The Dream Keeper's Dragon

23. Spiked Brew

They walked back to the inn in the early hours over the morning when the sun had already started to rise. People were scattered all over the place, passed out on the grass, and on the steps. A couple was still dancing to music only they heard, wrapped around each other in a loving embrace. Aurelie envied them a little. If the previous evening had taught her anything, it was that she was in serious trouble. When she looked at the two lovers, she saw herself and Kirin.

Aurelie hesitated before walking inside. Speaking to Kirin had been a nice balance between the buzz of the inn and the solitude of her journey, and she didn't want to have that end. Her chest tugged with warmth and pleasant ache when she spent time with him, or thought about him, for that matter. The thinking seemed to be happening a lot recently. Her thoughts were divided between him and Leila's injuries.

"Are you coming in?" he asked and swept his hand through his dark hair. It stood on the ends and needed a cut. He looked tired, worn from the evening and, the strangest thing happened, she realized that nothing had been more beautiful to her before. A switch flipped inside her chest and she felt him—vividly—opening the folds of her heart.

"I'm not sure."

"You look tired."

Aurelie touched her cheeks, feeling them warm up with sudden embarrassment. She wondered what she looked like, a thought that had very rarely crossed her mind before. "I guess I am a little."

"I didn't mean—"

"No." She smiled, unsure of what else to do. "I didn't think you did."

One of the women that had been sleeping on the grass started to slowly rise, awakened by their voices.

If Uncle Kaiden had been there to see the people she had met, and the place she was in, he would have built a prison inside their cabin, locked her in it, and never let her out again. She had many arguments with them, trying to get them to let her visit the local town with Leila.

Her aunt would usually go alone when her uncle was at the manor. But, on the rare occasion that he went away with Mr. Holver, she would take Aurelie with her to town.

They were both brought up that way, she and Leila. Her father would not allow her anywhere near the town either. Not even for school.

"Had a good time, Doris," Kirin asked the woman as she approached the house. Bits of grass stuck out of her long, bushy hair, and she had a yellow food stain on her shirt.

"When do I not?" She bared her yellow teeth in a wide smile and winked at Aurelie. "You kids have a good morning," she said as she passed them on the steps.

"Sleep well," Kirin added, wrapping his arms around himself. It was a cold morning and he was only wearing a thin shirt. One he must have kept at the inn as Aurelie had never seen him arrive without some sort of Dranoir uniform when he came from the castle.

"Go change!" she insisted. His lips were a light shade of purple. Highfirian winter was warm compared to anywhere else in the world, but the winds carried an icy chill.

He hesitated on the stairs. "You're not coming inside?"

"Not just yet," she said, and sat down on the bottom step, as he slipped into the inn. The buzzing was even louder than before. To the left of her, a powerful wizard lay slumped over a bench, the top part of his body hanging over the seat. The collar of her cloak pressed against her neck. She untied the strings and dropped them behind her. Strands of hair blew in the wind and tickled her face. She felt the chill instantly and took a deep chilling breath, exhaling a cloud of steam.

"Yes, I'm going back today," Kirin's voice sounded from inside.

Aurelie turned to see the old man balancing himself on Kirin's shoulder.