Chapter 4: Daughter rejects, mother steps in
The Rushing Stag was already bustling despite the early hour. The tavern’s main room glowed with warm light from the hearth fire and hanging lanterns, casting dancing shadows across the wooden tables and the diverse patrons who occupied them. Farmers shared benches with merchants, village elders huddled over steaming mugs, and travellers rested their weary feet after journeys through the mountain passes.
As I stepped inside, the warmth enveloped me, a welcome contrast to the biting cold outside. I shook the snow from my cloak and ran a hand through my dark hair, scanning the room with practiced casualness.
And there she was.
Rena.
Rena sat at a corner table, her copper hair falling in waves around her heart-shaped face. She was leaning forward, laughing at something the man across from her had said.
Not just any man—Daken, one of the newly appointed Knights of the Coven.
The Knights were a special breed of men, handpicked to serve and protect the most powerful witches in the realm. They were among the few males granted respect approaching that given to women, though everyone understood they were tools rather than equals.
Selected for their physical prowess, unwavering loyalty, and, if I were being honest, their handsome faces, knights were trained from a young age to sacrifice themselves without hesitation for their witch.
And I heard they would whore themselves to the witches too.
Daken had returned to Riverfall only three days ago, resplendent in the silver-trimmed black uniform of the Knights, a polished sword at his hip and a new confidence in his stance. The village hadn’t stopped talking about it since—one of their own, elevated to such a position.
Apparently, neither had Rena.
My jaw tightened as I watched her place her hand on Daken’s forearm, her fingers lingering longer than necessary.