‘Summer took her some food,’ Benny reassures me. His eyes catch on something on the wall behind me and widen, and my stomach clenches. Shit.
I already know what he’s spotted.
‘Rose, honey, what the fuck happened there?’
Twisted ivy vines weave through the decimated brickwork, holding the wall upright. To anyone else, the greenery might suggest the Goddess’s magic at work. But the gaping crack in the masonry is far wider than the vines, and with Benny’s gift for spotting the fault line in anything, he knows some other force was behind the damage.
All the same, I attempt to brush it away. ‘Oh, that’s nothing, just some old cracks,’ I say casually while scooping up a spoonful of hot stew, hoping my nonchalance will cause him to drop the matter.
It doesn’t.
‘No, it’s not.’ He walks over to the wall and brushes his fingers against it. ‘The dust is still settling. This happened recently. I’m guessing this morning or last night at the latest.’ Damn Benny and his clever eyes. He looks at me sombrely. ‘Another magical accident?’
I give up the pretence. ‘I’ll get a hold of it,’ I tell him. ‘I’m just tired, that’s all.’
He purses his lips and doesn’t say anything for a moment. ‘You’re right. You will. And like I said when I arrived – I’m not Llinos, but I’m always here if you want to talk, you know?’ he offers awkwardly.
I nod. ‘I do. And back at you, too. I know you must miss her as well.’
A weak smile curls his lips. ‘I miss them all,’ he says sadly before moving to the door and blowing me a kiss. ‘Sleep well, Rose.’
Sleep is fitful.I toss and turn, and more than once I get out of bed, leave the room, and stand outside Acacia’s door, not sure if I want to curl up in the bed next to her or scream at her for all her stupid actions. In the end, I do neither, instead returning to my own bed, wishing there was some way to make it feel a little less empty.
I insist that I will not think of Kyor, yet despite myself, phantom touches ghost around my body, as if he is holding me to him like he did so many times.
And will never do again.
I tell myself the tears are borne from exhaustion.
By the time I finally give up trying to eke out any more than a few feeble hours of sleep, the first slivers of light are creeping over the High Hold’s walls. With a robe over my shoulders, I head downstairs, the sound of clattering pans audible even from the top of the stairs. But while Summer’s presence in the kitchen comes as little surprise, the items which cover the tabletop are definitely unexpected.
‘Gifts for the gifted,’ Summer explains as she sees me staring at the hampers on the table in front of us. ‘Some were dropped off yesterday after you left, and a couple came this morning.’
‘From whom?’ I ask, peering into one of the closest ones.
‘The lords and ladies of the court. They each have name tags.’
A quick look around the one I’m already studying shows me she’s right. An elegant cursive tag reads:From Lord and Lady Ross.
I’ve no idea who they are.
In fact, I still don’t recognise any of the names that I’m scanning through when Benny appears.
‘Wondered when you were going to get to these,’ he says. ‘You know, there’s aquavit in a couple.’ He reaches over and takes a bottle. ‘If you’re not going to …’
I drag a grin onto my face. ‘Be my guest. Take anything you want. You too, Summer,’ I tell her. ‘Take as much as you want.’ The truth is that the sight of these luxuries is enough to make my skin crawl.
How stupid is it that when I was starving in the slums, unsure how I’d find enough food for Kay for the day, none of these lords or ladies were anywhere to be found? But now, when I already have everything I need, they’re sending enough to feed a village.
As I pick the bottle of spirits out of the hamper, I unscrew the top, take a sniff, and cough on the fumes. The sudden spasm causes pain to sear beneath my ribs.
‘You okay?’ Benny asks, concern flashing across his face.
‘Yeah,’ I reply, screwing the lid back on. ‘I hate these things. Summer?’ The maid turns to look at me. ‘I assume you have friends in the High Hold. Maids? Servants?’
She nods. ‘Yes, m’lady, but I would never?—’
I wave away whatever her comment was going to be. ‘Please, take anythingyou think they would like from this lot. We have no need for any of this.’
