more appropriate for a large ballroom instead of this small, dark bar. The power went out earlier, casting the room in darkness for a moment before the owners brought out candles and the party started back up again.
The flickering candlelight bounces off the patrons and the large firebird rising above them, painted on the wall of the bar.
The bartender, an older man with an alert and constantly moving gaze, has kept my glass full since I sat down. He returns again, but I wave him off and throw a few coins on the bar.
Maybe Rafe’s butler was just trying to haze me, or maybe his boss got caught up with something else. Whatever the reason, I need to get back to South Hold.
Standing, I take one last look around the bar, pull on my coat, and head toward the long hallway that leads to the rear exit. A door creaks open in the corridor and several men shuffle out. I pause at the end of the narrow hallway, and they walk by with their heads cast down.
As soon as the last man clears the hall, I walk to the back door and out into the cold night air.
The rear courtyard of the bar is small. Some iron furniture is stacked in the corner, likely meant for outdoor drinking and merriment in fairer weather. A large statue looms to the left of the bar doorway.
It’s Divine Asher. I’m so stunned to see the Divine of Endings with any sort of shrine or honor here in Lunameade. He’s depicted in dark gray stone, with a snake eating its tail wrapped around his neck.
Asher’s stories are popular here, but there’s a strange superstition that talking about him too much will welcome his presence in your life and rob you of a loved one. It’s rare to find art depicting him or Kennymyra in Lunameade. City folk probably think nothing of it, but it stands out to me after growing up at the fort, where Asher and Kennymyra are praised and reflected as much as the rest of the Divine.
The sound of rhythmic footsteps startles me from staring, and I turn to the courtyard entrance as Kellan Carrenwell and twenty of his city guards walk through. He stops as soon as he sees me, his expression shifting from surprise to confusion.
“Henry? What are you doing here?” he asks.
The fact that I’m surrounded by city guards makes me feel like I’ve done something wrong, but I force a smile. “I just thought I’d get a drink after extending our post-wedding dinner invitation to North Hold at your mother’s request. I didn’t realize this was a bar that honored Asher, but I guess I should have, given the name.”
Kellan looks past me toward the door. “Were you meeting anyone?”
I shake my head.
Kellan says something to the man beside him that I can’t quite make out, and his guards file past me into the bar. He waits until the door closes behind the last of them before he speaks.
“We received a tip that there was a rebel meeting here tonight. Did you see anything?”
It takes all of my self-control not to react. “No. It just seemed like a normal bar.”
It’s possible that this was just a coincidence. Maybe Divine Harvain has cursed me with wretched luck. But I know the more likely scenario.
Rafe set me up. Or his butler did. But how could they know I was coming? Maybe Harlow was right and Rafe was supposed to be there because he is Rochelli. Or maybe he was coming out the back door of North Hold when I was coming in the front and told his butler to set me up, then tipped Kellan off to try to create tension between our families.
If what Harlow says is true and our alliance does actually help her family and solidify their stronghold in the city, then it makes sense for him to try to disrupt that.
I feel like a fool. He set a trap, and I stepped right into it.
“I just needed a break from your sister.”
Kellan’s face relaxes as he laughs. “I bet you do.”
I look beyond him, at the courtyard exit. I really don’t want to have to fight my way past my new brother-in-law. He is Harlow’s only family member who doesn’t seem completely awful.
“I should really be getting back,” I say, and to my surprise, Kellan steps out of the way and lets me pass.
“Keep her safe,” he says as I walk by him.
“I will.”
It’s not until I’m through the courtyard walls and out on the street that I realize I mean those words.
39
HARLOW
