He focused on untying the laces so that he didn’t have to see her warm skin. While she changed, he averted his eyes, but the only things to look at were the walls of empty shelves.
Gone. Everything was gone.
His home had been stripped of his books, scrolls, and papers. Empty shelf after empty shelf. His desk, gone. His chair, gone.
Amari sat on the edge of the bed and took Lara into her arms. Once the little girl latched on, Amari looked at Orval with wide, frightened eyes.
“I’ll see if they forgot anything,” Orval said. He stepped into the hall to check the other rooms, his labyrinth of shelves.
Amari listened asOrval moved off, trying not to crush Lara in fear. The sound of his footsteps echoed eerily against the naked wood.
Everything in this room had been swept up and packed away. Their clothes, baby supplies, the bed and bedding were all that remained. She checked the privy, seeing their things piled there.
She heard Orval speak to someone in the kitchen, then walk back toward the bedroom, his withered leg dragging. Poor man, he had to be exhausted and hurting. When he passed the bedroom door, he shook his head when she made as if to speak. The storage room, he was going to check—
Another male voice spoke: “Keep ya safe this night, milord.”
Amari closed her eyes against her panic.
At last Orval returned and sat beside Amari. Dalan was waving tiny arms in his basket and Orval took him up and cradled him. Some of the pain seemed to leave Orval’s eyes.
“They left us clothing,” Amari offered. “Supplies for the babes.”
“They even cleaned out the storage area,” Orval said mildly. “There are guards in the kitchen and at the back door. We are safe for the night.”
“Don’t leave me,” Amari whispered.
Orval nodded. “Let’s see to the babes.”
Silently, they went through the regular routine of feeding, changing, and rocking the infants to sleep.
Amari was settling Lara in her basket when she suddenly stiffened. Concerned, Orval went to her side. “Something wrong?” he whispered.
She shook her head and reached for his hand; her warm fingers pressed his down into Lara’s basket. His face changed as the tips of his fingers brushed the familiar leather spine of theEpic of Xyson.
His eyes closed and he leaned into Amari and pressed his head to hers. She moved closer, saying nothing as they shared their warmth.
Once they finished caring for the babes, they both went into the garderobe, changing and washing together in that tight space, eyes averted for what little privacy there was.
Amari kept the token clutched tight in her hand as she changed and showed it to Orval.
Orval put his head close to hers. “Use the token and summon the marcusi.” His whisper warmed her cold cheek. “They will find a way to spirit you and the babes away.”
Her heart clenched at that and tears started. But she nodded and stood in the doorway, clutching the token so hard the edges pressed against her palm.Help us, she thought, hoping against hope that “us” meant all of them.
She swayed, weary and frozen. Orval was there, gently steering her to the bed.
Amari shivered, the bedding and blankets feeling cold and clammy against her skin. She tucked the token under her pillow. The bedclothes rustled, and Orval eased in beside her. “Come,” he said, holding up the blankets.
She turned to him, feeling his warmth as she tucked herself beside him, putting her hand on his chest.
He covered it with his own. “Sleep,” he murmured. “I will keep watch.”
She couldn’t sleep, she thought, as she closed her eyes and listened to his steady heartbeat under her ear. She laced her fingers with his and sighed. There was no way she could sleep.
Yet she did.
Chapter Twenty-Four
