Chapter 3 Uninvited guests

I rushed out to the main tavern room and found three complete strangers straining to hold the heavy oak door shut against a screaming whiteout storm.

One was a massive, six-foot-tall man wrapped in thick furs; another was a sharp-eared elf clutching a bow; and the third was a tall, sharp-eyed man dressed in a dark scholar's cloak.

“What’s happening?!” I yelled over the deafening roar of the gale.

“The latch snapped again—it won’t hold!” the scholar yelled back, turning his head slightly. “Do something!”

“Uhh—” I panicked, my mind racing. “What do I do?!”

“A spell!” the elf shouted, her boots slipping on the accumulating ice.

“Right!” I whispered, pacing backward. “A spell… what spell? The sanctuary ward spell!” My eyes lit up. I reached into my satchel, drawing from the stolen Book of Warding I’d studied on the road.

“Hurry!!” Kaelen pleaded from behind the bar.

I rushed to the doorway, raised my hands, and cast the high-tier warding incantation directly into the doorframe and hearth foundations.

Golden light erupted from the floorboards, shooting across the room like liquid fire. In two seconds flat, every window, chimney, and door sealed shut with heavy bands of ancient magic. The howling storm instantly vanished into dead silence. It felt as though the storm had been erased entirely.

I heaved a massive sigh of relief.

“What spell did you just cast?” the scholar asked. He took a slow, deliberate step toward me.

“A sanctuary ward spell,” I answered, crossing my arms defensively. “I did it to keep the storm out. It’s temporary.”

“Temporary?” he echoed. He looked down at his own waist, drawing a fine steel dagger, and struck the flat of the blade against the sealed door frame.

The blade shattered into a dozen glittering shards upon impact.

My pulse spiked.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“A traveler. I just needed shelter until the storm passed,” he answered, unclasping his snow-dusted cloak to reveal an embroidered crest on his tunic—the official seal of the Royal Archives.

Kaelen practically ducked behind my skirt.

“And your friends?” I asked.

“We’re not friends,” the elf spoke up quickly, stepping away from the half-giant. “We just saw him heading toward this light when the storm blew in, so we followed.”

She offered a polite smile. “I’m Jinxi, and this is Hagul, my travel companion.”

“I don’t care who you are. You all leave at first light,” I declared firmly.

“But… what if the storm hasn’t passed by first light?” Jinxi asked softly. “You can’t possibly throw us out into a Glimmer-Frost whiteout?”

I paused, glancing at Melia, who deliberately avoided my gaze.

I swallowed hard. “We’re not open for business yet—”

“We will pay for our stay,” the scholar cut me off clean before I could finish.

“I didn’t get your name,” I said, shooting him an aggressive glare.

“I didn’t give it to you,” he responded plainly. He reached into his coat and tossed a leather pouch straight at me.

The bag landed at my feet with a heavy, metallic clink. I slowly bent down and picked it up, loosening the drawstring.

My breath caught. It was filled with pure royal gold and high-grade silver coins far more than a night’s stay was worth.

I immediately dropped my defensive stance, my tight expression melting into a professional smile.

“Well, if you guests would like to wait by the bar while I prepare your rooms,” I said smoothly, gesturing toward the counter. “Can I get you something to eat or drink while you wait?”

The scholar let out a cold, humorless laugh. “So you’re one of those.”

“Excuse me?” I turned back, my smile faltering.

“I didn’t think you were one of those greedy tavern owners who intentionally inflate prices the moment they see a well-dressed traveler,” he said, his blue eyes locking onto mine.

“Kaelen, go upstairs and prepare the guest rooms,” I ordered quietly, keeping my gaze locked on the scholar until my brother darted up the stairs.

Once Kaelen was out of earshot, I took a step closer to the stranger. “Look, I don’t know who you think you are or whatever royal high-horse you rode in on, but you will not walk into my tavern and speak to me like that.”

A faint, maddening smirk curved his lips. “You don’t like the truth, do you?”

“And what 'truth' might that be?” I demanded, closing the distance between us.

He took one intimidating step forward, towering over me, but I refused to flinch.

“That you’re an opportunist,” he said softly, his eyes dropping to my unfastened satchel, where the velvet spine of the stolen Book of Warding was exposed. “Perhaps even a thief. Does this tavern even belong to you?”

My heart stopped for a fraction of a second, but I forced a sharp, mocking smile onto my face. “You’re right.”

His smirk faltered slightly.

“I am a gold digger and a thief,” I whispered dangerously, staring right into his icy eyes. “But I have very good reasons to be, you arrogant asshole.”

“The rooms are ready!” Kaelen announced from the top of the landing, shattering the heavy tension in the room.

“Follow me and I'll show you where to sleep!”

The scholar glared at me for a second longer, his eyes lingering on my face as if trying to solve a puzzle, before turning to follow Kaelen up the stairs alongside Hagul and Jinxi.

The moment his cloak disappeared around the corner, I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. Being strong had never come easy to me, but pretending to be was light work.

The rest of the night was quiet, tense, and strange. Kaelen came down an hour later and couldn't stop talking about Hagul because he was fascinated by the fact that he was half giant and half human.

Kaelen also mentioned that he’d tried making small talk with the rude scholar, but the only detail he managed to pull out of him was his name: Theron.

“Theron,” I whispered to myself later that night, watching Kaelen curl up in his bed and fall asleep after chatting for hours.

I quietly slipped out of Kaelen’s room and walked into my own, plotting a hundred petty revenge schemes to pull on Theron tomorrow. Nobody insults me under my own roof and gets away with it scot-free.

I fell asleep somewhere around my fiftieth idea.

The next morning, I woke up with a pounding headache.

I yawned loudly, stretched, and walked out into the main tavern area. To my surprise, everyone was already awake.

They were all gathered near the front entrance, staring intently at the heavy oak door. I couldn't see what they were looking at because Hagul’s massive shoulders were blocking the view.

“Morning,” I announced, rubbing my eyes. “What’s going on?”

Kaelen turned around, gently tapping Hagul’s arm to ask him to move aside.

The half-giant stepped back, and I finally saw the doorway.

WELCOME TO THE CROSSROADS SANCTUARY.

THE DOORS SHALL NOT OPEN. THE WARD SHALL NOT BREAK.

YOU ARE BOUND TO THIS HEARTH UNTIL YOU ACHIEVE A FIVE-STAR ATMOSPHERE RATING.

YOUR FIRST TRIAL BEGINS AT DAWN.

We were so screwed.