The Blood Forest (Tree of Ages #3)(17)

Finn scanned the mostly empty room as they entered. She knew the establishment would fill up come evening, but it was still early enough in the day that few patrons filled the low chairs surrounding the round wooden tables. Her gaze moved next to the woman at the bar, not Malida, but her daughter. The girl’s eyes lit up as she noticed Kai, then narrowed into a glare as she spied Finn with her draconic bundle in her arms. Unperturbed, Kai and Finn moved toward the bar with Iseult in tow, while the rest of their party took up seats around a vacant table.

Malida’s daughter, whose name Finn had somehow never learned, glanced toward the occupied table, then flipped her dark brown hair over her shoulder as Kai, Iseult, and Finn approached. “My mother will not be pleased you’re back in Anna’s company,” she said, her gaze drifting to Kai as she slowly dried a pewter mug with a cloth.

“I’m sure she’ll change her mind after I explain a few things,” he replied. “Now where is she?”

Finn watched as the girl’s eyes narrowed once more, glancing between herself and Iseult, then back to Kai. “You know better than to ask for her whilst in the company of strangers.”

“They’re not strangers,” Kai sighed. “Is she in the back? I’ll go in alone.”

Finn tapped his shoulder, quite sure he was forgetting something important. Meeting his gaze, she glanced down at the bundle in her arms. The bundle that was beginning to squirm while emitting soft growls.

His eyes widened in realization. “Ah, yes,” he said, turning back to the girl, “Finn and I will go back. The rest will remain out here, though it’s likely they will want a hot meal.”

The girl scowled at Finn. “I thought her name was Breya,” she spat.

Finn’s eyes widened. She’d forgotten she’d gone by a false name the last time they saw Malida.

“Where is Malida?” Kai asked again, ignoring the girl’s comment.

The girl sighed, then gestured toward the end of the bar where there was a space to pass through. “She’s filling out her ledgers in the back.”

Iseult gently caught Finn’s arms before she could follow Kai toward the end of the bar. He didn’t need to speak to voice his concerns.

“It’s alright,” she assured, steadily meeting his gaze. “I trust Malida.”

He seemed to think about it for a moment, then nodded, though he was clearly not pleased.

Finn gave him a final reassuring smile, then followed Kai, clamping down on Naoki to keep her from breaking free of her bundle. The few midday patrons in the establishment were beginning to look at her strangely, and she wanted to be out of sight before the dragon burst forth and caused a commotion.

She hurried to the other side of the bar, then through a door Malida’s daughter had moved to unlock for them. As soon as the door shut behind them, Finn released her dragon, hoping Malida would not be too frightened when they found her.

Naoki scrambled across the wooden flooring of a long hallway, her talons clicking hollowly on the boards.

Kai watched the little dragon as she skittered up and down the hall, wanting to explore, but apparently afraid to go too far on her own. He turned, raising an eyebrow at Finn. “Now you see what I had to deal with the entire voyage to Migris?”

Finn rolled her eyes, blowing a stray lock of hair from her face. “She’s not that bad. It was likely difficult for her to be bundled up for so long.”

Kai snorted. “If you say so. Let’s find Malida.”

Finn nodded and followed Kai. Naoki was finally able to calm herself enough to prance by Finn’s side, though she chittered and nipped at Finn’s cloak as they walked, hoping for treats.

Kai reached the end of the hall, then took a right. Finn estimated they were somewhere near the main sitting room, though she’d never entered through the front side of the home. Reaching Kai’s side at the end of the corridor, she saw that her estimations were right. Malida sat on an overstuffed chair, hunched over a pile of parchment in her lap. Standing, the woman would barely reach Finn’s shoulder, which made her tiny, given Finn’s small stature. Though she was yet to look up from her parchment, Finn remembered her muddy brown eyes and hair, and a face that boasted numerous lines from years of laughter.

Kai cleared his throat, and Malida jumped, then glanced over at them with a hand held to her chest. “You scared me out of my wits,” she gasped. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you to knock before entering someone’s home?”

“Your daughter let us in,” Kai explained, stepping forward.

Naoki was staring warily in Malida’s direction, though Malida could not see her over the high-backed, padded bench blocking her view.

Malida gave Kai a final hard glare, then turned her suddenly kind gaze to Finn. “You, however, I am overjoyed to see.” She stood, grinning wide enough to showcase her few remaining teeth, then walked around the padded bench toward Finn.

Naoki chirped excitedly, and Malida jumped back. She lifted her arms as if afraid the dragon might attack. “What in the ancestors is that!” she shouted.

Kai hurried to the small woman’s side and gently took one of her arms. “It’s alright, this is Naoki,” he explained, gesturing toward the dragon with his free hand, “Breya’s . . . pet.”

Finn frowned at the renewal of her fake name, but she supposed it would save them some explanation . . . for now.