Tithed by Megan Hart Page B

of the room. "The ones from up the hill, from the Keep."
         Connell chuckled, bending to drive the spigot into the new keg and sliding an empty glass with practiced ease beneath to catch the spurt of ale. No sense in wasting it, so he swallowed the mouthful and set the empty glass in the bin to be taken back for washing. "The ones who're so free with their coin? Sure and they're always welcome."
         Gretel poured some shots and set them on her tray. "They brought a new little mouse along with them tonight."
         "Yeah?" He stood, wiping his brow on his sleeve, scarcely interested in whatever giggly miss they'd dragged along with them beyond what coin she might spend.
         "Pretty thing with a mouth like sugar."
         He laughed. "Yeah?"
         Gretel nodded. "Shy, though. I thought she was going to burst into flame when I asked her name."
         He rolled his head on his shoulders, cracking his neck and shaking out the tension. "Not everyone can flirt with you, love."
         Gretel smiled. "That's what you think, Conn-me-love."
         He laughed again as she swished her hips and headed back to serving. Gretel liked to give him a bit of a wink and a nudge, but she saved her real charms for men who didn't pay her wages. He looked out over the room, eyes taking in everything. Connell Byrne prided himself on running the finest pub in town. The Slaughtered Lamb was a clean joint, with the best food and beverage he could provide, the fastest service, the liveliest entertainment. He didn't allow dirty dealings in the Lamb either, and if that meant cracking a few skulls to keep out the riff raff…well, he wasn't above it. Bar fights were part of the business, but as he examined the crowd, he saw no sign of belligerence waiting to erupt into violence.
         The trill of feminine laughter from the back of the room caught his ear, and grinning, he turned to look. Gretel was right in saying he knew too well his own charm. The ladies came in to eat, drink and be merry, and if a little harmless flirting made them merry, Connell wasn't above that either.
         He recognized the group just as Gretel had said he would. They were all magicreators from up the hill. Instructors at the Keep, which meant they always had plenty of coin to spread around. That suited him fine. Magicreators didn't cause trouble either, because even a group of unattended women wouldn't be bothered by the most boisterous of his customers. No man would mess with a magicreator who could take off his nuts with little more than a flick of her fingers.
         Connell walked around the edge of the bar and headed toward their table, intending to give them a smile and a laugh, and a round of free drinks in appreciation of their business. Maybe let them think they might have the chance to take him to bed. It never hurt to lead them on. Made them spendy, it did, even if it never led to anything but stories they took back with them.
         "Good evening, ladies," he said, hands on his hips, looking round at each of them. "A pleasure to see—"
         The words caught in his throat at the sight of her. The same dark hair, worn tied up instead of loose, but still as smooth as silk. Time had sharpened her features and turned her from a girl into a woman, but the better-defined cheekbones and jaw only made her that much more beautiful. The lush lips he'd once kissed with such passion parted as he spoke, and the remembered taste of her set his mind reeling.
         "Hello, Conn." This came from the red-haired woman to his left. She eyed him without a speck of coyness. "Nice to see you again."
         "And you," he answered, eyes locked on Ella's familiar blue-gray gaze. The eyes he'd never thought to see again.
         The other women didn't seem to notice his lack of attention, for they giggled and flirted while his mouth made replies his mind did not bother to track.
         She was terrified. He could