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What’s that saying again?
The fish rots from the head.
“I’m fine,” I say icily. “I’ll just stay here.”
“You sure, sweetheart? Because if you need to shit or piss, it’s your only chance. I’m not getting up in the middle of the night to let you out of your little cage.”
“If it’s necessary, the sentry can let me out.” My glare is filled with venom. Humiliatingly, he’s right.
Idoneed to relieve myself.
“Sentry’s job is to watch the woods, darling. Not to supervise you while you’re pissing in the snow.” His leer makes my skin crawl.
I silently wish that the Seven Furies would flay Brusic alive. “If you want to watch me relieving myself in the woods, then go ahead and do it.”Pervert.“I don’t care. But if you touch me or mark me in any way, my betrothed will know of it. Of course, I haven’t met the man yet. I don’t know anything about Archduke Duthriss. I don’t know how he’d react to being told that some lowly baron’s man-at-arms has cast lecherous eyes upon his soon-to-be wife. What doyouthink, Brusic?”
Brusic’s stubbled jaw clamps shut. His eyes tighten in anger. Was that a trace of fear in his expression just now? “You’re lucky you’ve been promised to a Duthriss,” he growls. “If it were any other man, I would have given you what you deserved, you ungrateful bitch.”
Ah. Now you show your true colors.I smile; a thin, poison-tipped smile. “How delightfully enlightening. Too bad he’s notany other man.Now if you don’t mind, servant, I’ve changed my mind. I think Iwillgo for a piss in the woods. Over there, behind that dense, thorny thicket. Oh, don’t worry about following me, Brusic. There’s barely enough light for me to see by. I’m not going to run off into the snow. Not in these bloody skirts, anyway. Besides, following me really isn’t worth the trouble if my future husband’s going to find out about your transgressions, don’t you think?”
The guard’s ruddy face turns pale.
To my surprise, he averts his eyes. “Shut yer bloody mouth, woman. Get going then, before the last of the daylight leaves us.”
My smile turns acid-sweet. “And please don’t speak so crudely in front of me again, Brusic. I’m amaiden. As His Imperial Highness is undoubtedly aware.”
In truth, I have no idea whether this Corvan Duthriss would care about my virginity or not. Some nobles make a terribly big deal out of it—as if a woman’s purity is somehow a thing to be coveted and seized.
Brusic’s mouth compresses into a thin line. His eyes are taut.
So different to his earlier demeanor.
Is my future husband’s name really all that powerful?
I’ll admit; I am a little naive regarding the affairs of the Rahavan Court. Being the daughter of a lowly baron, I wouldn’t know about half the things that go on in the capital.
But the mere mention of his name appears to be enough to protect me against my father’s nasty guardsman. Because of him, nobody’s going to touch me or my supposedly precious maidenhood.
So there’s that, at least.
Brusic takes a step backwards, keeping well clear as I hike up my skirts and alight from the carriage. The winter chill bites through my woollen leggings, but I don’t care.
It’s good to be able to stretch my legs after being cooped up in that awful cabin for so long.
My boots crunch the snow. I ignore the stares of the other guards as I walk away from Brusic, putting distance between myself and the camp.
They quickly return to their tasks; pitching tents, setting up a fire, watering the horses.
Janvia ignores me completely. She’s peeling shriveled potatoes and dropping them into an iron pot.
The darkness closes around me. For once, I’m grateful for it.
It hides me, cloaking me from these people who despise me.
Now I can just make out the outlines of the thicket. The woods stretch out all around me; it’s impossible to ignore my surroundings, because under the cover of night, they come to life.
My boots crunch on the snow.
A bird lets out a mournful cry. Insects chatter in the bushes.
