Brugmansia

Chapter 7🌹

                                                                                Sages's POV:

We arrived at Xenos' tavern, and I could barely keep the shock off my face. The place was a disaster. Broken plates, shattered vases, and what seemed like the remnants of glass littered the floor. It looked like a storm had swept through. Alohi sighed loudly beside me, crossing her arms as she took in the scene.

"Really, Xenos?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "You couldn't have cleaned up? You knew she was coming."

Xenos, who had already made his way to the bar, barely spared her a glance. "It's my tavern. I'll do whatever I want," he muttered, pouring himself a drink. His tone was dripping with indifference, and I could tell Alohi was about to snap back.

Before they could get into it, I stepped forward, my voice soft but firm. "I don't care about the mess," I said, trying to defuse the tension.

That only seemed to make things worse. Xenos' grip tightened around his glass, his eyes narrowing in irritation. He set the drink down with a little too much force, the sound of it clattering against the wood echoing in the room.

"You don't care?" he said, his voice low and cold. "That's good, because I wasn't about to clean up for you anyway."

I held back a sigh, realizing I'd only added fuel to the fire. Without another word, he spun on his heel. "Follow me," he ordered, already walking toward a set of stairs. Alohi and I exchanged a look, but we followed him up the creaky steps.

When we reached the top floor, Xenos led us to a room at the end of the hall. He opened the door with a swift motion, stepping aside to let me see inside. It was surprisingly beautiful. The large bed was draped with soft linens, and there were flowers and plants everywhere, making the room feel almost like a garden. A small bathroom was tucked into the corner. It felt warm and inviting—completely different from the chaos downstairs.

"Thank you," I said quietly, stepping into the room. I hesitated, then turned to face Xenos. "And... I'm sorry about earlier. For asking to hold your hand. I wasn't—"

"Just shut up," he snapped, cutting me off. His voice was harsh, but there was something behind his eyes—frustration, maybe? I couldn't quite place it. "You're annoying. There are rules in this house, and if you break them, you'll regret it."

I blinked, taken aback, but stayed silent as he began listing the rules, his voice sharp and commanding.

"One," he said, holding up a finger, "your fairy stays with you at all times. I don't want it flying around causing trouble."

Aurora, who was perched on my shoulder, bristled at the comment but stayed quiet.

"Two, no exploring. You stay in your room unless I say otherwise. Three, don't touch anything in this house except for what's in your room. And four," his eyes narrowed, "don't bother me. If you do, there will be consequences."

I swallowed hard, feeling the weight of his words. "Okay," I said softly, my voice barely more than a whisper. I didn't want to make things worse, but the sharpness in his gaze didn't fade.

He stood there for a moment longer, as if daring me to challenge him, but I just kept my eyes down, hoping it would end. Finally, with a frustrated huff, he turned and stormed out of the room, his cape swirling behind him.

As soon as he left, Scael, his ever-annoying lizard, decided to make his presence known. He slithered off Xenos' shoulder and hopped onto my bed, his eyes gleaming with mischief.