A Student's Dream (Twisted Cogs Book 1) by Malcolm Hemmings Read Free Book Online Page A

passed through him.
    “ Next I want something to eat,” Elena indicated the direction they had come from, “if we find a pub on the Street of Yellow Artisans, we can look for Arturo and Arta there after we eat.”
    ***
    The street had been beautiful in the daytime, and the sun’s setting didn’t mar its beauty. A few of the shops were closed for the evening, but most of them still threw light from their windows out onto the path. At the end of the street, Studio De Luca shone with lights from its large windows. It hurt just a bit, seeing the beautiful building so soon after she had been rejected from it, but it would hopefully be worth it to meet Arturo and Arta.
    Elena had read as many books and accounts of Milia as she could get her hands on, but as her stomach growled she realized that she didn’t have any idea what sort of city food she would like to try. Luckily for her, she only had to walk by a few shops before she encountered Stone Hand’s Pub, a small little tavern between a supply store and a shop full of trinkets.
    It was a pleasant surprise to step into the clean, well-lit little pub. Both of the taverns in Carpi were dim, loud, and cramped, and she had rushed to leave as soon as she could. Stone Hand’s was small, but the high ceilings and sparse furnishings made it feel cozy rather than constricted. The short wooden tables and benches around the room were made of a red wood that made the whole room feel warmer, and behind the bar a very fat woman with a very friendly smile gave her a wave.
    “ Halloo dearie! New to the Stone Hand?” the fat woman asked, “just take a seat anywhere, there’s plenty of room. You’ll be wanting some food and some drink? Twenty florins, and I’ll bring them to your table.” Elena opened her mouth to respond to the woman’s questions, but she had already bustled into a room behind the bar, leaving Elena a little off-balance.
    “ What if you hadn’t wanted food and drink?” Ele chuckled, “that’s a rather underhanded tactic.”
    “ I sort of like it,” Elena glanced around them. Although there were a fair amount of people in the pub, it was almost quiet, only the low murmur of friendly joking and conversation could be heard. “It feels...comfortable.”
    “ A little too warm, but not bad. Shall we sit in the corner over there, so we can see if Arturo and Arta come in to eat?” Trained by a lifetime of pretending she couldn’t see him, Elena didn’t respond at all, but she made her way to the small table in the corner, sitting on the end so that Ele could sit by the wall and no one would unknowingly sit on him.
    Although that’s not a problem, anymore, she realized with a start. Arturo and Arta can see him. And Arta is an Echo too .
    “ It’s going to be hard to adjust to this,” she murmured, “being able to talk to you in public, having other people see you.”
    “ How do you think I feel?” Ele leaned back against the wall and eyed the rest of the room. “I hated being invisible, but now that I know some people can see me, I feel like I should be on my best behavior.”
    The fat woman made her way towards their table with a large tankard and a hot pie, which she set down in front of Elena with zeal. When she leaned back on her heels, hands on her hips, Elena bit her lip.
    Is there something I’m supposed to do? Do I have to pay her now, or is she waiting for some kind of Milian custom?
    “ Normally I make people come up to the bar to get their food, but you seem in need of some mothering,” the woman chuckled, “you remind me of my first visit to Milia, skinny as a twig and scared of shadows. Tuck in now, put some meat on your bones.”
    “ Thank you.” Elena blushed and ducked her head. Her own mother was perfectly competent at mothering her, but it would’ve been rude to contradict the pubkeeper who was being so nice.
    The pie was savory and meaty, with a smoky flavor that almost drowned all of the others. The drink some kind of ale which