Rue did not arrive for her next intended shift at the library, two days later. She was shaken by the experience at the tavern, left restless and distracted. That night, after feeling as if her entire being had been assaulted from Thaddeus’ mere touch, she had run far off, without aim, through the streets of Whesirki. Once she had finally stopped running, she prowled and did not stop until sun contested the night, and her feet ached immeasurably so.

  After resting, she still felt dysregulated and struggled to remain still. Her hands became busy as she sought items without discrimination to pluck from unsuspecting merchants, though many were released shortly after as she found no use in whatever was stolen, had no place to store it, and no way to profit upon stolen goods.

  She was prowling again. Rue waited close to the library, watching the doors of it. The hour neared the sixth bell, which was often when Thaddeus left. She had waited for two hours earlier to ensure he didn’t, for once, go early. She wasn’t sure why she was waiting for him, as there was no intention to reveal her presence. Patience was rewarded, as the doors heaved open at the same time the temple bells rang.

  Thaddeus departed the library, his gaze set ahead without investigating his surroundings. Rue wondered if he had ever felt a sense of danger in his life, if his instincts knew to warn him when eyes watched. As if on cue, his steps slowed and he paused, head turning left and right. She felt a phantom tingle on the back of her neck, and wondered if that was what he had felt. His gaze didn’t find Rue, though she was unsurprised. The sun had fallen and she had found a spot cast in shadow, away from the ever-burning lamps that lined the streets. There were not many shadows. She would have to be careful.

  After finding nothing, Thaddeus began walking once more. He took the same path as the one two nights ago, taking him to the tavern. Rue realized that she never knew the name of it. The sign told her nothing, markings of letters that were mostly meaningless, and the carved image of a bear drinking from a tankard. Thaddeus went inside. Rue waited nearby, uncertain if she were going to follow him, continue to wait, or just leave.

  I should just leave. What am I doing?

  She did not leave.

  It didn’t take long. A small group entered the tavern, young people that giggled and laughed, already seeming intoxicated. She waited ten seconds, counting them under her breath, and followed inside. They were crowded around the bar, making orders, and Eira was solely focused on their contained chaos. Her father started to step through the door that led back into the kitchen, and Rue slipped around the corner, into the sitting area before he could see her.

  What am I doing?

  She stressed the question to herself, still unable to find an answer.

  Thaddeus was not in immediate sight. Rue’s gaze drew to the corner they had sat in before; the librarian’s assistant had gone there with intent that night, and she assumed he sat there now. Rue drew herself towards the couch that sat just nearly opposite of the curtain that obscured where Thaddeus should be. Her assumption was proved correct as his voice carried over, soft and difficult to understand. Rue focused intently, and most of it could be deciphered. He was talking to another man, who was even more soft-spoken.

  They were talking work, for the most part. Rue understood his name to be Ly. She assumed ‘Ly’ was short for something else though if it were, Thaddeus never used it. Their conversation was boring, but Rue still found the passionate talk from Thaddeus to be calming. She found herself staring ahead at nothing, just focusing on listening. Ly was difficult to understand each time, and she was lucky to catch half of what he said, though he never said half as much as Thaddeus. It sounded as if he might be in the spot she was before.

  At one point, Ly got up to get them more drinks. Rue remained still and attempted to be inconspicuous. Ly did not see her on the way to the bar, but he did on the way back. They made eye contact, which she expected to last as long as it ever did with a passing-by stranger. It lingered. She felt the heat in her veins stoke alive, an unexpected instinct that this was a rabbit to pounce upon. Ly was shorter than Thaddeus, and scrawnier. His clothing was much more simple but it was well taken care of, in dull earth tones. His hair, brown and mousy, was not short nor long, and looked as if he may have cut it in a mirror himself.

  Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

  He held two glasses of wine. One red, one white.

  Rue wondered if he felt a shiver down his spine when he looked at her, as if he were a rabbit.

  His features were impassive and impossible to read. The moment broke, and in a second longer he was gone from sight, around the curtain.

  “Thank you,” Thaddeus murmured. Rue envisioned him taking the white wine, then envisioned Ly sitting down in the same chair she had. Despite the eye contact being broken, it felt as if Ly were staring at her through the curtain. Agitation rocked through her again, worse now. She could not remain here. Rue pushed up to a stand and walked out. On the way, Eira noticed her.

  “Oh, hi, Rue! I didn’t see you come inside!” The woman sounded far too friendly.

  “Shut up,” Rue snarled without looking at her.

  “Oh!”

  That was all she heard before she was outside again. The cold air hit her and tempered the fire threatening to burn. Rue slipped to a dark corner, and shivered.

  It felt like forever, but it was only an hour. Rue didn’t keep great track of the time, as the temples did not ring any bells from the sixth hour of evening through the sixth hour of the morning. It would be useful to have a watch, but Rue was stubborn in some things, and one of those things was the need to keep such a strict watch of time to dictate a day. It was not a mentality that translated well here, where the bell tolls had the entire city moving like herded sheep.

  Thaddeus and his friend stepped from the building. Rue was far away enough that she could not see their faces in detail, but Thaddees’ body language looked upset. He and Ly stood in front of the tavern after exiting, talking for a moment. She saw the taller man throw his arms up in what looked to be an exasperated movement, shaking his head. The smaller man, Ly, did not mirror his expressive body language. It looked as if he did no more than shake or nod his head, standing with impressively awkward still limbs.

  The two spoke in that spot for another few minutes. Finally, they waved at each other in a deflated manner and parted ways. Rue resumed trailing after Thaddeus, keeping distance, but going close enough to keep up with his path in the partial darkness. Her steps were light. She found it easy enough to remain nearly soundless on cobblestone after learning to be silent in a forest.

  She heard her father’s gruff voice as he directed her how to step, how to divert attention to obstacles on the ground without looking away from the prey animal she stalked.

  Bow and arrow was never something she became more than mediocre with. Tracking was her stronger skill.

  It turned out that Thaddeus did not live far. He entered a courtyard with a large stone planter in the middle. It was filled with cut-back plants, dormant for the winter, bathed in light as if it were still worth looking upon. A series of buildings surrounded the courtyard. They were narrow and two stories tall, colorful, and of the architecture that seemed reserved for the sake of luxury. The building that Thaddeus entered was a light blue, the exact shade difficult to discern with harsher orange light illuminating it.

  Lights flickered on inside after a few seconds, casting upon the windows. Rue noted curiously that it was a pink light. So many lights seemed to have odd and differing colors. She wondered if it had to do with the runic magic divined to cast it. She drifted into the courtyard, going as close as she dared, which was quite close. Less than ten paces from his doorstep, she stopped suddenly.

  What was the point of this?

  The question of the hour. She did not know the point, and now that she stood in front of his house, Rue was absent of any idea how to proceed. Perhaps it was just time to go back to the poorly building she utilized for warmth and sleep. The idea of ever having a home like this one felt further away than ever. It had been a dream once, now it was pure fantasy.

  Just before Rue went to step back into the shadows, the curtain in Thaddeus’ window drew back in a snatch. They made eye contact and stared.

  Rue bolted. She was in the shadows, feet striking the hard ground in rapid escape, humility and anger striking in a toxic fold at being caught. Behind her, she heard him call.

  “Rue!”

  She did not stop. She did not know where the paths she took went, but she weaved through streets and alleys with the determination to make her path impossible to follow. A second call came, already distant.

  Rue resolved to take one more turn and then reorient herself with her surroundings. She rounded that turn, coming to a hard and sudden stop as she struck face-first against another person. Not against their face, but against their torso, as they slid from a window, garbed in dark clothing.

  Smack!