AI Rory slammed the pint glass down harder than intended, foam sloshing over the rim onto the scarred oak bar top. The bitter ale stung her throat, but it chased away the ache from another endless delivery shift, weaving through London's snarl of traffic on her battered scooter.
Silas polished a tumbler behind the counter, his hazel eyes flicking up without missing a beat. His silver signet ring caught the dim light from the green neon sign outside, a subtle glint amid the shadows of old maps papering the walls.
"Steady on, Rory. That's my best bitter you're abusing."
"Sorry. Long day. Yu-Fei's orders piled up again."
He set the tumbler down with a soft clink, his slight limp evident as he shifted weight off his left leg. "Chinese takeaway waits for no one. Neither does trouble, in my experience."
She managed a half-smile, tracing the crescent scar on her left wrist with her thumb. The bar hummed with low chatter, patrons hunched over tables like forgotten secrets. Black-and-white photographs stared down from the walls, faces from eras long buried.
A woman pushed through the door, her coat dripping rain onto the threshold. She shook out her umbrella, scanning the room with sharp, restless eyes.
Rory froze, her fingers tightening around the glass.
The woman spotted her, hesitated, then broke into a grin that didn't quite reach her eyes . "Rory? Bloody hell, is that you?"
"Eva?"
Eva crossed the floor in quick strides, her boots thudding against the worn planks. She looked different, sharper somehow, her once-wild curls tamed into a severe bob, cheeks hollowed as if time had carved away the softness Rory remembered from their Cardiff days. The girl who had shared secrets under the castle walls now carried herself like someone who had learned to hide them.
They embraced awkwardly, Eva's arms tight for a moment too long. She smelled of cheap perfume and damp wool, a far cry from the strawberry shampoo of their youth.
"God, it's been ages. What, five years? Six?"
"Seven, I think. Since that last summer before uni."
Eva slid onto the stool next to her, waving at Silas. "Gin and tonic, love. Make it strong."
Silas nodded, his expression unreadable as he measured the pour. He slid the drink across, the ice cubes rattling like loose change.
"Cheers." Eva raised her glass, clinking it against Rory's pint. "To old friends and whatever the hell brought us here."
Rory sipped, the foam bitter on her lips. Eva's hands trembled slightly as she set her glass down, nails bitten to the quick. No wedding ring, no jewelry at all, just a faded tattoo peeking from her sleeve – a Celtic knot, matching the one Rory had inked on her ankle during a rebellious weekend in their teens.
"You look... good. London suits you."
Eva laughed, a brittle sound that echoed off the walls. "Liar. I look like shite. But you, Rory Carter, you've gone all metropolitan. Delivery girl by day, what else by night?"
"Nothing exciting. Just surviving."
Silas lingered nearby, wiping the bar with deliberate strokes, his grey-streaked auburn beard twitching as if he suppressed a comment. He knew Rory's routines, the flat above creaking with her footsteps , but he never pried. Not openly.
Eva leaned in, her voice dropping. "Heard about Evan. Nasty business. You did right getting out."
Rory's stomach twisted. She hadn't spoken Evan's name in months, not since the bruises faded and she packed her life into a single suitcase at Eva's urging. "Yeah. Thanks for the nudge. Wouldn't have made the jump without you."
"Anytime. We go way back, don't we? Remember that time we nicked cider from your dad's cabinet and hid in the attic?"
Rory nodded, but the memory soured in her mind. Eva had always been the bold one, dragging her into mischief, while Rory planned the escapes. Now, Eva's eyes darted to the door every few seconds, as if expecting someone to follow .
"You've changed your hair. Suits you short."
Eva touched her bob self-consciously. "Had to. New job, new me. Working in events now, big corporate stuff. Pays the bills."
"Sounds steady."
"It is. Boring as sin, but steady." Eva gulped her drink, the gin disappearing fast. "What about you? Still chasing that law degree dream, or did London eat it?"
Rory glanced at Silas, who had moved to serve another customer but kept one ear tuned their way. "Dropped it. Pre-law wasn't for me. Too much like Dad's world."
"Brendan would have a fit. Always saw you as the next barrister in the family."
"He doesn't know the half of it." Rory's voice hardened, the scar on her wrist itching under her sleeve. She had fled Cardiff not just from Evan, but from the expectations, the suffocating path laid out by her parents. Eva knew that, or she used to.
Silas returned, placing a bowl of crisps between them without a word. His limp carried him back to the taps, but his presence loomed , a quiet anchor in the room's haze.
Eva crunched a crisp, crumbs scattering. "God, I miss this. Us. Why'd we let it go so long?"
"Life, I suppose. You vanished after I got here. One text, then nothing."
Eva's grin faltered. "Yeah, about that. Things got complicated."
"Complicated how?"
She hesitated, swirling her drink. The ice clinked accusingly. "Met someone. Thought it was the real thing. Turned out to be another Evan-type. You know the sort."
Rory's chest tightened. Eva, the unbreakable one, reduced to this shadow. "You should have called. I'd have helped."
"Like you helped yourself?" Eva's tone sharpened, then softened. "Sorry. That came out wrong. Just... regret it now. All of it."
The bar's door swung open again, letting in a gust of chill air that rattled the photographs on the walls. A group of lads stumbled in, laughing too loud, but Rory's focus stayed on Eva's face, the lines etched deeper than they should be at twenty-five.
Silas cleared his throat, his voice low. "Everything alright here, ladies?"
"Fine, thanks." Eva flashed him a smile that didn't stick. "Just catching up."
He nodded, but his hazel eyes lingered on Eva, assessing. Rory knew that look – the spymaster's gaze, peeling back layers. She had seen it the day she rented the flat above, when he offered her the key with a knowing nod, as if he sensed the bruises she hid.
"Tell me more about this job," Rory pressed. "Events. Sounds glamorous."
Eva shrugged. "Not really . Coordinating parties for rich pricks. Last one was in some posh hotel, all crystal and fake smiles. But it pays for the flat. Barely."
"You in London still?"
"Sort of. Bouncing around. Crashed with mates mostly." Eva's foot tapped restlessly against the stool leg. "Actually, Rory, there's something I need to ask."
Here it came, the real reason for this "unexpected" reunion. Rory braced herself, fingers drumming the bar.
"Shoot."
Eva leaned closer, her breath warm with gin. "It's about Evan. He found me last week. Asking questions."
Rory's blood chilled . "What?"
"Said he's changed. Wants to make amends. Asked where you were."
Silas stiffened behind the bar, his hand pausing mid-wipe. The room's chatter faded, the maps on the walls seeming to close in like forgotten borders.
"You didn't tell him."
"Of course not." Eva's eyes pleaded. "But he's persistent. Followed me once. I shook him, but... I think he's here. In London."
Rory's mind raced , quick as always, piecing together the implications. Evan, with his charming smile and iron grip, tracking her down after all this time. The flat above suddenly felt exposed, a thin ceiling away from safety.
"Why come to me now? After years of silence ?"
"Because you're the only one who gets it. And I... I might have messed up." Eva's voice cracked. "I need a place to crash. Just for a bit."
Silas set down his cloth, his signet ring tapping the bar once, deliberate. "Problem, Rory?"
She ignored him for a moment, staring at Eva. The weight pressed down – time's erosion, regrets unspoken , the girl she once knew now a stranger begging for shelter. But trust frayed like old rope.
Before Rory could answer, the door banged open again. A man stood silhouetted against the neon glow, his frame familiar , shoulders broad from years of intimidation. Evan.
His eyes locked on them, a slow smile spreading.
"Rory. Fancy meeting you here."