The female in question leaned in and smacked Xander on the arm playfully. I watched her, an odd spurt of anger bursting through me as her hand connected with Xander’s arm. I’d never felt anything like it and it was… discomforting, to say the least.
“Stop that,” she replied. “No one calls me Josephine except my mother. Not even my own brother. Don’t you start now, Xan, or I’ll be forced to tell Ana here more stories about you.”
Xander paled, but before he could reply, Daegal’s head poked out of the back. “Two minutes, Jo.”
Furrowing my brows, I watched as the buxom female walked up the stairs. Once she was gone, I turned to Xander. He was standing with his arms crossed, staring at the empty stairwell.
I cleared my throat. “Did you get the mysterious item you came for?”
He nodded distractedly, his gaze still firmly on the now-empty doorway. His fingers twitched at his sides as he stood, legs spread as though he were preparing for a fight. “I did.”
A twinge of something odd appeared in my stomach when I realized Xander was watching forher. Josephine.
This was a strange feeling, and one I had never felt before. It left a bitter taste on my tongue and made me feel queasy. I wanted to walk up and grab Xander’s attention for myself. I wanted him to pay attention to me.
It took a moment for me to realize what I was feeling. Jealousy.
Huffing, I rubbed my hand over my face.
Get a hold of yourself, Aileana. You have no business feeling jealous of Josephine. Xander can do whatever he wants. He doesn’t belong to you. Just look at him. He doesn’t even like you. And youdon’tlike him.
I sighed because Inner-Aileana was right. I had no business feeling anything for Xander.
Whatever Jo and Xander had going on, it didn’t involve me. Besides, Xander and I had only known each other for two days. He and Jo seemed to have a much longer history.
If there was one thing I knew for certain, it was that I didn’t intend to know Xander long enough to have a history. I disliked him immensely. He rubbed me the wrong way and made me feel all sorts of complicated things. Things I had no time for.
The sooner the two of us could go our separate ways, the better. Then these feelings, these pesky, horrid feelings would be in the past. And I could go on living like none of this had ever happened.
“Good,” I said, nodding emphatically. I strove to sound calm, but my voice sounded off to my own ears. This time, I repeated, “That’s good. I’m glad you got what you came for.”
Xander pulled his gaze from the stairs towards me, his mouth twitching. He leaned forward, cutting the distance between us in half.
I took in a deep breath, my eyes finding his as all the sounds of the tavern faded away. Xander tilted his head, his golden eyes sharp in the dim lighting. He smirked. “What’s wrong, Ana?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” I huffed, pulling my gaze from his and staring at my hands. I would not get worked up over this male who clearly harbored immense feelings of dislike towards me. “I’m just ready to get out of this city, that’s all.”
I’m ready to leave you and these confusing feelings behind.
The words echoed in my mind, but I didn’t say them.
“Good,” Xander said gruffly. “I’m sure you’ll be happy to get rid of me.” He muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like “that makes two of us”, but before I could call him out on it, a series of loud shouts and scuffles erupted from the floor above us. It sounded like a herd of elephants had taken up residence upstairs.
Moments later, a crash reverberated through the floor. The chatter in the tavern stopped as Daegal’s head popped out from the back. His cheeks were flushed as he gestured toward us.
“Change of plans,” the Fortune Elf said hurriedly.
He pulled on a heavy black cloak over his tunic, placing a large canvas bag on his back.
“What’s going on, Daegal?” Xander asked.
The elf withdrew a long sword from under the counter and shoved it into a scabbard at his hip. “We’ll be leaving sooner than expected. Get ready.”
“We?” I asked, but just then, several people came barreling down the stairs.
“I won’t stand for this, Jeremiah,” a male with a long red beard said.
The taller male crossed his arms, getting in Red Beard’s face. “Mariella made her choice, Lothar. And it wasn’t you.”