Chapter Nine: Cassie

“Any last advice?” Cassie asked the mirror by the counter as she waited for the hands of the clock to tick around to closing time.

The mirror was silent for a long moment. Unusual since it normally had the ability to shoot snide comments faster than a tennis ball machine.

“Where’s your headscarf?” it finally said.

Cassie ran her fingers through her hair, which she’d left loose so that it framed her face. “I decided not to wear it.”

“Oh, really? Your outfit could use some help. A nice colorful headscarf might do the trick. It will distract from those massive shoes,” the mirror said, though its tone didn’t have quite the same sting as usual.

“I will take your advice on board.” Cassie smiled and shook her head as she looked around the store one last time and stepped toward the door, the thudding of her steel-capped boots causing her to chuckle.

“Take my advice,” the mirror said from behind her. “You’ll thank me later.”

Cassie stopped in her tracks and turned to look at the mirror. Usually, it only commented on a reflection, or if asked a direct question if you were standing close by.

This…was something else.

“Something intriguing,” Cassie murmured to herself as she turned her back to the door and stared at the mirror. Usually, the items were very set in their ways, but they did sometimes do surprising and unexpected things.

Then she caught another reflection in the mirror. Byron.

Now that was unexpected. The mirror had never shown a person not in its reflection. She tugged her brows together as she stared at the dragon shifter, who raised his hand and waved. Even through the slightly distorted reflection, she could make out his chiseled features and kind eyes. Was it reflecting something from the deep recesses of her mind?

Her frown deepened as she inched closer to the mirror. Then her heart nearly erupted from her chest as someone knocked on the window behind her.

“Byron.” The angle of the mirror had caught Byron’s reflection as he approached the store, and now he stood on the other side of the shop window, smiling at her.

Cassie let out a long breath as color infused her cheeks. Talk about overreacting. Byron had probably seen her jump out of her skin. She didn’t want him to think she was a drama queen and have second thoughts about entering the competition with her.

With one last look at the mirror, she turned toward the door. This competition had made her jittery.

She reached for the key, a rather ornate piece with an intricate carving of a Celtic knot, from where it hung on one of the hooks by the door, but she paused when her fingers brushed against silk.

A headscarf.

She felt the cool fabric between her fingers, and then plucked the headscarf off the hook and shoved it in her jeans pocket. It wasn’t exactly what the mirror had suggested, but she could always tie it around her hair if she needed to.

Cassie ran her hand through her hair. She did feel kind of naked without a headscarf.

“Everything okay in there?” Byron asked, his muffled voice holding a touch of concern.

“Yes! All good.” She opened the door and stepped outside. The rush of air smelled sweet and fresh next to the atmosphere inside the store, which always seemed to carry an old smell. She didn’t know exactly how else to explain it. It wasn’t musty, or moldy, just old. A smell that she had always found comforting. It was the aroma of aged stories and dusty mysteries.

“Are you sure?” Byron asked.

“Yes, why do you ask?” Cassie’s tone was a little accusatory as she closed the door behind her, thankful that the doorstop was behaving itself.

“You seemed hesitant, was all,” Byron replied as he waited for her to lock the door and slide the ornate key into her purse. “I just wanted to make sure you knew you didn’t have to rush if you forgot something.”

“It was the mirror.” Cassie looked back toward her store. “But it’s all good. Shall we go?”

“As long as that is what you want to do,” Byron replied, not pressing any further.

“Isn’t it what you want to do?” Cassie asked carefully. She’d always found navigating these kinds of conversations awkward.

“Yes. Of course. Life-changing sage advice is just what I need.” Byron tugged his waistcoat down at the front.

“You’re nervous,” Cassie remarked as they started walking.

“Perhaps a little. Aren’t you?” he asked.

“Yes.” She nodded as her stomach fluttered with said nerves. “But more because I’m worried, we might not get to enter.”

“Why not?” Byron asked.

“Because our relationship is fake.” She glanced sideways at him. “You’re not concerned?”

“No.” He gave a brief, but firm, shake of his head. “I believe entering will be the easiest thing we do for the whole of these trials.”

“I wish I had your confidence,” Cassie admitted, her gaze now fixed firmly on the cobblestone path beneath their feet.

“Confidence is key,” Byron said, his tone suddenly serious. He seemed to be looking at something in the distance, a far-off thing only he could see. “If we believe, then everyone else will believe. It’s an often-mentioned trick when it comes to negotiation or deception.”

Cassie snorted and then covered her mouth. “Sorry.”

Byron grinned at her. “That’s not the usual reaction I get.”

“It’s just that sometimes you talk like you’re giving a lesson.”

“Sorry, I’ll try to be more eloquent.”

“No, don’t stop.” Cassie flashed him a smile. “I prefer it when people talk like that. Directly, I mean. I don’t like when people don’t just say what they mean.”

She watched as Byron frowned at his feet for a moment, as if internally debating something before he returned her smile and simply nodded. “But back to our relationship,” Byron said. “I do believe that if we act as if it’s genuine, and we believe in it, then the tavern will, too.”

