Chapter 166: Crossing Swords
Chapter 166: Crossing Swords
Daphne Whitlock stared at the woman beside her for a moment.
The face was completely different from the one she knew at St. Alder.
Ash-gray hair framed an impossibly refined face, and the eyes looking back at her were a clear metallic gold. If Vera Sable had not spoken first, Daphne might have wondered whether she had mistaken a stranger for someone she knew.
"Ms. Sable? What are you doing here?"
Vera rested one elbow against the bar, looking perfectly comfortable in her true Bloodborn appearance.
"It is my day off. I came somewhere interesting to waste a little time."
Her golden eyes curved with amusement.
Then, as though only now noticing the person behind the counter, Vera looked toward Cyrus.
"Oh? Doesn’t that bartender look familiar?"
Daphne followed her gaze.
"Yes."
Her eyes settled on Cyrus.
The white shirt, fitted vest, tie, and pale wolf ears made him look less like a student working a part-time job and more like an expensive display piece someone had deliberately placed behind the bar.
Cyrus had just finished Vera’s drink when he noticed another familiar person sitting in front of him.
For once, he had no immediate response.
Something about the atmosphere felt increasingly strange.
Then the entrance bell rang again.
A woman in a police uniform walked into The Full Moon Lounge.
The late-October weather outside was cold enough that most people had arrived wearing coats, yet the uniform on Rhea Maddox did not look particularly warm.
Nobody paid much attention to that.
On Halloween night, a beautiful woman entering a lounge dressed as a police officer seemed entirely plausible as a costume.
A few regular customers recognized Rhea and knew it was not one.
Newer customers quietly made their own assumptions.
Cyrus watched her approach.
Rhea had been passing the lounge after getting off work when she noticed the familiar figure behind the bar through the window.
The wolf ears had made her stop.
Curiosity did the rest.
A group had just vacated several seats near the counter, so Rhea sat down a little to Cyrus’s side.
Then she got a proper look at him.
Her expression paused.
The clean, restrained outfit contrasted sharply with the fluffy white ears and tail.
The result was strangely effective.
Rhea recovered quickly.
"Isn’t Saturday usually your day off?"
"Holiday shift."
Cyrus gave the shortest answer possible.
Then his eyes moved across the women sitting along the counter.
Helena Baird.
Vera Sable.
Daphne Whitlock.
Rhea Maddox.
Wonderful.
What had already felt slightly awkward now felt much worse.
Rhea followed his glance.
Only then did she properly examine the other women nearby.
Helena was familiar.
The gray-haired woman also looked vaguely familiar, though Rhea could not immediately place where she had seen her.
The elegantly dressed brunette beside them was new.
All three were striking enough that Rhea instinctively became more attentive.
Did Cyrus know all of them?
If so, how?
Her eyes returned to him.
The white wolf costume suddenly gave her an idea that had absolutely nothing to do with drinking.
Helena had excellent taste.
Rhea silently stored the concept away for later.
A leash would probably complete the look nicely.
Behind the bar, Cyrus noticed the sudden intensity in Rhea’s stare.
For some reason, the air almost seemed warmer.
He dismissed it.
Surely even Rhea would not be reckless enough to expose her Firebird nature in the middle of a crowded lounge.
Cyrus turned toward the new arrivals.
"What can I get you?"
"The usual."
Rhea answered immediately.
Daphne took a little longer.
"You can recommend something."
Cyrus nodded.
He turned to prepare the drinks.
Daphne watched him work.
She had always known Cyrus had a job, but she had never clearly understood what he actually did here.
After running into him that morning and hearing that he still had work later, she had eventually decided to come see for herself.
Now that she had, the situation looked more ordinary than she expected.
Cyrus seemed comfortable behind the bar.
His movements were practiced.
Customers clearly knew him.
He even seemed to enjoy himself in his own quiet way.
The only part Daphne disliked was the number of women around him.
Different ages.
Different personalities.
Different styles.
Several of them looked at Cyrus with an interest that had nothing to do with alcohol.
Daphne’s thoughts drifted back toward his diary.
How many of these women had Cyrus already noticed?
How many had he quietly placed into categories?
How many had he encouraged because he believed they might become useful later?
