Page 177 of A Legacy of the Light

“The usual?”

“Please. But your special for Elsie.” He leans closer to Maggie to murmur, “She can’t handle her ale.”

I poke him in the ribs and she stifles a giggle.

“What’s the special?” I ask after she’s left us.

“It’s a drink made with local berries. You’ll like it.”

Ten minutes later, we all have a bowl of beef stew that doesn’t last long, and everyone, except me, downs a tankard of ale. Even Reyne.

She shrugs when I lift a brow in her direction. She would be used to drinking with guards given how she grew up with a general for a father.

With a full stomach, the exertion of the day catches up with me quickly.

“Come on. Bedtime,” Tavish says low into my ear after spotting how my shoulders have slumped.

We say goodnight to everyone and make our way up the heavy wooden staircase opposite the bar.

I follow him onto the upper landing and down the wooden corridor to a room at the far end.

Tavish enters first and holds the door open for me. “Are we sharing?” I prompt as he closes the door and locks it behind me. His expression is answer enough.

“Would you like a bath before bed?”

I’m nodding in eagerness before he’s finished the question, making him laugh.

He goes through the only other door in the room, and I sit on the edge of the bed that’s clad in pale blue sheets. The room is decently sized, with a wooden floor and a cream rug that cushions my feet around the bed. A mirror-fronted oak wardrobe and chest of drawers stand at the other end of the room, and a fireplace occupies the remaining wall space. The curtains are pulled closed already and a jug of water sits on top of the drawers.

Slipping off my boots, I pad into the bathroom, following the sounds of running water. A copper tub big enough for two sits in the middle of the room with a sink, toilet, and shower taking up the rest of the white-tiled space. Tavish has already stripped down to his pants and I watch the muscles flex in back as he leans over the edge to check the temperature of the water.

He turns to face me. “You’ve been quiet since we left the village. Are you doing okay?”

“Yeah. I guess I just didn’t think about what the Dorche leave behind. The city attack wasn’t much in comparison. It was a shock to see it.”

He pulls me close to him and wraps his arms around me. His woodsy scent immediately settles some of the unease I’ve felt since we rode through the village ruins.

“You know what the sad thing is?” I mumble into his chest.

“What?”

“That the emptiness, the hollowness of that village didn’t feel foreign to me. It’s like I recognized it. That’s how I used to feel.”

Tavish lifts my chin delicately. “And now? Is that how you feel?” His eyes dance with some emotion I can’t read.

I shake my head. “No. That’s not how I feel anymore.”

He presses his lips to mine in a tender kiss that has me melting into him.

We strip down and climb into the water together, me settling between his legs like I did in the bath at the palace. The memory feels like it happened a lifetime ago, not two days.

I lean back, my head resting on his thick shoulder. “You know, I’ve been thinking . . .”

“A dangerous past-time,”

“Rude,” I retort with a smile.

“Please regale me with the inner workings of your mind, Elsie,” he prompts with mock enthusiasm.