It was midday by the time they could see the village below the hill of the forest. It was a quaint place with small wooden homes. Dirt paths created by the imprints of hustling feet twined and hugged the cramped buildings, barely wide enough for more than three people walking together.
Many of the open shutters glowed with torchlights and few people were walking around, stopping at vendors with a display of fruit, silk, and other goods.
"When was the last time you were here?" Aydin asked as they lingered in the protective shadow of trees, peering down at the village.
"A long time ago," Sephirah replied, frowning at the landscape. In the distance there were crop fields with men working, shoveling out dirt and pulling weeds. Sweat glistened across their exposed upper bodies as they toiled away beneath the lowering sun.
"Well, this should be fun," Aydin said in a light tone, but his hazel eyes revealed his concerns.
Sephirah shot him a dark look. "I told you it'd be fine."
"You first." Ren gestured for her to walk. He damn sure wasn't going headfirst into a potential disaster. That was her specialty.
Sephirah flipped the strands of hair over her shoulder and started toward the path that led inside the village. The group followed her, staying close enough on her heel that people would associate them with her.
As they entered and passed by the people littering about, the few conversations sprinkled around tampered into an uncomfortable blanket of tension. The hair on the back of Ren's neck rose as men carrying an assortment of weapons—bows, swords, spears, clubs, pikes, and slings—watched them like hawks.
Sephirah kept her chin high, glaring down her nose at them as she walked the path. She seemed to know the way fairly well, which was good for Ren.
He wanted to be in and out of the village as quickly as possible. If anything, he would rather sleep in the forest than stop at all. It was sounding more and more appealing the deeper they traveled between the homes.
Men stepped out of their path, their eyes tracking them until they disappeared around another corner. Sephirah came to an abrupt stop by an older woman's vendor shop.
The woman's auburn hair was streaked with grey and the wrinkles across her chocolate skin pulled down her lips in a permanent frown. Her dark gold eyes flickered to each person in the group before resting on Sephirah.
"What can I do for you?" the woman asked in a sober, deep voice .
"Where's the inn?" Sephirah inquired.
Ren's head snapped to her so fast it was a miracle it didn't dislocate. "You didn't know where the hell we were going this entire time?"
"Of course not," Sephirah replied, her face the picture of innocence. "I don't know the precise layout of this village."
"Are you an idiot?" Ren snapped.
The damn woman was leading us around like she knew this godforsaken place. She's as oblivious as a lost pathetic puppy.
Sephirah opened her mouth to respond when the older woman cut in.
"The inn is two houses down that way, Your Highness." The woman pointed in the direction they were heading.
"Thank you." Sephirah grinned, turning on her heel to hurry down the path. She gave Ren a sidelong glare. "See? I know where it is."
Ren scowled at her. Aydin shook his head although a ghost of a smile was on his face.
Of course, that whipped prince would find this entertaining. Aydin would follow that cursed woman in an endless loop of foolery without a moment's hesitation. While Aydin's heart was busy fluttering in his chest, irritation was swirling in Ren's.
He was surrounded by idiots.
Finally, they reached the inn, which from the sounds bursting out of it, was the liveliest part of the village. Clanking of wooden cups against tables, roaring laughter, someone's deep voice rattling out a tavern song, and loud indistinguishable words jumbled together all spilled out of the swinging shuttering door.
Sephirah pushed open the door and entered the dark, small space. Tables were crammed together in the attempt to host as many people as possible. Although it was only midday, the place was crowded with men who were jostling their friends, slamming their cups together in cheers, and wrestling each other in the open back space near the fire pit.
At Sephirah's entrance, they all slowly began to glance over. A ripple effect of silence went through the group as their eyes lit with recognition.
The bulky man behind the bar stopped wiping his rag across the dirty column in front of him. A woman carrying a circular wooden platter with bowls of soup and chunks of bread paused in the motion of setting it down on a table.
"Don't stop on my account," Sephirah projected her voice in the space. Her lips turned up in a bright, welcoming smile. Ren's face darkened at the content oozing off of her. Sephirah waved for them to continue as she made her way to the bar. Their conversations picked back up but their tones were hushed and the joyfulness had dissipated into thin air.
"What can I get you, Your Highness?" The bulky man asked, dipping his shaven head down as he bowed at the waist. His thick beard of red hair was long enough that it caressed that top of his tattered brown shirt that stretched across his broad shoulders.
Sephirah's smile never wavered as she gestured at the rest of them. "We wanted to see if you had a room or two to spare for me and my companions. At whatever price you deem fit."
He raised his large hands, the dirty rag dangling between the fingers of one of them. "I have them but there's no need for Your Highness to pay. I'm happy to host you."
"Of course, I'll pay," Sephirah said. "You make a living off those open rooms. I would hate to hinder that."
"It's the least you could do," a man seated at the bar close enough to hear their conversation mumbled towards the Nixian princess.
"What was that?" Sephirah's eyes glinted with the promise of pain as she tilted her head at the man.
The man clicked his tongue, shifting his body on the stool until he faced away from her. Sephirah kept her glare on him for a moment before turning back to the innkeeper. She raised her boot and tucked her hand in then reached out and placed three gold coins in the bulky man's hand.
"Is that enough for the rooms and a good meal?" Sephirah asked.
"More than enough," the man nodded. He reached for the keys attached to his belt, plucking off two black ones. Sephirah took them and the man's eyes crinkled as he indicated the stairs at the back of the tavern. "Take those straight up and the last two rooms belong to you, Your Highness."
"You're a gem," Sephirah beamed, handing off a key to Aydin. She turned to head to the stairs then glanced over her shoulder at the innkeeper. "These Kantians are with me. You tell your villagers to leave them be or they'll answer to me. Do you understand?"
