Ourroom?Nodding, I rose, grabbed my bag, and followed his directions. A soak sounded nice.
Maybe it could wash away the invisible blood that had clung to me since Galasvar.
I'd never been an oversleeper.Rigorous sword training for two hours apparently drained all the energy I had for one day.
After spending the day dozing on my elk, I nodded off in the bath and woke up god-knows-how-long later.
Shooting out of the cool water, I yanked my tunic and trousers on and stepped back into the room.
'Our room,' unfortunately. This was one of those sad, poor inns where single rooms were unheard of, and we barely even had a door to keep the other tenants out. A cloth hung from the frame, like a tent flap.
Two little cots sat side by side under a dark window. A tiny hearth in the corner warmed the room from freezing to unpleasantly cold.
Paragon Tiernan—Reese—leaned against the wall, staring out the window. All his glittering armor was gone. He wore a loose white undershirt with the sleeves rolled up.
Rolled up. In this cold. Like Liam did. Were men always on fire inside?
"She emerges." Golden eyes flicked over to me, burning me beneath their gaze. "I take it you fell asleep?"
"Yes," I muttered, grabbing my brush and running it through my hair. "You know, if the people here catch wind that we're sharing a room?—"
"They'll faint and die, yes." Reese rolled his eyes. “But I don't feel comfortable sending you off alone when there are no locks on the . . .” He observed the privacy cloth. “Doors.”
I chuckled. "I suppose I trust you. If you were going to kill me, you'd have done it by now."
"I'd offer to sleep outside, but . . . ” He smirked. "Now that we've started training, you're my squire, and I'm no longer your bodyguard."
"Slash manservant." I looked down. "Oh, well. It was nice while it lasted."
"Two hours? That's about how long it took to get you dressed and ready to leave Kentoro." He raised an eyebrow. "I suggest you turn in. We're starting a new kind of training tomorrow morning. At first starlight."
First starlight. What a wretched term. Only soldiers woke that early.
I watched him pinch out a candle. "Parago— Reese. Are you really okay with me taking Killian's place?"
"Yes," he said, offering me a soft gaze. "I've known impressive women." A nostalgic light entered his eyes. "Two in particular."
A strange tug pulled at my heart. Discomfort swelled in my throat, and I repressed the urge to pry about these women.
Swatting the strange sensation aside, I braided my hair and crawled into bed. "I knew an impressive woman, too. If only for a day."
Reese hummed—he knew who I meant.
My mother. Myrmidon and Duchess of Tirnanog.
I heard Reese take a few steps, then the last candle winked out, plunging us into darkness.
Though the stars and moons had faded, I could see the outlines of my bed and sheets, of his across the room. My eyes traced the windowsill, mind whirling, imagining Paragon Ishii, Fort Minsawa, and what we might find there. If the monsters of the dark would attack again.
If we'd survive.
I tossed and turned for an hour, maybe two. Annoyed, I rose and quietly slipped outside.
The inn was empty, though a small fire still smoldered in the hearth. Finding the back door, I trotted down the steps into the yard.
A small stream babbled between two willow trees. Their fronds were a pleasant silver, gleaming beneath a lone torch. Leaning against one's trunk, I slid down to the dirt.
Hugging my knees to my chest, I watched the stream trickle by. No matter how I tried to scrub the scenes of raw, bloody death from my memories, they remained.
