“Yeah?” I asked and looked atSean.
“Yes, I can see really well at night. Just as well as I can during the day,” Sean proudlyannounced.
I knew that I would need to keep an eye on each of them to find out what enhancements they had gained. It would be very interesting to watch them experience their new lives and their newattributes.
“We need to talk about our plan for getting Klyn back,” I said, guiding our conversation to the main matter at hand, and waited for them to all give me their attention. “There is one weapon that kills CarpeNoctem—”
“Kill?” Michan said and looked around the table. “We have tokill?”
“Well, hopefully, not. But if it comes down to you or the Carpe Noctem, I hope that you are the one left standing,Michan.”
They all nodded and said theyunderstood.
“Now, there is one thing that will kill them. There is a special arrow tip that will kill them almost moments after it pierces their skin,” Iexplained.
“I am hoping you know where we can get these arrows that you speak of,” Octavia chimedin.
“Of course,” I said with a smile. “We can get a bow for each of you here, in Wester Lea. But the arrows are with a close friend of mine. He is a warlock and lives between Wester Lea and Stonewald. So, we will travel to him tomorrow. You guys can practice with the bow when we get there, and then we will go to Stonewald the next day and getKlyn.”
After we finished at the pub, we found a supply shop, and I took the six bows to theshopkeeper.
“I would like to purchase these,” I said to the olderman.
“What kind of currency do you have? Forest chips?” heasked.
“Yes, Forest chips,” Iconfirmed.
Octavia walked over, and I prayed that she would not announce that we had Royal Darick coins on us. We stared at one another as the man accepted my forest chips. I handed the bows to the gentlemen, and we quietly left. As we walked to an inn for the night, Octavia asked about thecoins.
“Why would you not have said that we had the Royal Darick coins?” she asked as we walkedbriskly.
“Because. We do not want to draw attention. If he had seen that we had the coins, he could alert others. They would have followed us and tried to rob us,” Iwhispered.
“We could take on anyone,” Michanboasted.
“Yes, we definitely could,” Seanagreed.
“I do not disagree with you guys. However, it would draw attention. We do not want that. Remember, Wester Lea is the gateway to Stonewald, which means there could be Carpe Noctem roaming around here,” I remindedthem.
I spoke to the innkeeper and got us a room to share. It was not a very big room, but it would have to do for thenight.
“I know it is not the castle, my Queen, but it is shelter and dry,” I said as I set the lantern on the small table beside thedoor.
“It will be fine, River. As you mentioned, it is shelter and a warm place for us to rest,” Octaviaagreed.
The room really was not very warm. I knew Octavia was trying to focus on something positive. But after she spent last night on the cold, hard ground, she was probably grateful for the room we had for the night. At least the wind would not be pounding against us. We made sure that Octavia had the softest place to lay and that she had plenty of blankets to keep herwarm.
“Guys, take your shirts off,” I said, and then gestured for them to laydown.
“It is cold, River. I would prefer sleeping with my shirt,” Michansaid.
The others must have shared his thoughts because none of themmoved.
“If you take your shirts off, we can huddle together. Our body heat will keep the Queen warm, and us,” Iexplained.
After they shed their shirts, Michan and Ethan took up either side of Octavia. Liam settled in next to Michan, and Sean behind Ethan. I covered up Liam and Michan with a blanket and tucked the edge under Liam’s back to hold the heat in before I laid down behind Sean. I pulled the blanket across Ethan and overSean.
I was able to get my arms under some of the blankets, but keeping them warm was more important than my comfort right now. Their bodies were still adjusting, and if they were too cold, they would not sleep or rest well. And they were going to need to be well-rested since we were going to walk into Stonewald in a couple ofdays.