"Of course, Your Highness," the man quickly conceded.
Sephirah nodded then reached out and grabbed Alethia's arm. "You're rooming with me, okay?"
"Fine." Alethia pulled her arm away and followed after the Nixian princess with a death grip on her sword.
Aydin lingered by the bar; his eyes locked on the back of the curly redheaded man who had mumbled at Sephirah. The prince sat at the empty stool and knocked his knuckles on the column, grabbing the innkeeper's attention.
"I'll eat my meal down here," Aydin said, then glanced over at Ren. "Are you staying?"
Ren grunted and sat next to the prince. If there's one thing he'd learned on the streets, it was that you can learn a lot from the gossip circulating in a tavern. He wanted to glean what was going on in the kingdoms and the best way to get that information was from the people.
They had been isolated in the desert within a bubble of unknown. The elders had only given information regarding the army's movement, but Ren wanted a bigger picture of what was happening. What better way than eavesdropping?
Too bad it meant he'd have to listen to this bastard of a prince in the meantime.
"Both of us, then," Aydin told the innkeeper. "You can send the other two up to the ladies room."
"Sure," the innkeeper nodded before walking away, gesturing the woman over.
The conversation in the tavern was still hushed. Ren could feel the eyes of various men centered on his back and his shoulders stiffened. Eventually, with enough ale, they'll forget he was here, and they'll grow louder, and their tongues will loosen.
He just had to wait until that moment.
"I saw you and Alethia getting pretty chummy during our hike here," Aydin spoke, placing his arm on the column and leaning his chin on his hand as he grinned at Ren.
Ren's scowl deepened.
Aydin chuckled and continued, "I know you fancy her. Don't try to hide it."
"You're a simpleton," Ren said. He turned to peer at the room out of his peripheral vision. The men were beginning to drown their freshly topped cups of ale.
It shouldn't be too much longer. Soon they'll be spilling out anything and everything.
"Do you want some tips?" Aydin asked, ignoring the insult. Ren looked back at him and was greeted with a disgustingly cheeky smile. "I can help you thaw out that icy heart of hers."
"Somebody should thaw out your damn brain," Ren shot back. "It's frozen from disuse."
"Oh, is this denial I'm hearing?" Aydin inquired, shaping his mouth in a feigned o-shape. "Or are you that inexperienced with women?"
"Is that all you think about?" Ren scoffed. "Women and alcohol? It's pathetic."
"Women are magnificent, alluring creatures skilled in the art of pleasure," Aydin explained. "Who wouldn't want to think about them?"
"I don't care for women," Ren spoke plainly, hoping to end the conversation. The voices of the men around them were growing in volume. If Aydin would shut his damn trap for one second, Ren could listen more closely to what they were saying.
"Wait," Aydin exclaimed, slamming his hand down on the column, gathering unwanted attention from the men closer to them. Their voices dwindled again and a flare of aggravation rushed through Ren. Aydin whispered, "Do you prefer men? There's no shame in admitting that. In fact, I know several people back in the--"
"I don't care for either, you moron," Ren snapped. "Now would you shut up?"
"So, you've never fancied a woman before?" Aydin propelled.
"I don't fancy shit," Ren answered. "The same way I don't fancy this stupid conversation."
Before Aydin could respond, the server came by, placing a steaming bowl of chowder, a chunk of bread, and cups of ale in front of them. Ren wasn't one to let his food cool down and compared to the weird mush the elders sent to their tent, this might as well be a gourmet meal prepared by an esteemed castle cook.
He shoved down spoonful after spoonful of the salty, buttery chowder with chewy meat and thick potatoes clogging his throat. He dipped pieces of bread into the soup, biting off tough pieces and washing it down with a swing of ale.
Aydin watched him with a baffled expression. As long as the food traveled and filled his stomach, Ren didn't care how it got there or how he looked when he ate it. Aydin continued to eat his meal with the practiced manners of a pampered prince.
Ren was used to getting his meal snatched by other street rats. The first thing he learned was to eat fast and with your elbows barricading the plates. And he'd be damned if he started changing that habit up.
"So, you really feel nothing for her?" Aydin brought forth the subject again like a persistent pest.
Ren ate the last mouthful of food and stared at the empty contents of the bowl. "What business is it to you?"
"She's a friend." Aydin shrugged. "And as much as it would kill you to admit it, we're friends too."
The cup of ale that Ren was raising to his mouth stilled as he considered Aydin's statement. He glanced over at the prince, at the untouched cup of ale, and the clarity in his hazel eyes.
"Not the way you're thinking," Ren finally answered. Then he pointed at Aydin's cup. "You going to finish that?"
Aydin shook his head and nudged the cup closer to Ren.
He grabbed the cup just as a particular group of men began to yell at each other. Ren looked over his shoulder as he watched a man slam his cup of ale down on the table, liquid splashing onto the ground and up the man's hairy arm.
The man ignored it as his face reddened. He was glaring at his companion who was wide eyed in shock.
"Say that again!" the man roared, his deep voice cutting off everyone else's conversation. The tavern vibrated with the quietness that fell over it. "Put it on the revered phoenix!"
"By the ashes, I'm telling you the truth," his companion spoke in a thin voice, raising his hands in surrender.
The angry man blew out a long breath, running a trembling hand through his long red locks. His golden eyes seemed to flicker like the ends of a campfire. "That bitch is trying to damn us all. Tell the rest of them, they deserve to know."
His companion glanced around the tavern with beady gold eyes.
Voice trembling with anxiety, he spoke to the crowd, "The snake queen's navy will be docking on our harbor in two days' time. She's coming to kill us all."
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