“What about now?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“You said your last relationship ended a year ago.”
“I’ve been on patrol since.”
“I’m sure you meet plenty of women while you’re on patrol who are willing to offer you a warm bed.”
She probably wouldn’t have said it any other time. But it was just the two of them now, alone in the dark in the Black Woods, and she was curious.
“Are you offering me something, Rowan?” There was a teasing lilt to his voice that turned her insides warm and liquid.
“I’m just curious,” she said.
He gave a low laugh. “I shouldn’t be talking about this with you.”
“You can break the rules with me, Casrian. I won’t tell anyone.”
His breath hitched but then evened out. They fell silent for a time.
The storm was moving off. She could see occasional flashes of light in the distant clouds, turning them purple, but the thunder sounded more distant. The fog wasn’t as dense here either. Hopefully, the rain would end soon and they could have a fire.
“Why did you have that charm?” he asked.
She glanced up. She couldn’t see his face clearly at this angle and in the dim light, just the shape of it. The straight brow, the clean jaw, the gleam of his eyes as he looked down. She tucked her head against his shoulder again.
“It was Tilly,” she said. “She thought I should have it.”
“Why?”
“Hard to say,” she said, even though she well knew what Tilly was thinking. “She scolds me for hiding away on the border instead of setting off and living my life. She tries to push me out of the nest every once in a while. I think that’s what the charm was about. She saw a handsome young man in a place where there aren’t many handsome young men, and she decided toplay matchmaker.” She meant well in her own extremely flawed way. “She doesn’t know that you were the one who branded my mother.”
“You think I’m handsome?”
She rolled her eyes and tossed back the words he’d given her only days ago. “You must know what you look like.”
He was quiet for a moment, then asked, “Why didn’t you tell her? You seem close.”
She breathed a laugh, imagining it. “She would have been furious. I don’t know what she would have done.”
“You’re scared of her.”
“Of Tilly? No. She would never hurt me.”
“You think she’d have hurt me then.”
“She is very protective.”
He scoffed. “I don’t know if protective is the word I’d use to describe someone who’d throw you into the bed of the first healthy man who wandered into town.”
“You don’t understand.” She didn’t like the way he was talking about Tilly. “She only wants what’s best for me.”
“It sounds like she’s trying to chase you off.”
Because she wanted what was best for her. “She’s always thought I should leave Toam and go find a job in another town. Leave my mother behind and get a fresh start somewhere new. But obviously I can’t do that.”
“You could,” he said. “Many people would leave in your situation. Most, maybe. They’d go find work. Send money home if they were able.”