“Okay, since I have no better plan, let’s go with yours.” Cassie managed a weak smile, the lines of doubt etched into her forehead.

“Trust me.” Byron seemed to be lost in thought for a second.

“Wait, have you done this before?” Cassie stopped walking, and he turned on his heel to face her.

“Competition at the tavern or a fake relationship?” Byron asked.

“Either.”

“No.” He shook his head, his eyes fixed on hers. “Never. Neither.”

“Then how can you be so confident.” She glanced over his shoulder. “The tavern is just around that corner, so this is our last chance to decide if we want to go through with this.”

“It is.” He nodded. He seemed so sure of himself, and that unnerved her.

“So what if the tavern…” She shrugged. “I don’t know. What if it throws us out?”

“What if it does?” Byron asked the question back to her, which she found annoying, to say the least.

“It’ll be embarrassing,” she replied with a pout.

“Then we turn around and walk away.” He arched an eyebrow at her, and she felt as if he was daring her to do just that.

“And you’d be okay with that?” Cassie asked. “You’d be okay with that? You aren’t entering the competition for the chance of receiving life-changing advice?”

His smile was broad as he replied, “When you put it like that…” He sighed and his expression grew solemn. “What other choice do we have? Besides, I think the tavern brought us together after all.”

Cassie eyed him suspiciously. Where was he going with this? “To enter the competition together?”

“Why not? If the tavern is matchmaker central, maybe it matched us together because we both need the prize.” His eyes flickered with an emotion she could not read, but then he nodded. “Shall we test my theory?”

With an uncertain nod, Cassie took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “All right. Let’s do it.” She tried to ignore the flutter of butterflies in her stomach.

Byron chuckled and held out his arm to her. Cassie eyed the offered arm for a moment before she threaded her arm through his and together, they walked side by side, just like any other couple.

All she had to do was believe it,she repeated to herself as they turned the corner.

The sight of the tavern stopped them in their tracks, or more like the sight of the growing crowd outside the tavern stopped them in their tracks. The alley was filled with a throng of people of various races wearing all manner of garb. Most of them were milling around, watching the tight queue that threaded its way through the crowd, and talking amongst themselves.

“I didn’t expect there to be so many people,” Cassie said.

“Me neither,” Byron admitted. “But just remember, we belong here as much as anyone else.”

“Because we are a couple,” Cassie murmured.

“Because we are a couple,” Byron said with conviction.

“There seems to be a problem with the door,” Cassie said as the gathered crowd let out a collective groan. “It’s not opening.”

“Okay, next!” bellowed an exasperated voice that carried across the crowd. It was Flint, the bartender, who looked frazzled.

Next, was a witch and a warlock Cassie had seen in her store once or twice. She groaned inwardly. From what she could recall, they were powerful, just the kind of people who would win the competition. However, as they walked toward the door, it remained resolutely closed.

“Sorry,” Flint said. “Next!”

“I’m not done yet!” the warlock called out as he wrapped both hands around the door handle and tugged it with all his might.

“Let me try!” The air crackled with magic as the witch summoned a spell and unleashed it on the door. There was a loud thud as a bolt of energy exploded against the door and the ground shook.

“Any damages must be paid for!” Morwenna’s muffled voice cut through the air even from the inside of the tavern.

“Step away!” Flint said and planted himself, feet hip-width apart in front of the door.

“It seems as if we might not get a chance for the tavern to throw us out,” Cassie murmured. “Because it might not let us in at all.”

“Or it might,” Byron replied. “This might, in fact, be the first test. We must at least try.”

“Okay,” Cassie said, not convinced as she and Byron joined the end of the queue of people waiting for their chance to get inside The Lonely Tavern.

As they waited, there were plenty of commiserative ahhs, and a smattering of cheers as couples approached the door. From what Cassie could tell, there was no rhyme or reason as to why the door opened for some couples and not for others. And if it didn’t open when a couple approached, there was nothing they could do to persuade it.

Persuade it!Cassie shook her head. This was the most ridiculous thing she had ever done. The tavern was not sentient. No, if anyone was behind this, it was Morwenna.

She was probably peering out the window and selecting which participants she wanted to come inside.

The competition was probably a publicity stunt. Cassie glanced around at the gathered crowd. And it had worked far better than that old witch could have hoped, looking at the growing crowd which pretty much filled the alleyway and spilled out into the wider streets on either side.

It looked as though much of the crowd had been here for some time, filled with disappointed people who must have already been rejected by the tavern, Morwenna, or whatever force was behind this whole thing.

The queue was long, but luckily it moved quickly as most people were refused entry and were quickly ushered away by Flint, to be commiserated by the growing crowd of milling bystanders. There were one or two hold-ups where hopeful prospects were less than gracious about being refused entry, and there were one or two times when Cassie was worried that Flint was going to end up catching a fireball, but the huge man seemed to be nothing short of an expert at de-escalating any conflict. Something he likely had more than enough experience with having worked at The Lonely Tavern for some time now.

Or, more precisely, worked for Morwenna in The Lonely Tavern.

