Fox Tavern was unlike anything Tess or Ayden had ever seen before. It was larger and more crowded then they were used to, and the atmosphere was different, too; it felt a bit seedy here. There was a stage to the left where a band played loudly on guitars and hand drums; the music was steady and played at a good tempo for the type of dancing people were doing. The whole main room was lit by many lanterns hanging from the ceiling, a lot of which were made of stained glass, casting different colored lights around the place.

A man behind the bar nodded to them as they came in. “Mathias,” he greeted pleasantly. “What’s going on?”

“Hey, Jack. Just here for the fun.”

Jack grinned. “This is the place.”

“That it is,” Matt agreed.

“It’s late, Tess,” Ayden said, once again, having to raise his voice this time to be heard over the music. “Can’t we just go back to the inn?”

Tess felt torn. She knew Ayden was exhausted after all the spells he had cast earlier, but she wasn’t even close to tired after their exciting day.

“There’s some resting rooms in the back, if you want to relax,” Matt said before she could answer.

Ayden glanced at Tess.

“Go ahead,” she told him. When he hesitated, she insisted, “I’m fine, go. I’ll get you in a few.”

After another moment, he sighed and reluctantly headed for the doorway across room.

A woman touched Matt’s arm, trying to get his attention, but he shrugged her off without even looking. He grinned at Tess instead. “Come dance with me,” he said, grabbing her wrist.

She looked over at the people in the middle of the room moving in time to the music. They danced close together, practically slithering around each other, and she was a little shocked at how sexual it was. She shook her head and tried pull away from him. “Maybe she wanted to,” she said, nodding back to the woman.

He didn’t let go. “I want you,” he said meaningfully, and her stomach fluttered.

Once he got her to the center of the dance floor, he turned back and reached around her. A moment later, he was running his fingers through her long hair, freeing it from her braid. “The wild look suits you better,” he said, leaning close so she could hear him.

She honestly had no idea why she was letting him do this—at least she didn’t want to admit to herself that, deep down, she really did want him to touch her. She had never cared to wonder what it was like to be touched by someone before, not in the way he wanted to touch her, but he made her curious.

He picked up her arm and draped it around his neck, then slid his hand around her slender waist to the small of her back and pulled her body against his. She swallowed. He started to move, his hips guiding hers, then he parted her legs with his knee and she could feel the heat of his thigh against hers. Her pulse quickened.

They only danced for a short while, and the entire time he gazed down at her. She was so caught up in his intense blue eyes, and the desire that burned in them, that she was barely aware of their bodies’ movements. She only felt the warmth of him pressed against her and the stir of something low in her belly. Then she felt his hand move up her back until it reached her neck and grabbed a fistful of her hair. He tilted her head back, angling her face up toward his, and her lips parted as her breath caught. She knew what he was about to do, but for the life of her she couldn’t seem to move.

He lowered his head and suddenly he was kissing her. His full, soft lips molded against hers and she closed her eyes, yielding easily to him. His kiss was firm, passionate, and wonderful. It felt like a bolt of lightning surged through her, and her head filled with a kind of pleasant haze. She had never given much thought to kissing, had never understood what pleasure there might be in people’s mouths connecting in such a way. Now she knew. The way his tongue moved with hers shot little electric thrills through her, and she was amazed at how something so simple, so uninteresting to her before now, could feel so incredible.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and put a hand in his hair, holding him to her as she returned the kiss with matching fervor. But after a minute, he leaned back. She looked up at him, wondering why he stopped, wishing he hadn’t. She wanted more. She pushed up on tiptoes and pulled him to her, bringing his mouth back to hers and feeding the new hunger he had awakened.

He returned her kiss as his hands moved down her body to her waist and back up. His thumbs caressed the sides of her breasts on the way. She shivered and pushed her body more against his, liking the feel of him. He ran his hand along her arm until he grabbed her wrist and, once again, pulled away from her. He grinned at her pout, then turned and led her through the crowd, taking her toward the back rooms. She went willingly, eagerly even.

But then Ayden suddenly came into view. She snapped out of her daze enough to realize what she was doing and jerked her arm away from Matt.

“Those are not resting room,” Ayden said, glaring at him. “This is a damn brothel!”

“Not technically,” Matt said lightly, amused by Ayden’s reaction. “People come for a good time; some women make money by offering just that.” He smirked. “Oh,” he said, with mock understanding, “are you a bit short on money? Did you need me to lend you a few coins?”

Ayden gave him a disgusted look, before turning his attention to Tess. He noticed her flushed face and loose hair and took her hand. “We’re leaving,” he said firmly, uncharacteristically taking charge.

