Someone touched my arm, drawing me from my thoughts. Eleos gently wrapped an arm around me. “Come on.” He said, guiding me to the door.
A cold breeze dug into my bare skin as we stepped outside. Night had blanketed the city, save for fires glowing in lanterns. Pain throbbed in my chest with every step, and though my legs were unharmed, I struggled to move them.
Stopping, Eleos sighed, muttering to himself. “What am I doing?” Swinging his bag around to his side, he knelt in front of me. “Let me carry you. And you aren’t allowed to say no.”
Lucky for him, I wasn’t usually the stubborn type. Relieved, I trudged forward like a shambling corpse, wrapping my arms around his neck and burying my head into his hair. Grabbing my thighs, he hefted me up.
First a brothel, now a piggy-back through Serifos’ backstreets. My life just got better and better.
“It’s not the best solution,” Eleos whispered. “I know you didn’t want to draw attention.”
“No, it’s fine,” I said. “At this time of night, everyone will assume I’m your drunken lover.”
“Good point. It’s not far from the truth.”
Had I more energy, I would have contested the egregious line. Closing my eyes, I tried to ignore the throb of pain with every step, instead focusing on his hair.
Thehair. I’d wanted to touch it for ages now, and it proved as soft as I’d hoped. It even smelled good, though I was too woozy toplace the exact scent. Had he snuck out of camp every morning to bathe in a nearby stream?
Stupid scholar. Why hadn’t he taken me? I probably looked like I’d just rolled out of the sewers. It had been a mistake to assume he wasn’t vain.
A mistake borne from knowing nothing about him.
I wanted to change that. I wanted to glance over a market stall and effortlessly pick out something he’d like. Come the evenings, we could sit together in companionable silence, each aware of the others’ hobbies and quirks.
Not since Ainwir betrayed me had I shared my soul with another. The loneliness had grown into an all-consuming hole.
“Are you alright, Lady Aethra?” Eleos asked.
“No,” I murmured into his hair.
“I can put together a proper painkiller for you when we get back.” He said. “Oh, and you aren’t going anywhere alone anymore.”
I turned my head, watching stores and houses pass us by. “Can psyches fight?”
“You’d be surprised what we can manage in a scrape.” He said, releasing a soft snicker. “Perhaps I can demonstrate on Seth.”
“Don’t jump to judge—maybe he’s a nice guy.”
“Hm.”
Wind swept over the streets, blowing strands of his hair across my face. Lifting my head, I opened my eyes and noticed him looking back at me.
The expression he wore fractured the solace I’d slipped into. Worry darkened his face, but not for my safety.
I’d seen that expression before. Men wore it when closeness had grown between them and someone they had not wished it to. Because they could not be together, or because the woman had not learned the depths of his sins.
Eleos quickly looked away, and my mind reeled. Day after day, he’d shown me kindness. Reading insincerity came easily to me—and he’d displayed nothing but genuine compassion. Any doubts I’d harbored about his character had faded at the outpost.
He feared I would learn a secret he kept hidden. A secret that would make me hate him.
12
Chapter 12
The second warning bell would sound soon. Those comfortably in the middle class hurried to finish their work and scurry home, while those in the slums made no fuss about the curfew. The Guild owned those streets, not the guards.
Eleos carried me through cozy cobblestone roads, occasionally saying something to convince onlookers I’d merely had too much to drink. Letting myself drift off, I closed my eyes and tried to relax.
