Dáinn watched the siblings laughing as they cracked jokes at each other. Their food in front of them lay untouched. Dáinn sat next to Keva as he had been dragged to share dinner with them as a guest on the premise that he had helped them deal with one of Balas’ worst gangs. He did infiltrate and gain information, but that was only to make this job end quicker. Not that he wanted to help. He was getting too close, and this needed to end. Who knows when the door will open again.    

“I hate all of you.” He muttered his thoughts barely audibly, not entirely trying to keep quiet. He didn’t care if they heard. This was supposed to be a conversation about the company. But when Naomi joined, the conversation had derailed. Naomi was sweet, but she was native, and she didn’t understand the significance of their conversations. Though considering the other two were laughing with her, he suspected he was the only serious one in the room. Their parents were probably the only ones who could shut them up at this point. Sadly, they were gone on their business trip. ‘At least some people are actually working when they are supposed to.’

Keva paused laughing to glance at Dáinn for his remark. 

“Expect me, right?!” His eyes turned into crescents as a prideful grin played on his lips. 

Dáinn stared back at the man whose emerald eyes glittered. With an unmoving blank face, he watched the so-called adult smile at him. 

He blinked before focusing on his food again. “Especially you.”  

Abigail and Naomi, who had grown silent, burst out laughing again.

“?!” Keva’s grin dropped into a frown. “You don’t really hate me do you?”

‘He sounds hurt,’ Dáinn smiled while cutting into a piece of the steak before him. “Yup, annoying too.”

Keva gave a dramatic grasp. “But that’s the best part of myself!”

Dáinn rolled his eyes in response. “Stop trying to fool yourself.”

“Once you stop being a fool for me.” 

Dáinn’s eyes widened a bit in embarrassment. He ignored Keva while he finished eating. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“I’m sure you do. You just don’t want to believe it. You’ll come around eventually,” Keva smiled and watched Dáinn as he ate. The two sisters ate in silence, confused but smiling. 

Feeling the stares on him and his face growing hot, Dáinn quickly finished his food and got up. “I'll be outside the door.”

“Aw, but you were supposed to be a guest,” Keva pouted.

“I’m also your bodyguard, and you have a much more important conversation to have right now.” He turned and left the pouting noble to his two sisters without saying more.  

The siblings finished their dinners and left the dining hall a few moments later. The servants followed after slowly cleaning up the dining table. Dáinn said his goodbyes to the girls and followed Keva to his room. As they stepped in, Keva lit the gas lamp and walked to Dáinn.

“Will you be going back to the Nightingale Bar tonight?”

“Yes, those brainless idiots can still be used for information.”

Keva sighed. “Okay, please be careful.”

“You say this every time, and I always come back fine, don’t I?” Dáinn said, trying to reassure Keva’s anxiety. 

“I know, but one can’t be too careful.”

Giving in, Dáinn nodded. “I will.”

He turned and left the room, shutting the door behind him and leaving Keva to worry alone in the silence. Dáinn walked the few steps to his room to change into more appropriate clothes before using the bedroom’s only window to leave. Bracing his hand on the window sill, he jumped the few feet below in the garden. The night breeze blew across the trees, moving their leaves in a gentle sway. The air nipped at his face as it blew past, indicating autumn was coming. The moonlight lit his way, moving through the familiar path between plants of all kinds. He snuck past the patrolling guards before reaching the manor’s outer wall. Scaling the wall, he went outside the manor’s ground before catching a carriage to the Nightingale Bar. 

Dáinn entered the loud bar. Where drunk men shouted or sang as they chugged their beers. He ignored the sweaty drunkards and walked to the bar. Ordering a beer, he sat to wait for his targets to come to him. And come they did. He felt an arm wrap around his shoulders only a few minutes after arriving.

“You’re here again!” A man with dark blue eyes exclaimed. Charles, a man who stood a few feet taller than him, gulped down the last bit of his beer. After he did, he slammed the mug down on the counter. 

“Another beer for me!” He ruffled his brown hair before taking a seat beside Dáinn.

“I thought you said you were gonna be busy.”

Dáinn took a sip of his beer. “Plans changed”

The bartender brought another beer for Charles, taking away his empty glass. He turned sideways to look at Dáinn, leaning his elbow on the counter and sipped on his beer.

“Great timing! Me and Phillip were just about to play a game of pool, wanna join!”

Dáinn smiled at the man. “I have nothing better to do.”

At that, Charles jumped up with his beer in hand, walking to the card and pool rooms in the back of the bar. He followed Charles into one of the rooms furthest from the main bar. As he entered, Dáinn took notice of the unfamiliar figures in the room along with Phillip, a tall, dark redhead. Next to Phillip stood a man with greasy black hair combed back with a few scars covering his face. He wore a plain shirt and pants. Another man with thin brown hair tied up into a low ponytail stood on the other side. On the other hand, this one had designer clothes that nobles would wear. The men stood around the pool table, each with a cue stick in hand.

Pillip’s eyes lit up as he noticed Dáinn enter the room. “I’m glad you’re joining us Dáinn!”

As he closed the door behind them, Charles pointed to the two unfamiliar men and introduced them. “The man in the plain clothes is Jonas, and the other is Lewis.” Then he pointed to Dáinn. “This is Dáinn, someone we met at the bar a few months ago.”

Dáinn nodded to the two men. Lewis nodded back in greeting while Jonas stared at Dáinn. 

Jonas sighed before making his way to the door.

“Where are you going?” Charles asked the scarred man.

“None of your business.” He left, shutting the door behind him.

“Jeez, who got on his nerves?”

“Maybe it’s because I won against his ass,” Phillip remarked.

The four men started a game and began playing. As they hit around the balls, taking turns. Laughing and talking, Dáinn took the time to ask questions subtly. The men were too drunk to understand why he was asking these questions, but he never let down his guard. Against people who lived their lives on the street and in gangs, they could strike at any moment. But as the night continued, the three men became drunker. Dáinn could even feel himself start to grow a little light-headed. Soon, the lightheadedness turned into a headache that would make his head spin every time he moved. Dáinn’s nerves started acting up. He had to stop and leave the room. Something was wrong, and he knew it. He needed to leave as fast as he could and get to somewhere safe he could recover. However, before he could open the door, Charles stopped him.

In his drunken state, Charles shouted. “Where hic are you going!?”

Dáinn didn’t respond. His head had spun again, making his vision blur. In the back of the room, Lewis had doubled over and puked on the floor. Phillip braced himself against the wall before falling to the ground and fainting. Dáinn shoved Charles out of the way to reach for the door handle. As he yanked the handle, it stopped midway. It was locked. He tried again, but his head spun again, and he had the urge to faint. Charles behind him had already fainted, and soon Lewis followed suit. With the last bit of strength, Dáinn kicked at the door. As he did so, an odd smell filled his nostrils. It was gas! The wooden door splintered under his kicks. However, they were growing weak. He was losing time, and there was no window he could use to escape. He could only let the darkness take hold of him as he tried the door again.