She just nodded slowly. When she looked over at Matt, he met her gaze and his eyes held a silent offer to stay with him, a promise of more. She bit her lip, longing to stay, wanting more of the pleasure he could give her. But Ayden was pulling her with him and she had to turn her head to watch where she was going.

Once she was outside, the cold night air helped to cool her overheated body. Away from the seductive power of Matt’s smoldering stare and the sight of his tempting mouth, her head began to clear. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

“Are you okay?” Ayden asked, frowning at her.

“Yeah,” she answered quietly. “Yeah, I’m okay. It’s just...” She looked away; she couldn’t tell him what happened. She couldn’t admit to being with someone like Matt—he was macho and arrogant and everything she hated. What would Ayden think of her if she told him the truth? She couldn’t stand him thinking badly of her. “It was just a little overwhelming in there. Loud and... hot... with all the people.”

He nodded his agreement. “What happened to your braid?”

She thought quickly, lying wasn’t something she was good at. “The tie caught on something,” she said. It was basically the truth; it was just Matt’s fingers that it had caught on. “I couldn’t find it, so I just took the braid out.” She shrugged.

“Oh. Well, come on.” He started walking toward the inn they had stayed at the night before, still holding her hand and taking her with him.

__________

“I don’t like him,” Ayden complained again as they were getting ready the next morning. He was leaning against the headboard, picking at the end of his long shirtsleeve, and looking grumpy.

“What’s to like?” Tess asked rhetorically as she sat on the bed, bent over, lacing up her boot. She shook the memory of the previous night from her mind and hoped Ayden didn’t notice her shiver. It shouldn’t have happened, and it won’t happen again, she told herself firmly.

“We have the map. Why don’t we just go ourselves?”

Finished with her boots, she turned her head to frown at him. “That’s not very nice. We agreed to help him, remember? Besides, he’s got the key.”

“Humph.”

She sat up. “Why do you dislike him so much?”

“I don’t like the way he looks you,” he grumbled. “All predatory... like he’s about to attack you.”

“Like... to fight?”

“That’s generally what attack means, Tess.”

“Oh. Yeah. Well, I can take care of myself.”

He looked cynical. “You haven’t beaten him yet.”

“The first time we were interrupted, and... actually, you interrupted us the second time,” she reminded him. “Are you losing faith in me or something?”

“No,” he quickly assured. “Just a little worried, is all.”

She smirked. “So what? You want me to kick his ass to prove I’m better?”

He nodded. “Okay.”

She laughed. “And you’ll be there with a fireball ready if I don’t win?”

“Yes,” he said, a little too eagerly.

She shook her head. “Let’s at least wait until we get through with this quest. We’ve heard the stories about Kieran; we don’t want her coming back. Besides, Matt’s a good fighter. He also helped you get across the narrow bridge, and pulled us out of the lake. He’s a good person, even if he’s a bit of an arrogant ass sometimes.”

“He grudgingly helped me.”

“Actions, not attitude, Ayd,” she told him, quoting her uncle.

“Yeah, I guess so.” He sighed in defeat, then added stubbornly, “I still don’t like him.”

“We don’t have to like him, just work with him.” She stood up. “Ready?” She frowned when he just nodded glumly. “Don’t make me come over there.”

“No, don’t,” he said, already fighting a smile at the familiar threat.

“Oh, but I think I must,” she decided, and made a grab for him. Her hand hit against something solid—a blue glow appeared in the air, and then faded quickly. She gave a mock gasp. “You’d use magic against me?”

He rolled off the other side of the bed and sprinted across the room.

“I’m faster than you,” she reminded him with a grin.

“Yeah, well, maybe the tables have turned,” he said, smiling widely now.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.”

She saw his hand make two small circles in the air before following his gaze to her feet. The rope had slithered out of his bag, and one end now wrapped itself around her ankles. “That’s cheating!” she told him, though she was smiling.

After a few quick movements of his other hand, her wrists were bound as well.

“I don’t like this spell.”

He walked over to her and shoved her down onto the bed. “Oh? Thought you loved it. What changed?” He straddled her. “Don’t like someone else having the upper hand?” he taunted playfully. “Don’t want them to be able to do this?” he added and started tickling her sides.

“Stop!” she squealed as she struggled beneath him.

He laughed. “Not so tough now, are you?”

It took her a minute to realize that with his hands busy, the rope wouldn’t hold. She pulled free and flipped him over. Not realizing how close they were to the edge, they tumbled onto the floor. She immediately started wresting the rope away from him and he fought back.

