The apothecary looked at the sky again, then back at Luc, herbrow creasing. “It’s just as well. There was something we should discuss.”
Luc nodded then snapped his fingers at Rolan. With a crisp salute, Rolan ran to do as bidden, Anaya trailing after.
A short time later, they sat around the table in Luc’s house, the remains of the two pies down to mere crumbs. Rolan picked these up with a happy sigh and licked them off his fingertip while Luc poured mint tea for everyone. Anaya, huddled under one of Luc’s thick sheepskins, drew her cup close and wrapped her fingers around it, her eyes darting to the windows every few heartbeats.
“First time spending the night outside the city walls?” Rolan asked her.
She scowled. “I’m not scared.”
“Iwas, the first night,” Rolan said. “Of course, it was storming like a sky full of angry bears that night. And I passed out before we got here so I had no idea where I was. And also Supper was trying to eat my nose.”
In his corner of the house, Supper blinked owlishly and chewed a curtain.
“Rolan Strider,” Anaya said, a smile playing on her lips, “scared?”
“Positively petrified.”
“Ohhh. Big fancy words for a street whelp.” Rolan grinned at her invocation of one of Hoff’s favorite insults.
Dropping his voice to a whisper, he told her about Hoff’s new position as a scullery servant in the duke’s house. Her laughter illuminated the cabin and drew a sharpshushfrom Evaine.
“You two go feed the horse,” Luc grunted. “Leave the adults to talk.”
“Sure,” said Rolan. “Wanna go feed the horse, Anaya?”
“As long as it isn’t apples.”
Like the two perfectly obedient apprentices they certainly were not, they glided from the house, only to instantly circle back and eavesdrop at the window. They didn’t even need to speak a word to know what the other was thinking: When adults told you to clear out, it meant the conversation was about to get good. Night had fallen, but Luc had lit the lamps around the house for once, ringing it and the barn in a pool of warm light.
“Do you think they’re going to kiss?” Anaya asked Rolan.
He made a face of disgust.“Why?”
“Oh, come on. Don’t tell me you don’t see it.”
“See what?”
Anaya rolled her eyes. “Why do you think Evaine came all the way out here?”
“To bring me pies.”
She thumped his arm. “To seeLuc, idiot.”
“What!?” Rolan pushed upward to peer through the window, but Anaya yanked him down again. All he managed to glimpse was Luc pouring more tea for the apothecary.
Anaya giggled. “I think she was impressed by how Luc managed to cram actual letters and numbers into your stubborn brain.”
“She’s in love with him because he can read?”
“Not because he can—ugh! Forget it. And she’s not in love, I think, just maybe… I dunno. Intrigued.”
Rolan blew out a breath, bored of the topic already. “Whatever. So long as she doesn’t interfere with what we’ve got going out here.”
“And what is that, exactly? Blustering around the forest, bashing Cryptics into pulp?”
Rolan grinned. “Exactly.”
Anaya put a finger to her lips. “What are they saying?”
