Page 17 of The Seeker

I should have changed before I came out here, but it was too late now. I frowned. “I needed to light the fire.”

He didn’t even wait for me to finish talking before he stomped over toward the door, passing the guard there without a second glance. “From now on, you’ll call a female servant to do that for you, do you understand?”

I rushed after him, the book tucked beneath my arm. “Yes, sir.” I sighed as I closed the door behind me.

Leif had always been a man with strong opinions, but I missed the man he used to be, the one I’d met in Adis’s keep, even if the promises he made me were fake. It was hard to separate the man I’d shared my first kiss with, with the one who stood before me now. I understood that the stress of war had changed him, but understanding wasn’t enough to save the feelings I’d once held for him.

He stretched out his arm, a dress clasped in his fist. “Change. Now. I don’t want to see you in breeches again. I told you, women in Malheim wear dresses.”

I accepted the dress, setting it down so I could pull off my clothes and slip it on. Leif’s eyes remained on me as I changed. I could feel his annoyance as I removed the bind from around my breasts.

“That cream you can use to minimize scars; does it work on tattoos?”

My heart froze. Though I’d once hated the tattoo on my side, now I would do anything not to part with it. It was part of me. Part of the woman I was becoming. I finished pulling on the dress, the fabric falling nearly to the floor.

“Answer me,” he demanded.

“I don’t know. Maybe,” I lied. The minimizing cream was meant to remove excess layers of skin, which is how it minimized scars. I knew it didn’t work on tattoos the same way, but I also knew it was still likely to do something. Either way, I wasn’t interested.

“I want you to get the ingredients and begin the process immediately.” His voice was firm and I knew he’d made up his mind.

Though I loathed our current conversation, I knew a chance when I saw one. “But what if I need ingredients unavailable in the keep?”

“I’ll assign you an escort.”

I nodded, choosing the path of least resistance. “I’ll go tomorrow,” I said, picking up the book and crawling into bed. I didn’t want to look too excited by the prospect of leaving the keep, otherwise he would know something was amiss. “Are you ready for me to read to you?”

“Yes.” His face was expressionless as he turned his back toward me, his gaze focusing on the fire as I opened the cover and began to read.

The next morning, I stood outside of our door, wearing a floor length blue dress, waiting for the escort. Although I wasn’t a fan of dresses, as they limited my movement, at least the Malheim fashion was loose and airy, meaning I wouldn’t grow too hot under the midday sun.

Under normal circumstances, I would hope Friar would come as my escort. But she was the only one who might recognize the ingredients I planned to collect, meaning I hoped for it to be anyone but her.

To my surprise, it was a male guard who showed up. He was tall, which was saying something because I was considered tall for a woman. He had dark hair and wore a frown like it was part of his armor. Not even cracking a grin in greeting.

“Derek,” he stated, not even waiting for me to mention my name before motioning for me to lead.

I took a step in front of him, my basket gripped tightly in my hands, “Runa,” I tossed over my shoulder.

“We aren’t to speak. I am here only to escort.”

That had my eyebrows rising. I’d come to discover Leif was a jealous man, but I hadn’t expected he’d take it that far.

“Okay,” I affirmed. I’d long known that choosing my battles was essential, and I wasn’t going to bother with this one. As long as Derek didn’t recognize plants, this arrangement would suit me fine.

I guided him out into the field outside the palace that was still situated within the walls of the keep, and proceeded to scour the ground for the light purple moonflowers which bloomed under the light of the two moons.

I beamed when I spotted them, bending down to delicately pry them from the ground, roots and all. The soil released them with little resistance, and I took that as a good omen from the absent gods.

“What are those?” He scoffed, but his eyes told a different story.

He was interested.

I couldn’t keep my lips from turning up at the corner. The “no talking” rule hadn’t lasted long. “Moonflower,” I replied. Though my bonded might want me to be rude, I’d long ago learned allies were better than enemies—something Leif couldn’t understand.

Would never understand.

I’d gathered more than a handful, my gaze catching on the acid violets that also grew alongside the small lake. But I turned away, making my way back to the keep.