Ballads of Shadow and Light by Christina Fong

Author:Christina Fong
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Christina Fong
Published: 2022-08-30T00:00:00+00:00

²

Aiden and I didn’t speak for the rest of the evening. He continued flirting with Lady Nana and the other girls.

I tried not to notice and focused on my job.

By closing time, most of the guests had either gone home or found private rooms. Only a few stragglers remained in the main dining hall to drink. I hoped I wouldn’t have to deal with them, but I was the only one left.

Lady Nana and the women were entertaining guests upstairs. I could hear music and raucous laughter. Aiden was nowhere in sight. I wondered if he was upstairs, too, flirting with a dancer.

Daki came out of the kitchen. He looked on the verge of collapse. Black circles underscored his eyes.

I touched his forehead. “You’ve got a fever.”

“Probably need to drink more water,” he said, though his eyes threatened to close, and he slurred his words. “Maybe some sleep, too.”

“Go upstairs and rest,” I said. “I can handle it down here.”

“Are you sure?” His voice sounded strained. “What if a drunkard tries to start a fight?”

“There are so few guests left here,” I said. “I doubt that will happen. Besides, I’ve got Aiden.”

At least I hoped he would be here if I needed him.

Daki nodded, lacking energy to refuse, and he stumbled upstairs. One by one, the guests either went upstairs to sleep in the rooms or went home until only one guest remained awake in the dining room.

I inwardly cringed, realizing it was the scholar who had tried to flirt with me earlier. I’d been too busy and too mad at Aiden to notice he had stayed the entire evening. I swallowed, and my chest tightened.

He was watching me and smiled as I took notice. He lifted his wine cup and called me over.

“Hello again.” He slurred and didn’t hide his leering at my chest. “Now that the crazy boy is gone, what do you say I show you what it’s like to be with a real man?” He burped loudly.

“Sir, I believe it’s time for you to go to bed. It’s very late, and the dining room is closing.”

“I’ll only go to bed if you join me . . . hic.”

His wandering hands grabbed the front of my dress. I lifted my knee, intending to dig it into his privates, but someone pushed me aside. Aiden slammed his fist into the man’s face.

The young lord pulled himself up and spat on the ground. “Is that all you got?” His speech cleared. He sneered, and his eyes shone with clarity. Odd, but he seemed sober now.

He lifted his palms and waved them toward the tables I hadn’t been able to clear yet. The discarded chopsticks and wine cups levitated from the tables and into the air. “Why don’t you fight me with your tin-chai? Unless you’re just a koong.”

Fire formed in Aiden’s hands, and in a blurred movement too quick for my eyes, the porcelain cups and ivory chopsticks caught ablaze before burning to char.

“I’ll take you on,” Aiden said, and another firebomb formed.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.