The Unfamiliar (Exclusive Excerpt)   The Feral Ferret had a certain derelict charm about it. It was a place where songs and fistfights broke out in equal measure. A place where bets were lost, and friends were made. The kind of place where Elwyn might have pilfered her dues, back when she’d belonged to the Greyscale. It was not the kind of place she’d have ever visited for leisure. Far too many bodies crowded between those four wooden walls—fighting, dancing, more-than-dancing. A band of bards rollicked upon a makeshift stage in one corner, weaving an up-tempo reel for a mob of writhing revelers. Along the opposite wall, a belabored barman scurried frantically to and fro, filling orders for the impatient press of patrons. “Oh, rats.” Elwyn stepped back from the doorway. “It appears they’re far too busy to seat us. We’ll just have to wait outside for the others.” “Don’t be silly!” Aedyn tapped his lopsided circlet. “You forget who you’re with.” His confidence was insufferable. Unfortunately for Elwyn, it was also justified. The throng parted at the sight of his crown—the fae, with tipsy bows; the mortals, with cautious scowls. Elwyn had never seen so many of each intermingling…