Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CAELAN

D warves. So many dwarves.

They've taken over the entire front room of Long Leaf Brews, ordering the strongest black tea by the pot, and it's a damned good thing I inventoried it earlier this week because I know exactly how much we have to sell.

Lila and Druze flit amongst the tables, looking like giants in the crowd.

The entire café is abuzz with them.

With dwarves, and with the rumor of why they're here.

"Dragon sapphire," the table nearest me roars, slamming their mugs on the table. "May we find it, may we mine it, and may we grow rich and fat."

The dwarves all roar their approval.

I raise an eyebrow.

So far, it seems all they're going to do is drink all the black tea we have, but who am I to judge?

I'm uniquely qualified to judge, actually, and it's one of my favorite pastimes, but at least these dwarves have a goal.

Meanwhile, I'm just serving tea and picking up gossip.

"What is dragon sapphire?" Lila asks Druze quietly.

Not quietly enough, because the entire room goes silent as soon as she utters the question.

"What is dragon sapphire?!" a rowdy dwarf yells. His bright orange hair is braided into his grey-spattered beard. The dwarves erupt into raucous exclamations of disbelief.

Druze sighs heavily, and Lila's cheeks indent as she bites them.

Smirking, I drop off another fresh-brewed pot of tea at the ginger dwarf's table, half-listening and half-daydreaming of Wren again.

Wren, who haunts my dreams and my waking thoughts, the little witch's scent tickling my nose even more after spending time with her last night.

Wren of the quiet laughter and clever words, with strange tastes in food and stranger tastes in hair styles… or lack thereof.

I'm not sure if I'm worse off for spending time with her or happier now that I have.

Ga'Rek and Kieran were both asleep by the time I returned to our rented rooms, Ga'Rek snoring so loud that it's a wonder the prince was able to sleep at all.

"Dragon sapphire is only the best stone to hold enchantments, though the witch or wizard who tries to do so must be talented beyond compare."

"Dead tricky to work with," another dwarf chimes in, hefting his axe.

Druze puts a green hand on the top of the ax and flatly pushes it down. The dwarf blushes crimson as he stows it away in its sheath on his back.

"For enchantments," I repeat, delight ricocheting through me like a stone skipped on a lake. "This stone is used for enchanting? This one, the dragon sapphire you say you've found near here?"

"Aye!" the dwarves chorus, mugs and palms slapping the tables at once.

Lila quirks an eyebrow at me, my sudden interest piquing her own.

"And it's rare," I press. "And only the best mages can use it?"

"That's what we said, lad, are you dense?"

"Very dense," I tell the dwarf, topping off his mug with scalding-hot tea. "Very dense and very interested in all things that have to do with this ore."

"Oho, boyo here thinks he can beat us to the dragon sapphire," another dwarf cries, and Lila winces as they all begin shouting and clamoring once again.

"I didn't say that."

"You're an Unseelie, you don't have to say shit. We all know shit's coming out of your mouth one way or another." The dwarves laugh uproariously, and I feel the tips of my ears go hot, my rage slithering like a snake from under a rock into the daylight.

My fangs bite into my lower lip as I smile, growing sharper in my mouth, longer the angrier I get.

"Enough," Lila yells. "If you insult my friend, you'll find yourself without tea."

That gets their attention—and mine, too.

The pressure of my lengthening fangs lessens, and I swivel my gaze up to the white-haired elf, who stands with her hands on her hips, her nose pink with fury.

Druze blinks slowly at me, then nods at his wife's words. "You treat him with respect, just as he's done to you." He glowers at the dwarves, who manage to become very interested in their steaming black tea, then begin mumbling apologies.

"Oy, there, lad," says the ginger dwarf. "They didn't mean any harm. Can't say my people have gotten along with your lot in the past, but anyone who's interested in the lore of the ore is alright in my book."

I refrain from calling him an idiot out of respect for Lila and Druze, and I also refrain from inspecting too closely the surge of warmth I feel towards the couple.

They're only my employers, after all, they're not truly friends. Displeasure curls through me.

My current obsession with the mortal witch is enough trouble without inviting full-fledged friendship with a Star Isles elf and a dryad into my life.

"No harm done?" the dwarf asks, his bushy eyebrows twitching. There's a trace of fear in his brown eyes.

Delicious. They should be afraid of me.

The Unseelie fae are not to be trifled with. We are a proud species with a proclivity for vengeance and an excellent ability to hold petty grudges.

Even the ones cast out from the Underhill.

"No harm at all," I make myself say, memorizing his face, just in case. "By the way, I know a witch of superb caliber who would no doubt bring justice to your dragon sapphires."

With that, I stalk off to the back of the shop.

Only a week or so since I left the Underhill, and already I've gotten softer.

I should blame the witch, no doubt it lies with the lovely Wren's undue influence over me, even though she's unaware of it.

But I do wonder if maybe the fault, this growing softness, is only of my own making.

I will have to remedy it.

My fangs fully extend and I pace around the back room, rummaging for more of the absurdly strong black tea the dwarves are quickly running through.

May they all have acute kidney failure.

"Hey," Lila's voice coasts across the room, and I look up to see the Star Isles elf standing on the threshold, concern clear in her eyes.

She's too kind for her own good. They all are, these topsiders, too kind and trusting.

Easy pickings.

Easy pickings.

Of course. Of fucking course. I shouldn't be looking to romance the little witch, to have my way with her after patience and boring courtship.

No, trapping her would be so, so much more satisfying. And then I could scratch the ridiculous itch I have for the mortal and be rid of her, no lasting harm done.

I smile at Lila, and she flinches.

"Are you alright?" she asks, mustering the question despite her misgivings towards me, clear on her face. "If you need to take the afternoon to clear your head, or if you want to work back here?—"

"I will take the day," I tell her. "With pay." I make sure to sneer at her for good measure.

She stands straighter. "Good. I'm proud of you for putting yourself first. You can't take care of anyone else if you don't take care of yourself."

My jaw drops at her impudence. As if I have ever put anyone before me?

How absurd.

Still, I can't think of a comeback before she smiles softly again, leaving me with a room full of tea for company.

A room full of tea, and the beginnings of a plan to trap my witch, something I'm certain will put me in a much better mood.

The dwarves might be idiots, but at least they've given me something to work with.