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“I was a lookout. Join the club,” Warrose grumbles.
Skylenna and I lay side by side on our stomachs, gazing into each other’s sleepy eyes. She rests her thin hand over mine, stroking my knuckles.
“Promise you’ll be nice to him tomorrow,” Skylenna murmurs through a yawn.
“That is a tall order.”
“Dessin…”
“He asks for it, baby.” He does. He really does. Niles is a long list of adjectives that fall into the same category as annoying and obnoxious. Being nice to him for an entire day would cost me dearly.
“For me?” She flutters those long, wispy eyelashes.
I curse, surrendering to her request in quiet indignation. Skylenna grins at the look of defeat on my face, squeezing my hand twice. As her eyes go half-crest, I don’t miss the signs of a concussion popping up one by one. She shielded her face from the light in the kitchen, as if it physically pained her. That boy at the whipping post bashed her head in during the beating. She vomited twice while she thought no one was looking.
I’ll take care of her.
I’m sick to death of watching my girl hurt.
Before I drift off to sleep with her, I raise my head to look over at Ruth and Warrose, still awake, still talking.
“Ruth?” I whisper.
Her curly brunette head perks up, eyeing me over Warrose.
“Can you translate something I heard tonight?” I ask.
Ruth nods, waiting to hear it.
I relay the sentence the cook said to me in the best accent and pronunciation I can manage. Ruth’s soft brown eyes glaze over as she listens, finding the right words in her head.
“It means… ‘The mother you took the whipping for was my sister. I’ll not forget your sacrifice.’”
28. The Other Night
Ruth
“You could have snuck me out to help,” I argue.
Warrose rolls his eyes, crossing his heavy arms over that seemingly three-foot-wide chest. His shiny black hair fans out on the rocky stone floor around him.
“Don’t give me shit,” he grumbles. “You heard Skylenna. Plus, you were already dead asleep.”
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don’t care. Niles is my best friend, too. I had no idea it was his birthday tomorrow. I want to be a part of whatever was planned. Seriously, Dessin doesn’t even like Niles. Why did he get to help and not me?!
“You’re grinding your teeth,” Warrose adds.
My jaw stops moving, and I grimace in his direction.
“Mind your business,” I shoot back.
The left side of Warrose’s mouth quirks upward, curling in a reluctant smirk. I force myself to peel my eyes away from him as we lie in our cages in silence. Dessin and Skylenna have fallen back to sleep, and Niles snores softly to my left. It’s just the two of us.
After a few minutes, Warrose’s eyes are closed, and his chest moves up and down in the heavy rhythm that usually means he’s finally away from here, dreaming.
I rub my hands roughly against the backs of my arms, summoning heat as my skin prickles. It’s so cold here. Always so cold. I shiver throughout the night, tossing and turning on the rough floor, scratching and cutting into my skin until I’m raw and sore. I’d give anything for a blanket, soft and warm. A thick comforter like the one Skylenna had on her bed in Aurick’s mansion.
My bones shudder at the thought of being cocooned. I’d even settle for sleeping in the forest next to a fire that Warrose built for Chekiss, Niles, and me. That was nice. We’d listen to crickets, feel the simmering fire warm my toes, and when Warrose thought I was completely asleep, he’d pull my wool blanket to my chin.