“Okay, it’s nearly our turn.” Byron nudged Cassie, who was watching a couple walk by. She was taken aback at first by the woman’s pale hair that looked as though it were spun from moonlight, but then by how she smiled and laughed when looking at the man she was with, and the way he tenderly put an arm around her.

They had just been rejected by the tavern. But they weren’t distraught or disappointed. In fact, it seemed like they were laughing together about it. To them, it didn’t seem to matter, perhaps because they already had what they needed.

How lucky they were.

As they walked away, Cassie’s attention was drawn to the couple who were approaching the door. The man was tall with a hawk-like expression, filled with complete infatuation as he looked down at the smaller woman with fiery hair next to him. Cassie had not seen them break physical contact once, and they bubbled constantly with laughter and softly spoken words.

They were completely wrapped up in each other as the tavern door swung open to a cheer from the crowd and they disappeared inside.

“Any suggestions?” Cassie asked as they took another step closer to the door. They were only four places away now and her nerves were building.

“Believe,” Byron said, and as she locked eyes with him, she did believe. She could see the echo of how the hawk-like man had looked at his partner in Byron’s eyes. He was very good at this whole fake dating thing.

All three of the couples in front of them were turned away with looks of disappointment as they stared at the closed wooden door of the tavern, and suddenly, Cassie and Bryon were standing in their place.

“Byron, Cassie.” Flint nodded and held out his arm to block the previous couple who had been shut out. “I told you, if the door remains closed, there’s nothing anyone can do to open it.”

“Thanks, Flint.” Byron glanced at Cassie and nodded as the irate couple walked off.

“No problem. Good luck, you two.” Flint stepped aside, leaving them both staring at the plain, rough wood of the front door.

Together, they stepped forward.

It seemed as if they moved in slow motion. One step, two steps… The door was going to stay closed. She just knew it.

Cassie faltered and went to pull back, but Byron gently took hold of her hand and smiled warmly at her. She felt a rush of recognition spread throughout her body, and her muscles shed their tension. As she looked up into his eyes, which seemed to light up when they met hers, the anxiety that had been building within her lost its hold.

She was so wrapped up in the sensation that it wasn’t until she blinked as her eyes adjusted to the dim light of the tavern’s interior that she realized the door had opened for them.

They were in!

“I told you to believe,” Byron whispered as he held on to her hand, guiding her toward the bar.

Cassie didn’t reply as she glanced around the sparse tavern. “Where is all the furniture?” The bar area, which she had only seen bustling with activity, was now completely void of even a single stool. If it wasn’t for the twenty or so couples the tavern had already let in, it would be a completely empty space.

“That is a good question,” Stan said as he came to meet them, grinning from ear to ear as they approached the bar. “But I’m sure we’ll find out when it’s time. Come and sign up.”

“I should have guessed that the tavern would have let you in, Stan,” Cassie said.

“It certainly did. I only wanted to come in for a drink, but I guess I’m in the running as well as you both now.” Stan nodded toward the side of the bar where an older woman with white hair and a serious expression stood, eyes narrowed as she assessed the other couples inside the tavern before he leaned in and covered one side of his mouth. “Between you and me, I don’t think even the tavern is bold enough to say no to Nancy. Not after its last run-in with fae.”

“Nancy is fae?” Byron asked.

“She is,” Stan said with a whimsical smile.

Byron leaned closer to Cassie and whispered in her ear, his warm breath a lover’s caress on her neck. “Fae don’t like dragons.”

“Why not?” Cassie asked with a surge of indignance.

“The history books say that it’s an old feud dating back centuries. Dragons and fae have always had conflicting interests,” Byron explained, his eyes never leaving Nancy, who was now scanning the room with hawk-like eyes.

“Oh, Nancy is a kitten, really,” Stan said. “She likes to get her claws out, but she would never hurt anyone. All meow, no scratch.”

“Unlike Amelia,” Cassie hissed as she caught a glimpse of a young woman with auburn hair seated at the bar, sipping a long drink with a straw.

“You know her?” It was Byron’s turn to sound protective as his eyes lingered on Amelia.

“Cassie?”

Cassie must have let her gaze linger too long as the other woman caught her eyes, and Amelia’s high voice cut through the excited chatter of the competitors gathered inside the bar area.

“Is that really you?”

“It’s really me,” Cassie answered.

“Jerome!” Amelia nudged the tall man seated next to her. “Look, it’s Cassie.”

“Cassie,” Jerome’s smooth voice caused her to tense. Great, this was all she needed.

“Hello, Jerome,” Cassie said lightly, as she gripped Byron’s hand tighter.

“Well, well, isn’t this going to be fun!” Amelia said, clapping her hands together.

“Fun is not guaranteed!” Morwenna’s shrill voice rose above the crowd as she held out a sheaf of papers, a wave of silence following. “Neither is your safety.” She raised her hand. “I have here a stack of very official-looking documents. Fate has allowed you into this tavern, and so fate will guide your hand as you sign on the dotted line, freeing myself, this establishment, and all its employees from liability caused by accident, mishap, or misadventure of any kind.”

“Quick, sign up,” Stan thrust a pen into Byron’s hand as there was a rumbling from the rafters. “I think we’re about to begin.”