Read Online A Wicked Thing by Rhiannon Thomas - Free Book Online

table.
    â€œOh, yes, take them then, if you won’t entertain an old lady’s hopes.”
    â€œSorry, Dolores,” he said as he scooped them onto his tray. “I’m a hopeless cause.” With a nod to each of them, he headed back to the bar.
    â€œThat boy,” Dolores said, after he had gone. “If I ever see him care about anything, I’ll be so shocked, it’ll be the end of me.” Aurora gave another awkward nod, and Dolores turned to her husband again.
    With the conversation apparently over, Aurora drifted away, wandering closer to the stage. She leaned against a wall andclosed her eyes, allowing the singer’s voice to surround her. The sound was new and wistful and right, and as Aurora listened, it filled her empty stomach and soothed her throbbing head. One song melted into the next, and the next, until Aurora began to feel that she could breathe again.
    â€œGood, isn’t she?”
    She opened her eyes. The boy she’d met earlier leaned against the wall beside her.
    â€œYes,” she said. The music still filled her, leaving her oddly confident, almost bold. “I’ve never heard anything like her before.”
    â€œYeah, Nettle’s pretty new. Arrived in Petrichor maybe three weeks ago? One of those traveling performing types.”
    â€œNettle?”
    He shrugged. “Stage name. Don’t ask me why. She’s bristly enough for one, but the girl knows how to sing, so no more questions asked.” He had a casual, comfortable air about him, like the whole world was his friend, and he was waiting for them to realize it. “Sorry about Dolores,” he added. “She always thinks a ‘nice young man’ like me needs a friend. Seems to think I’m some kind of charity case, and ropes any pretty new girl into the cause.”
    â€œOh.” For some reason, the casual compliment seemed more genuine than all the voices that had ever called her beautiful. “That’s okay.”
    â€œI lied, you know,” he said. “To Dolores. I did make it to theceremony. But her annoyance at the idea that I didn’t was just too good to miss.”
    â€œOh,” she said again. She could feel him watching her out of the corner of his eye.
    â€œHow about you? What did you see?”
    â€œNothing,” she said. “Only the crowds.” It wasn’t entirely a lie. “What was it like?”
    â€œHow about I tell you over a drink? My treat.”
    â€œOh.” It seemed to be the only thing she was capable of saying. “No, thank you.”
    â€œYou can’t come to an inn and not get a drink.” He pushed himself up from the wall with one hand. “Don’t worry. I won’t actually be buying it. Bartender’s privilege.” When she did not move, he grabbed her hand. “Come on. We’ll get you sorted out.”
    He set off toward the bar, and Aurora found herself following, suddenly conscious of her unbrushed hair and dusty knees. The boy didn’t seem to notice. He gestured at a wobbly stool, and she pulled herself onto it without question.
    â€œMade a new friend, Tristan?” The girl behind the bar had a mass of brown hair and a sternly cut mouth. Her expression was somewhere between an eye roll and a sigh.
    Tristan laughed. “I’m always making new friends, Trudy.”
    â€œDon’t I know it.”
    â€œDolores says this one skipped the ceremony yesterday. Wanted to introduce me to the only other sensible person in this city.”
    Trudy glanced at the other customers and then across to the far wall. She frowned. “Don’t let Nell hear you talking like that. You know how she gets.”
    â€œIt won’t hurt anyone,” he said, but he stopped talking all the same.
    â€œSo what drew you in here?” Trudy said. “No offense, but you don’t look like our usual clientele.”
    â€œI came in for Nettle,” Aurora said. Her