After Talon dismissed us with a wave of his hand, I shuffled into the stables, frowning as straw scraped at my bare feet. At least they were now healed. Most of my injuries were, courtesy of both the salve and my accelerated healing rate.
Once I’d retrieved my sack of possessions, I trudged back outside, intending to head for the bathhouses. The sight of Talon waiting there made my mouth weakly curve. With a flick of his chin, he indicated for me to accompany him. He didn’t walk ahead of me, though. He matched his pace to mine, which I appreciated.
In the private barracks, he took me straight up to his room and into his garderobe. He flicked a hand from the bath to the showerhead and then arched a brow in question.
“A shath,” I decided. “I’m going to sit in the bath while I take a shower.” I didn’t have the energy to hold myself upright, but I didn’t want to sit in a vat of my own filth either.
Humor momentarily lit his eyes. He reached for my tunic, as if to help me undress, but then a knock came at his bedchamber door. His brows dipping in displeasure, he swanned out of the garderobe.
Eager to get out of my clothes, I quickly stripped. I was just stepping into the tub when I heard the chamber’s door close. It took me a few moments to realize that Talon had left. Well, he commanded the Black Tapestry. He probably had little time to himself.
I indulged in a long shath, scrubbing every inch of my body with soap. Memories of the caverns crept up on me, and questions I had no answer for tried to intrude. I cut off the train of thought each time, not wanting to ponder on it right now. I didn’t have the mental energy to unknot it all.
It took a while for me to get my hair clean and untangle the curls. My skin was all pruney by the time I turned off the shower.
In the bedroom, I dried myself off with one of Talon’s towels and then tiredly pulled on braies and a slip. Hearing a bell outside, I knew the evening meal would now be served. There was no way I could head down to the food hall. All I wanted was to sleep.
I flopped face-first onto Talon’s bed, hoping he wouldn’t mind me taking a nap in his room. I drifted off pretty much straight away, but my sleep was fitful. I woke repeatedly from nightmares that were jumbles of images and sensations from the labyrinth.
At one point, I opened my eyes to find Talon beside me flat on his back. The room was dark, but I could make out his silhouette and hear his steady breathing. I wasn’t quite bold enough to seek comfort from him by cuddling into him. Instead, I edged closer on my side, until only mere inches separated us.
I eventually fell back to sleep, but another labyrinth-themed nightmare snapped me out of it. My heart racing, I rubbed at my chest and let out a shaky exhale.
Talon rolled onto his side, splayed a hand on my back, drew me to him, and then settled his chin over my head.
I shamelessly melted into him, not giving a single shit that it might make me seem weak to take what comfort he offered. Surrounded by his heat, scent, and strength, I was able to calm the rapid beating of my heart and I soon after dozed off.
It was morning when I next opened my eyes. Mr. Sleeping Beauty was nowhere to be seen, but I heard him pottering around the garderobe.
Fading remnants of my last dream yo-yoed around my head. I hadn’t been in the caverns that time. I’d been stood in the grassy spot where I’d yesterday tended to my labyrinth-induced wounds. All around me had been the corpses of the other candidates … and then I’d realized that I, too, was dead.
Weird to say the least.
The bell rang outside, wrenching a croaky groan out of me. I rubbed at my eyes. I was exhausted—mind, body, and soul. Part of it was due to the toll the caverns had taken on me, but another part of it came from the emotional crash of knowing that Xalbia was finally over. The ‘will-I-won’t-I-survive-it’ tension that had rode me for forty days straight was now gone, and it left me feeling mentally boneless.
The only thing that made me feel remotely motivated to rise was that I was starving. No shocker. I’d missed yesterday’s dinner, and my tired body was no doubt desperate for sustenance.
Talon came striding out of the garderobe—his skin damp, his chest bare, a towel looped around his waist. I was too drained to feel my usual hot surge of sexual excitement, but my stomach did a fair bit of fluttering.
“Morning,” I muttered, forcing myself to sit upright.
Typically, when he woke before me, he often woke me in style. That he’d instead let me sleep as long as possible showed he knew that I needed the rest.
He offered me a soft grunt and then went about pulling clothes out of his drawers.
Watching him start to dress, I scooted forward so that I was perched on the edge of the bed. “Aren’t you going to ask if I’ve decided whether or not to join the Black Tapestry?”
He cast me an affronted look that said he already knew the answer to that.
“I’ve been determined to join from the start, yes, but Xalbia put me through the ringer. You’re not wondering if it beat me?”
Tying the laces of his breeches, he shook his head and crossed to me,stillwondrously bare-chested.
Unable to not drink in all that solid muscle, I ogled the hell out of him even as I asked, “How come?”
Talon bent over and planted one fist on the mattress beside me, putting his face inches from mine. He pointed at me, dragged the tip of his finger up the bumps of my spine, and then conjured a dagger. As his gaze skimmed over the blade, I understood what he was trying to say: That I had a spine of steel.
A little taken aback by the compliment, I blinked. “Oh. Thank you.” I cleared my throat. “And, yes, you guessed correctly—I am going to accept a place in the Order.”