He was probably worse than she had originally thought.
And annoyingly good at using his face.
Daphne looked at him again.
The costume did not help.
If Cyrus looked like this in his younger form...
She stopped the thought there.
That was not something she needed to indulge while sitting in public.
Across the counter, Vera observed everyone with increasing disappointment.
Helena remained unreadable.
That was normal.
But Daphne and Rhea were both here now, and neither was doing anything interesting.
Vera had tasted enough of Cyrus’s memories to know that both women had already crossed significant boundaries with him in their own ways.
Yet here they were, sitting within a few feet of each other without even arguing.
What was the point?
Vera had ordered a drink partly because she expected jealousy to improve the entertainment.
She wanted sparks.
She wanted questions.
She wanted to know which of the two women would lose patience first.
Most of all, she wanted to know what Cyrus would do if they actually started competing in front of him.
Would he defend one?
Avoid both?
Pretend not to understand anything?
That last possibility seemed especially likely.
Since everyone else appeared determined to be boring, Vera decided she might as well help.
Cyrus finished Rhea’s drink first.
Then he made something lighter for Daphne after noticing she did not seem like someone who drank often.
He pushed both glasses across the counter.
For several moments, all four women simply watched him work.
Once Cyrus cleaned his tools, Vera spoke.
"Cyrus, do you find this job exhausting?"
Cyrus looked at her.
Then he shook his head.
The wolf ears moved slightly with the motion.
Vera’s golden eyes lingered on them.
Cyrus deliberately said nothing.
The less conversation he gave Vera, the fewer opportunities she had to cause trouble.
That principle had served him well lately.
Vera lifted her red drink and swirled it slowly.
"You really are good at this. No wonder so many people keep coming back."
Cyrus nodded once.
Again, no words.
His silence, pale clothes, and restrained expression only made the contrast with the wolf accessories more obvious.
Vera found that irritating.
He had no problem answering everyone else.
Before she could continue, Rhea took a sip of her drink and asked, "Are you free tomorrow?"
Cyrus immediately became cautious.
"I already have something to do."
Sunday was partly for studying.
That absolutely counted as something.
More importantly, Rhea asking whether he was free had developed an unfortunate history.
Going somewhere alone with her currently felt far too similar to volunteering for another disaster.
Rhea looked disappointed.
She had been about to ask something else, then glanced around the crowded lounge and stopped herself.
This was not the place for that conversation.
She could always ask later.
Vera’s smile sharpened.
So Cyrus would answer Rhea properly but barely acknowledged her.
Interesting.
"Already have plans with someone else?"
Cyrus had not even responded when Daphne spoke.
"What plans?"
Vera turned toward her.
"Oh, Ms. Whitlock, this is your first time here, so you probably have not heard."
She looked down at the red drink in her hands.
"I heard the bartender sometimes accepts other kinds of private work."
Daphne’s brow tightened.
Other work?
The expensive phone immediately returned to her thoughts.
So did Cyrus’s sudden savings.
What kind of private job paid enough for that?
𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
Her imagination supplied several possibilities before she could stop it.
With Cyrus’s appearance, there would certainly be women willing to pay unreasonable amounts simply for his company.
Even without his younger form, Daphne could understand the appeal far too well.
She immediately justified the thought to herself.
If she ever paid him, it would only be to keep him away from people who might take advantage of him.
That was completely different.
Probably.
Daphne looked toward Cyrus.
He continued wiping down his tools as though Vera’s words meant nothing.
Internally, his thoughts were moving much faster.
So Vera really was doing this deliberately.
The only part Cyrus could not understand was what she gained from it.
Could she genuinely be creating problems simply because she enjoyed watching them happen?
Unfortunately, that explanation fit her better than he liked.
Cyrus met Daphne’s eyes instead of avoiding them.
"I am visiting a friend tomorrow. That is all."
Daphne gave a small nod.
She did not press the subject.
There were too many people around.
Besides, they lived next door to each other.
If she wanted answers later, she could ask when they got home.
Vera drank another mouthful and felt disappointed again.
Still no explosion.
The ice in her drink made her teeth unpleasantly cold.
Ordering it that way had seemed amusing when Cyrus was making it.