A sudden knock on the door stopped their laughter. “Yeah,” Tess called, straightening herself out into a sitting position as Ayden made the rope return itself to his bag.

Matt walked in and raised a brow at the scene. “Just friends, huh?”

Tess frowned at him. “I thought we were meeting downstairs.”

“No one told me anything,” he said with a shrug. “Better to talk in private, anyway.”

She stood, pulling Ayden up with her. “Well, we have a table,” she said, pointing across the room to a small oak table with two chairs beside it. Matt closed the door behind him and went to take a seat. Tess waited for Ayden to take the other, but he didn’t move.

“I should redo your hair,” he told her.

She felt her braid and sighed. “You’re so gonna get it later,” she threatened with a grin.

He smirked. “Uh-huh.”

She grabbed the scroll from Ayden’s bag and sat down at the table, across from Matt. Ayden stood behind her, untied her hair, and started combing his fingers through the long tresses, taking out the messy braid.

Matt rolled his eyes. “Do you do anything for yourself?”

“It’s not easy to braid your own hair, you know,” she told him.

“Apparently it’s also difficult to cook your own food, lay out your own bedroll, or even pack your own saddlebags.”

“Domestic stuff isn’t my thing,” she replied simply. “And I’m not allowed to pack.”

“Are too,” Ayden disagreed. “You just have to quit shoving things in all haphazardly—stuff gets smashed. Plus, it just makes a mess, and you can’t find anything.”

“See?” Tess said. “Not allowed.”

Ayden gave her hair a tug. She tilted her head back for a second to give him a playful glare. He smiled back sweetly.

Matt rolled his eyes. “Well, it’s a good thing you have your puppy with you.”

Tess' eyes narrowed and her fist shot toward him. He caught it, but she still warned him fiercely, “Call him that again, and I’ll seriously hurt you.”

He let go of her hand and grabbed her roughly by the throat, then pulled her face closer to his and met her gaze evenly. Ayden let go of her hair and grudgingly did nothing, Tess would be furious if he interfered. “People who hit me when we’re not sparring end up in a bloody heap on the ground,” Matt growled menacingly. “Think before you try that again.”

“Oh, I’m so scared,” she said sarcastically.

They glared at each other for a long moment before he shoved her away. Ayden put his hands on her shoulders, catching her as she knocked into him. He scowled at Matt, his right hand twitching slightly. Tess touched his hand and looked up at him, telling him it was okay. He sighed and went back to gently combing though her hair with his fingers, then started braiding it.

Matt picked up the scroll, unrolled it, then tossed it onto the table again and leaned back. “Looks like another map,” he announced. “He can look at it when he’s done serving your highness.”

“Do you understand the concept of friend?” Ayden asked snidely.

Matt lit a cigarette and exhaled before answering. “Obviously not by your definition,” he answered. “I think I’ll stick to mine.”

“Since no one here’s clamoring to be your friend, I don’t think you’ll have a problem,” Ayden muttered.

“Trust me,” Matt said curtly, “that’s not what I’m here for.” He stood and walked over to the window.

When Ayden was finished with Tess' hair, he picked up the map. “Another island.”

“No shit,” Matt said, annoyed.

“It’s one of the Canaras Islands,” Ayden added.

“What’s with spirits and islands?” Tess wanted to know, but no one answered her.

“What’s it say on the bottom?” Matt pressed.

“I don’t know,” Ayden told him. “We’ll have to go to the Arcane Library in Oraunt. They’ll have a book there that’ll help translate it.”

Matt nodded once. “Fine. Let’s go,” he said, and left without waiting for them.

“You don’t know what it says?” Tess asked skeptically when Matt was gone. “I thought you knew every language.”

There were eight languages on Kelstone, including Common. There was also the troll’s language, but it wasn’t considered a “proper” language since it was mostly grunting. And people didn’t generally want to talk to trolls anyway, so there wasn’t much use in learning it.

Ayden shrugged. “Well, it’s in an old language—I’m not a great with it.”

“But you pretty much know what it says?”

He smiled. “Of course. But if I tell him that, then he could just take off with the key. Plus, the book will help; it’s probably a good idea for me to brush up. There might be more stuff written in it at the next place,” he told her as he grabbed his bag and headed for the door.

“Ayd, sorry, but that’s stupid,” she said, following him into the hallway. “Why would he do that? If he wanted to do it alone, he wouldn’t have asked for our help to begin with.”

“I know, but I just don’t trust him,” he grumbled.

“Why?”

He sighed. “I don’t know why, I just don’t.”

“Don’t trust him or don’t like him?” she challenged.

He frowned and didn’t answer as they continued downstairs.