APRILS POV
The air in the bar was thick and quiet, which made me uneasy. The kind of silence where you know something’s coming, even if you don’t know what it is. My senses were on high alert, my eyes flicking between the glass of beer in my hand and the rogue who had taken a seat at the counter. He wasn’t saying much, but his presence was loud enough.
I couldn’t help but feel the weight of his gaze, the way he was watching me. I wasn’t sure if he knew exactly what I was, but I felt like he was trying to figure me out. My fingers tightened around my glass, keeping myself busy, though every nerve in my body screamed to leave the bar and get some distance between us. But I couldn’t. Not yet.
It wasn’t the first time I’d encountered rogues in my travels, but something about this guy felt different. Maybe it was the quiet way he moved and seemed to be waiting for something-waiting for me to slip up. Or perhaps it was just the knowledge that he was part of the group that had been trailing me for days now, and I hadn’t yet figured out why. What were they after?
I tried to focus, keeping my cool, and casually took a sip of my drink, the cold liquid sliding down my throat. But the quiet lingered, thick and suffocating, until the rogue finally broke it.
“You’re new around here,” he said, his voice casual, though there was an edge to it that I couldn’t ignore. His eyes flicked over me again, assessing.
I set my glass down slowly, trying to seem disinterested. “Not really,” I said. “I have been here for a while.”
He nodded, then glanced toward the door as if he was expecting someone. “You wouldn’t happen to have seen anyone unusual around here, would you? Maybe some… unfamiliar faces?”
I felt my stomach tighten. It was clear now that his questions weren’t innocent. He was looking for someone-looking for something. And I didn’t think it was just an innocent conversation.
“I’m not sure what you mean,” I said, keeping my voice neutral, hoping he wouldn’t push further. “This is a quiet town.”
He studied me for a moment, his lips curling into a slight, knowing smile. “I heard there’s been some… trouble around here. Some missing people.”
I stiffened but didn’t let it show. Missing people. That could mean anything. But I had a feeling it wasn’t just a coincidence that this guy was here asking about them. It couldn’t be.
He was definitely looking for the dead rogues, Fuck!
“I wouldn’t know anything about that,” I said carefully.
“Right,” he said, leaning in slightly. “But you have heard something, haven’t you? There’s talk about a girl… asking questions. A girl who knows things.”
I froze. A girl who knows things? Was he talking about me? I barely stopped myself from letting the surprise show on my face, but I had a feeling he wasn’t referring to me directly. He didn’t know who I really was. No one did.
“I think you’re mistaken,” I said, my voice even. “If you are right, though, I have not heard anything, I’m sorry,”
The rogue didn’t seem to buy it. His eyes narrowed, and he didn’t pull away. Instead, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a few photos. He slid them across the counter toward me. “Maybe these will jog your memory.”
I glanced at the photos, my breath catching as I recognized their faces. These weren’t just random people. They were rogues- I think they were the same rogues that Cassius’ warriors had killed.
“These are my… friends,” the rogue continued. “They’ve gone missing. Last I heard, they were in the area. But now, I can’t find them anywhere.”
The realization hit me like a blow to the gut. Cassius’s warriors. I had to be careful how I responded, but I couldn’t just let this go.
“You’re looking for your friends?” I asked slowly, making sure my tone was just right-neutral, unthreatening. “What makes you think I would know what happened to them?”
His gaze never left me. “I don’t know. You just look like you’ve seen something. Maybe you’ve been watching from the sidelines. I’ve been around long enough to know when someone’s hiding something.”
I held my breath, forcing myself to stay calm. This wasn’t just some random question. They were getting closer. Things would get much worse if they figured out who I was if they even suspected I was connected to Cassius and his warriors. I could already feel the dangerous turn in the air.
“I haven’t seen anything,” I said again, my voice steady. “I don’t know what happened to your friends.”
He studied me for a long moment, his eyes cold and calculating. “Funny,” he said softly. “You look like you know this town. You look like you’re hiding something, sweetheart.”
I met his gaze and refused to back down. “You’re mistaken. I don’t know anything about your friends or what happened to them.”
He leaned back, watching me with a mix of suspicion and frustration. He was about to say something else when one of his companions stepped into the bar, his presence like a shadow in the corner of the room. The rogue I’d been talking to gave me one last look before standing and walking toward his friend.
“We’ll find out what happened,” he muttered, throwing a few bills on the counter. “You can count on that.”
“I hope you do,” I said.
I watched them leave, the tension still hanging in the air like smoke. The door closed behind them, and the bar seemed to breathe again, but the unease didn’t leave. My mind was racing.
They were getting too close. I didn’t know how much longer I could keep up this act. But I had to. I had to stay hidden, stay under the radar. If they found out the truth-if they figured out I wasn’t just a regular person in this town-it would all be over.
I stood there, frozen for a moment, before slowly making my way back to arranging drinks. Snow’s voice echoed in my mind.
“You need to tell Cassius, April. Tell him the truth. He’s the only one who can protect you now.”
But I couldn’t. Not yet. I wasn’t ready to give myself up completely. Not when I’d spent so long running. Not when I still didn’t know how much Cassius truly cared-or what his reaction would be.
But the truth was, something had shifted inside me. Cassius had left warriors to protect me. He cared enough to do that. And maybe, just maybe, he was the one I could finally trust.
But telling him? That was a risk I wasn’t sure I was ready to take. Yet.
The door to the bar swung open once again, and my heart skipped a beat. But it wasn’t him. It was just another customer.
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. And as the minutes passed, I couldn’t stop the gnawing feeling at the back of my mind. The rogues were getting closer. And whether I liked it or not, the truth was coming.