Chapter 9

• Rose’s POV
• The tavern reeked of ale, sweat, and desperation. The moment Laura and I stepped inside, the noise wrapped around us like a suffocating cloak—drunken laughter, off-key singing, and the clatter of tankards slamming onto wooden tables. Smoke curled in the air, blurring the already dim candlelight and making it hard to breathe.
• We wove our way through the crowd, my eyes darting from one face to another, clinging to the desperate hope that one of them might be his. But Kavian was nowhere to be found. Instead, we attracted the attention of a group of intoxicated men whose stares turned from curious to lecherous within seconds.