"Love Beyond Race" by Michelle Marie Andersen

      "Who was that?" He jumped as the hand came down on his shoulder.
      Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he responded, eyes locked on her fading figure. "Don't know..."
      "Took me a while to figure out where you'd gone, T. Come out for a breath of fresh air, eh?"
      He didn't notice the wink, but was abruptly pulled from his daze with a clap on the back. Turning his back to her, he followed his friend inside.
      "Have you ever seen her before?" His words fell soft under the raucous laughter in the room, he didn't expect a response.
      "Nah, and with that red hair of hers, I'd sure remember if I'd seen her before!" He laughed as he pushed his way to the table.
      Daevyn trailed slowly after his companion, not noticing the proprietor's eyes upon his back

      "Reygan! Where have you been?"
      She shrugged off her cloak as she walked through the doorway.
      "You know I worry about you when you go out!"
      Smiling, she kissed her mother's forehead. "Jullean says hello. You should have seen the crowd he had!"
      "All of 'em humann I'm sure?" It was more of a statement than a question; she didn't wait for a response. "I made a pie with the last of the apples. Was Jullean able to sneak you more?"
      She nodded, "and some meat this time!" She placed the package on the table, her smile fading. "He had some dire news, probably just rumors, you know how susceptible he can be...."
      Reygan saw through her mother's smile at once. She hated how seriously her mother took things, how she was always in a gloomy mood.
      "He sent along this as well," she passed the folded piece of parchment over the table as she spoke. "I need to put Jester in his stable. Something spooked him at the tavern, he's yet to settle down completely."
      As she left the room her mother slowly unfolded the parchment, her hands trembling in the candlelight. She sighed as she began reading.