AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And what happens to the river at night?”
“We don’t know,” Sera says. Her smile fades into annoyance, and her voice slides into a slight whine. “We were warned. That’s all.”
We fall to silence as the tension of the battle eases.
Harmony rinses out her hair, and the blood stuck to my skin screams with an incessant itch. “That looks nice,” I admit.
Sera waves me on. “Go ahead, but take off your bandage and set it aside. We’ll need to reuse it.” She scratches her brow. “And hurry up. I’m itchy too.”
I stand and peel off my clothes, my shoulder aching with every movement. As soon as I’m down to my underwear, I gently unwrap my wound and set the bandage aside, before stripping down completely. I pad over to the water and dip a toe in, then bite my tongue.It’s freezing.
Harmony splashes at me. “Just jump in.”
I shiver but concede. I give myself a few steps of a running start, then cannonball in. A faint screech erupts from Harmony and Sera as my head drops beneath the frigid surface. I float beneath for a moment, goosebumps rising across my skin as I scrub away the blood. My muscles tremble, but after a few seconds, they numb in the iciness of the water. I bob up to the surface with a gasp and blink to clear the droplets from my lashes.
“You almost put out the fire,” Sera shoots at me. She crouches beside the flames and coaxes them to grow, using her sword to push around twigs.
“Oops.” I manage a sheepish smile.
Harmony swims over next to me, then rests her elbows back on the bank. “So what’s the story?” she asks me, lifting her face up toward the sun and closing her eyes.
I scrunch my hair in the water, then run my fingers through it until every matted portion teases out. “What story?”
“You and the Heir,” Sera says, as if it should be obvious what they’re asking. She moves to the river bank and splashes water on her face, rinsing it off but keeping her attention on the entrance to our stronghold.
“I’ll even take the story about showing up to the party already covered in blood,” Harmony submits. One of her eyes peeks at me. “Or maybe that’s all the same story.”
“I killed some bastards.” I scrub at my cheeks. “There’s not much more to it.”
Harmony scoffs.
“And the Heir?” Sera persists.
“What makes you think I know anything about him?” I swallow and turn away, afraid my face will reveal too much. I rinse under my nails, beneath my breasts, even my Gods-damned belly button.Why does blood have to get everywhere?
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the electric tension between you two,” Sera explains.
“Or the way he was eye-fucking you the moment he saw you,” Harmony points out.
I redden and keep my back turned. “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”
“One of us is going to marry the guy. Also, we’ve basically saved your life.” Sera tugs off her boots and rolls up her pants before she drops her legs into the river. “The least you could do is let us know if he’s a dick.”
I turn to them with a dark expression. “Okay. Fine. He’s a dick.”
Harmony drifts back into the water. Her lips pull into a smile. “I kind of like dicks.”
Laughter bubbles up in my chest, and when Sera bursts into a hacking fit, I can’t help but join her.
Harmony pauses, considering what she just said. Her cheeks flare with a blush. “I mean…you know what I mean.”
Sera and I get control of ourselves for half of a second before we roll into another laughing fit.
It’s weird. I’ve never been a girls' girl, but there’s something therapeutic about talking to the sisters.I miss Gretta, I think, and my laugh dies out. Worry fiddles with my heart.Talis better not hurt her.
“What?” Harmony asks, noticing my concern.
My body convulses with a shiver, so I swim to the river bank and pull myself free of the water. I wring out my hair, then grab my clothes and bring them to the water to clean them. “My friend. Last I saw her, she was with Talis, the Heir’s, well, I’m not sure what he is.”
