“Yes, Master,” she replied.
Ty whipped his head to her, his eyes flaring with desire. So she hadn’t been mistaken the last time she’d called him that—Tydidclearly like it. How interesting… The corner of her mouth tipped up mischievously at him just as a woman in her mid-forties approached their table.
The woman, possibly the wife of the recordkeeper, brought them two large mugs of ale, some cheese, beef stew, and freshly baked bread. Ena was so overwhelmed by the prospect of eating food other than jerky and bittercress that she almost teared up. But, deciding there wasn’t time for all that, she simply dug in without another word.
Ena and Ty ate companionably in silence, clearly both exclusively focused on the delicious food they’d been given. When she’d finished everything and was wiping her bowl cleanwith a piece of bread, she felt like she finally was able to think rationally again. The first thing she realized was that, ostensibly, their daemonic companions should be joining them soon, but she hadn’t seen any sign of them.
“Where are Turner and Steig?” she asked, looking around the room as if they might pop out from behind one of the tables.
“I inquired about them with the recordkeeper. They’ve been staying here on and off, posing as bards, but they’re out right now. They should be back soon.”
Ena almost spat her ale out. “Bards?!” she asked, as she wiped some of the beer from her chin.
Ty laughed at her reaction, wiping some ale she’d sprayed at him off his sleeve. “Yes, bards,” he said. “Steig has quite a good singing voice, actually.”
Ena was still trying to wrap her mind around that when the woman returned and offered to show them to their room. Suddenly aching for an actual bed, Ena eagerly followed her as she led the way up a wide, angular staircase to the second floor. The building was actually three floors; it looked like there was a third attic level without windows that contained rooms, as well, but their room was on the second. She led them down a dark hallway into a nice-sized room tucked at the back of the house.
“If you’ll be needing a wash, there’s a communal bathhouse just downstairs past the kitchens. I can have one of the girls prepare it with hot water if you’d like,” she said, as she held the door open for them to enter.
“Yes,” Ty and Ena spoke simultaneously, their tones indicating their eagerness at the idea.
The woman smiled and nodded at them before leaving them to settle in.
Ena took in the room with awe. It was clean and simple, with a bed large enough for two and a small dining table complete with two cushioned chairs. In the corner was a washstand witha pitcher of fresh water and a basin for washing. The room was fairly dark, but there were several candles lit around the room, and a small window that faced the woods behind the guesthouse. There was also a small fireplace stocked with cut wood and dry kindling.
All in all, it was nothing special, but after weeks of sleeping on the ground and foraging for her own firewood, it felt so wonderful to have all these amenities right at her fingertips. She almost started to tear up again.
Ty barely seemed to notice her overly intense reaction. He simply put his pack on the ground and got to work building a fire in the hearth.
Ena walked over to the bed to find that a clean dress and shift had been left for her. The dress was long-sleeved and plain, made out of a simple handspun wool dyed the color of mud. It had a built-in bodice that laced in the front with sturdy cotton laces—much more practical than the decorative ribbon on her current disaster of a dress. And, Gaia be blessed, the neckline was significantly more modest. She was eternally grateful that her chest would be warmer and her breasts at significantly lower risk of spilling out going forward.
After starting the fire to warm the room, Ena and Ty walked back downstairs, through the dining room where they’d eaten, and past the kitchens to the small communal bathhouse that was adjacent to it. It was a tiny room with a large copper bathtub that took up half the space, a stool, and a vanity with a mirror, basin, and pitcher. Someone had kindly filled the bath with steaming hot water and set out a fresh bar of soap and two worn towels on the stool.
Ena stared at the bath like it was a vision of Gaia herself. Assuming she’d take the first bath, which was only kind enough, considering she was here by force, she walked into thebathhouse elated, and so, so ready to get in the warm tub, but as she went to close the door behind her, Ty stopped it with his foot.
“Uh-uh, viper. I’m coming in too,” he said with a cocky grin on his face.
“Excuse me?” Ena hissed, trying to keep her voice quiet so as not to attract attention.
“There’s a window in here.” He gestured to the small, foggy-glass window behind her. “I’m not leaving you alone in here so you can run off again.”
Ena looked at the window, then she looked at Ty. There was no possible way she could even fit through that fucking window and he knew it.
“Ty,” she said, mustering all her patience. “I just want a bath. Desperately. I’m not going to run anywhere. Besides, that window is tiny. I don’t even know if I’d fit, and I know you’ll just come chasing after me anyway.”
Ty made a show of considering this for a second, then said, “Nope, sorry, I can’t take that chance.”
Ena glared at him. She knew what he was playing at. This wasn’t about stopping her from escaping. He was toying with her. Pushing her buttons on purpose. This was just another one of his challenges to see if she’d back down. She knew if she fought him on it, he’d likely love that even more and still come in anyway.
She let out an extremely put-upon sigh, then asked, “Is this payback for me staring at you before we got in the stream?”
“Sure, let’s call it that,” he replied, grinning wolfishly.
She rolled her eyes and opened the door wider so he could follow her in.
“Don’t worry. I’ll let you go first,” he said, gesturing to the fresh water.
She eyed him before turning around to start unlacing her dress. She heard him settle on the stool behind her, and lookedover her shoulder to see that he had his back to her and was facing the door. His attempt at protecting her modesty was laughable considering she knew expressly why he’d insisted on coming in with her. The dirty pervert.
