Orval frowned, then his face relaxed as he began to think, to remember. Amari felt more tension leak out under her hands.
“Scouts,” he said firmly. “Secure the area around the camp in ever expanding circles.”
“So, a plan for tomorrow,” she nodded. “You can command Roth and Yfin. Rosalind and I can organize our supplies.”
“Command,” he snorted, a wry grin on his face, then glanced at the babes in alarm.
“They’re fine,” she said. “Is it any better?”
He nodded.
“Then let me try something,” she said, and without waiting for permission, she dug her thumbs in just under the knee and pressed hard.
“Ah!” Orval jerked in surprise, then relaxed onto the bed, his eyes wide. “Where did you learn to do that?”
“My brothers,” she kneaded his muscles, leaning in harder. “Overzealous in their training and of course—” she stopped, avoiding Orval’s eyes.
“Eijer?” he asked.
“Eijer,” she confirmed, suddenly at a loss for words. How could she explain—?
She met his gaze then and found his eyes warm and kind in the lamplight. She shivered, but not from fear. More from hope. Or maybe…anticipation. She lowered her gaze and started to pull the blankets back over him.
“Did you love Eijer?” Orval asked.
Amari hesitated.
Orval grimaced. “Forgive me,” he said. “I have no right to ask that and you’re cold.” He scooted over to the other side of the bed, holding the blankets open. “Come where it’s warm.”
Amari hesitated. “The babes,” she whispered.
“They’re fine,” he said after a fresh glance, “for now. Do you think they might sleep through the night eventually?”
“They will,” She got into bed, and helped him arrange the blankets over them both. “Eventually.”
He chuckled as she settled in, curling on her side to face him. He laid on his back, staring at the dim shadows above them.
“You have every right to know,” she said. “The problem is, I do not know how to answer your question anymore.”
“Why’s that?” he asked the ceiling.
“Eijer was…” she trailed off, not knowing how to proceed.
Orval glanced at her, his blue eyes glittering in the darkness. “Remember, I knew him. We fostered together. Eijer was always Eijer.”
“He swept me off my feet,” Amari said. “What I thought was love was more an overwhelming assault on all my senses. I was new to the royal court, and alone, and he swept me off my feet.” She hesitated. “At the time, I thought we loved.”
“Eijer always had that way about him,” Orval said. “He drew you in with his smiles and charm and made you feel like you were important. A friend, a confidant. But Eijer was always looking out for Eijer. He was not one to stand at anyone’s side, he always had to be at the forefront.”
Amari nodded. “While it’s clear to me now that he just wanted a conquest, I would not take back the pain of that betrayal, not one moment of it, for Dalan is a joyful gift in my life.” She sighed. “Yet, if Eijer were here before me, I’d curse him and reject him even as he rejected me. So when you speak of love…it’s complicated.”
Orval nodded.
“There were warning signs, in hindsight.” Amari admitted. “I told him my dreams, but looking back, I can see that he didn’t listen, didn’t build on them with me. What I thought was love was just empty air.”
For a time they lay together in the dark stillness, each lost in their own thoughts.
Orval broke the silence first. “What were your dreams?” he asked.