Now she was reconsidering.
Maybe she needed stronger material.
Unfortunately, she had no evidence useful enough to provoke adults who were capable of thinking before reacting.
How unfortunate.
Life would be much more entertaining if everyone were slightly more foolish.
At that moment, another female customer gathered enough courage to approach the bar.
She ordered a drink from Cyrus.
Cyrus turned to prepare it.
The woman had barely finished speaking when Helena, Vera, Daphne, and Rhea all looked toward her at almost the same time.
Nothing was said.
Nobody threatened her.
The customer nevertheless felt her earlier enthusiasm disappear at remarkable speed.
When Cyrus handed her the drink, she thanked him and immediately returned to her table.
Cyrus watched her leave with mild confusion.
Usually customers tried to chat for at least a few moments.
Maybe they had finally learned not to distract him while he was busy.
Cyrus silently gave them credit for being considerate.
The counter fell quiet again.
Helena had barely involved herself in any of the conversation.
Her attention remained primarily on Cyrus.
The other women could talk as much as they wanted.
She had already been the first person to see him in the white suit, and she had personally placed the wolf ears and tail on him.
For now, that was enough.
Rhea eventually picked up her glass and changed seats.
She moved closer to Daphne and Vera.
Then she looked between the women beside her and extended a hand.
"Hi. I’m Rhea Maddox. Since we are all sitting here anyway, do you mind if we introduce ourselves?"
Daphne accepted the handshake first.
"Daphne Whitlock. Nice to meet you."
Vera followed with an amused smile.
"Vera Sable."
When Vera briefly took Rhea’s hand, she immediately noticed the unusual warmth of her skin.
Of course she did.
Firebird.
Vera suppressed another smile.
Rhea looked toward Daphne.
"I do not think I have seen you here before."
"You haven’t. This is my first time."
Daphne nodded.
Rhea lifted her glass slightly.
The others followed, and the three women took a small drink together.
Then Rhea asked, "You came because of Cyrus too, right?"
"Yes."
Daphne had no reason to deny it.
Rhea’s fingers shifted almost imperceptibly around her glass.
So she had guessed correctly.
Vera decided to add one useful detail.
"Daphne and I both work at Cyrus’s school."
Rhea relaxed slightly.
"That explains why you keep calling him your student."
At least their connection was professional.
Then Daphne calmly added, "I also live next door to him. I wanted to see where he works."
Rhea’s relaxation vanished.
"Next door?"
She smiled.
"That is convenient. I’m sure Cyrus gets plenty of help from you."
"There is nothing special about it."
Daphne took another sip.
"I cook fairly often, and Cyrus likes my food."
Her tone remained perfectly gentle.
Rhea’s smile did not change.
"Having a teacher looking after him that closely sounds nice."
The emphasis on teacher was subtle.
Daphne heard it anyway.
She met Rhea’s eyes.
"He lives alone. Helping occasionally is the responsible thing to do."
Neither woman raised her voice.
Neither expression became openly hostile.
Yet something in the air had sharpened.
Vera nearly smiled into her glass.
Finally.
Not a fight, unfortunately, but at least there was something worth watching.
Rhea took another drink.
Daphne did the same.
Both still looked perfectly civilized.
Vera silently mourned the fact that neither seemed likely to physically attack the other in public.
Behind the bar, Cyrus could only hear pieces of their conversation.
His name appeared often enough that he knew the subject involved him.
He decided not to ask.
Daphne and Rhea were both troublesome in different ways.
Trying to understand exactly how they were comparing themselves sounded like unnecessary work.
Sometimes ignorance was a useful survival skill.
Cyrus returned his attention to cleaning a glass.
When he glanced toward Vera, he found her watching Daphne and Rhea with obvious enjoyment.
Then Vera looked back at him.
Her golden eyes visibly brightened.
Cyrus immediately became suspicious.
Vera spoke as casually as possible.
"By the way, you said you are busy tomorrow. Are you free tonight?"
"No. I need to rest."
Cyrus answered without hesitation.
Vera had barely opened her mouth to respond when the entrance bell rang again.
Three customers entered together.
Cyrus looked toward the door.
He knew all three of them.