Wystwood

23. Words stuck with honey

Ada dragged her eyes away from the painted stars. Some small voice in the back of her mind wondered how many wishes had been whispered to them, and whether placing her own wish upon their fading forms would help her even the slightest amount. But she decided against it, doubting that the starry silhouettes could do little more than their celestial counterparts.

Though the faint fragrance of jasmine wafted down the staircase, the room was overcome by the cloying scent of honey. A glass jar of it lay discarded by a scarlet settee, its thick, residual dribbles spilling across the floorboards in languorous ebbs.

A woman lounged beside the fireplace, tracing the settee's frayed velour with one hand and skimming the rim of a mug with her other. Wound around each of her palms were strips of tanned animal hide, which were knotted below the scratched skin of her knuckles. Ada guessed that she was a handful of years older than herself, though her small nose and ears gave her features a youthful charm.

The woman dragged her honey-coated fingertips from the lip of her cup to the seam of her mouth, tongue flicking out to wipe away the sticky sweetness. "The girl we've heard so little about."

"Play nice, Solen," warned Lark. "It's not every day that Raeph brings home such delightfully mysterious company."

A smile more sugared than her honey spread across the woman's plump lips. "I'm always nice."

Behind her, Raeph snorted, and Ada's feet faltered forwards. She had almost forgotten about the man who still stood silently at her back. But he didn't appear to notice, slipping smoothly around her and reaching for a bottle beneath the bar. It was clear that if Ada chose to make a sudden escape attempt, Raeph felt confident he could catch her.

Solen drew herself up, short hair mussed across her forehead and tickling the tips of her eyelashes. Ada's eyes immediately sprung to her clothes; heavy leathers covering her body from her neck, past her torso, and down her legs. Only her arms remained bare, though they were both densely marred with fresh and faded scarring alike.

She patted the plush velour where her legs had been previously draped, and it took Ada a moment to realise that she was motioning for her to sit down. Aside from a smattering of battered stools and a single armchair propped up by the fireplace, there seemed few other choices.

With three sets of eyes trained upon her, Ada couldn't stop the heat that rose to her cheeks as she settled on the edge of the settee and tried to smooth down her smeared skirts. But Solen didn't seem to mind. If anything, she looked faintly amused by the state of Ada's clothes, as if the young woman was living up to tall tales that preceded her.

Her eyelashes fluttered when she leaned in, despite Ada shying away from her sweet breath as she asked, "I absolutely cannot wait any longer, tell me, how did you manage to outwit our brutish Raeph and steal away his precious dagger?"

Lark feebly attempted to mask his snickers as Raeph's glare shot arrows across the room at Solen.

"He could hardly sleep without it," she continued, ignoring the men at the bar. "Did you actually carry it with you through the city?"

She spoke with a brash confidence, her tone spun with a tempting lilt that encouraged the spilling of secrets. Ada fumbled for a response, eventually settling on, "Well, yes. I just put it in my pocket."

"You kept it so closely?!" Solen gasped. "Stars, there wouldn't be many brave enough to do that."

"I actually found it sort of comforting." Ada blushed at her words, and from the corner of her eye, she could have sworn she saw the edges of Raeph's lips tug up ever so slightly before he smothered them with the rim of his bottle.

A low hum carried through the back door. Ada recognised the voice as Armestrong's before her woollen-socked foot had even pushed the door open, the woman striding into the room with various vegetables laden high in her arms.

Spring onions scattered across the bartop as the woman caught sight of Ada. "So good to see you out of that awful room, my dear. This is hardly one of the Hounds' diabolical establishments, nobody here should be locked up and punished without good reason."

With that, she shot a glower across at Raeph, while Ada returned her words with a wary smile. "And so rare of Raeph to bring back guests," continued Armestrong, flinging down a pile of shallots, many of which tumbled to the floorboards and rolled away.

"So you all keep saying," he replied, brow lowering.

Lark only sniggered, "There are easier ways of bringing back houseguests, Raeph, than knocking them unconscious."

A laugh slipped from Solen's lips, and Ada felt her scalding face burn brighter. Armestrong looked as though she were about to scold Lark, but Raeph's dark glare seemed punishment enough as his chuckles pittered out.

Raeph was silent a beat longer, but his eyes abruptly found sharp focus as he came to some conclusion in his mind. In several strides, he made up the distance between the bar and the fireplace and his arm came striking like a snake towards Ada. For a second, she thought he was about to wrap his hand around her neck. But instead, his fingers found her hair, clenched together, and drew it back from her face. "Look at her."

They seemed as confused as Ada at first, but then a collective gasp rose into the air. Solen and Lark's faces were paling, while Armestrong looked as though she was about to stumble back through the doorframe and flee into the city. It took Ada a moment to realise what they were seeing, but then it struck her from the stars above: herself —without hood, disguise, or Min's careful veiling.

Raeph and Min had studied her rounded, human features with curiosity, perhaps even fascination. But facing Ada now, there was only bewildered horror.