serious,” Garin insisted. He cocked his head sideways. “Have you… never seen a faerie before?” he inquired curiously.
“Can’t say I have.”
“That explains it. So, it’s not just me—these creatures will affect everyone. Darklings and humans alike.
Get too caught up in their aura when they dance, and they’ll be able to convince you to do their bidding. Almost anything they want. Commit murder and flee the kingdom. Leave your spouse for a horned toad. Slit your own wrist… It’s brilliant, actually.”
“Like vampires can?”
Something had caught in Garin’s throat, and he took a moment attempting to dislodge it. “Yes, it’s similar. But far more powerful than a vampire’s entrancement.”
Just then, Lorietta appeared at the edge of the table with a tray. She placed Lilac’s plates and both their drinks onto the table, departing with a sideways glance at Garin.
“Why does she keep looking at you like that?” Lilac finally asked.
“She’s like my mother, in a way,” he replied, peering into his glass of scotch. “I’ve worked here a while. And she’s staring, because a lovely maiden like yourself is either bored or fool enough to willingly grace my presence.” He gave a little bow in his seat. “You’ll learn to ignore her.”
“And your real mother?”
At Garin’s sudden frown, she glanced away awkwardly and preoccupied herself with her glass of red wine, swirling its contents just below the rim. She hadn’t previously realized how bad she was at socializing with others her own age, never mind men.
The question didn’t seem to phase him otherwise. “Both of my parents are dead,” he replied matter-of-factly. “I left Paimpont to work here at the tavern and support myself. A man has to eat, you know. And it’s fine, they’ve been dead a while,” he added in response to Lilac’s expression of muted shock.
“Goodness, I’m sorry for asking.”
He shook his head and smiled generously. “If I minded, you would know.”
Desperate to change the subject, Lilac chewed on her thumbnail. She recalled her first and only trip to the town lasting them from early dawn till evening, but that was only because the Queen’s carriage driver had taken the main road, which wove around and surpassed most of Brocéliande. Maybe she could convince Garin to tell her how to reach the town faster by forest. “You travel back and forth, then? That must be tiresome.”
“No, I have a room upstairs that Meriam has graciously allowed me to rent, long term. It isn’t terrible.”
Lilac knew of folks—mostly thrill-seekers or marauders—who would pass through the forest occasionally. But a human choosing to live there was unheard of, so far as she knew.
“Why not get a job in Paimpont?” Lilac said, lowering her voice. “Surely that’s a little safer.”
Garin waved a hand. “Too many memories there,” he said flippantly. “Of my parents. They were farmers, but aspiring alchemists under the table.” There was a rough edge to his laugh. “We used to joke that they were the peasants’ healers. And yet, they succumbed to simple wintertime maladies… The irony.”
He averted his gaze then. Suddenly, he appeared younger.
A pang of guilt resonated through her chest. Words caught in her throat; she didn’t quite know what to say. Despite his secrecy, the sudden transparency was unnerving. It was evident that ignoring his charm would be a losing battle. She cleared her throat, feeling vulnerable herself.
“Perhaps we—perhaps the king and queen would hire you,” she offered, barely catching herself in time.
“At the castle, you mean?” His voice was taught with bitterness, catching her off guard. “Me, a servant boy? Absolutely not. The kingdom is corrupt in its own ways. The whole lot of them. The Trécessons, their miserable princess, even the next in line—the duke’s family. Oh bother, what are they called… That’s right, the Le Tallecs.” He scoffed loudly. “I’d rather starve or work in Brocéliande. Even if it kills me.”
Lilac chewed on her lip. She knew he had good reason to say these things, but it was still shocking to hear in person. It was impossible to please everyone. Living in the castle for so long, she’d never had the opportunity to hear anyone’s unfiltered opinion of her parents’ reign, save the paranoia circling the kingdom about her own.
Did the majority of the townsfolk feel this way about the king and queen?
Lilac shifted in her seat, making a feeble attempt to change the subject by focusing on something else he’d mentioned.
“Next in line?”
“You’re right, I misspoke. The princess is next in line. She’s heiress, obviously. But the Le Tallec’s brat son is