They reached the top a full three minutes after starting the climb, ending up near the common entrance. I could tell they were shocked by what the Rest really was.
Roran’s whisper did not echo. “How many?”
I grabbed the paper ledger that sat next to the main, magical entrance. “Currently, there are five thousand, one hundred sixty-three druid taking Rest in this cavern. There are three more on the schedule for the year, and eighteen due to wake in the next six months.”
Putting the ledger down, I pointed to the archway across from us. “That’s where the First Rested. She slept there for nearly three thousand years. That is where her ashes are interred.”
“Threethousandyears rest?” Roran was shocked.
“Yes.”
Rilen peered across. “She died from the sleeping sickness.”
“Yes.” I started to walk around the top of the first level, checking that those in rest were covered, clean, undisturbed and magicked to keep the dust away. “I’ve seen three druids die from it during the years I lived there. It was terrible, a wasting disease. My nanny was the first when I was five. Cely was the mother I wished my mother was. I don’t remember a time she wasn’t tired, but all of a sudden, in just a few short months, she went from needing a nap to only waking for food at dawn and dusk. And even that stopped at the end. She kissed me goodnight and never woke up again. She died three weeks later.
“The other two were shorter, both men who my parents welcomed into the house for their final few weeks. They were broken and tired from fighting to find a place in the world.”
Roran ran a finger over one of the dust-free tableaus that held a Resting druid female. “You have to sleep over a thousand years, don’t you?”
I nodded. “And very few Rest more than just a few hundred. Everyone who comes in here now must swear not to Rest more than five hundred. My parents instituted that rule. If you wish to Rest more than that, you have to find somewhere else.”
Sighing, I stopped my inspection. “I don’t see anything wrong with this upkeep. I think the Fox family is doing just fine. I’ll send them a note to keep up the good job and forward them a few extra gold pieces.”
Glancing around, a feeling of disturbing discontent washed over me. “Let’s go. We’ll have dinner with Everett and his family and get back to the city tomorrow. I’m done with this place.”
* * *
I found Rilen sitting in the garden of the inn we had picked. Roran told me he was out there and then told me to go talk to him.
Sitting next to him on the bench, I took his hand as he stared up at the slowly darkening sky.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
He nodded slowly. “It’s been so many years, and yet Amina’s death can take my breath away in a moment.”
Lifting a shoulder, I offered a little shrug. “You loved her. That’s what happens when something you love is ripped away from you.”
Turning on the bench, he put his hand on my cheek. “I am so sorry you had to see Elex die, Kimber. That was unfair of us. I forget that we all have hearts, no matter how hard or strong we seem.”
I drew in a slow breath. “Do you miss her?”
“No, not anymore. It’s been too many years. I loved her, but she was in my life for such a short time.” He ran the tip of his thumb over my lips. “I have to admit another truth to you,ilati. It wasn’t just Dorian stopping you from the raid. I was too. I don’t want to lose you.”
“Oh, Rilen.” I stilled his hand and kissed the pad of his thumb. “You aren’t going to lose me. I promise. I will tan the hide of anyone who tries to take me away from you.”
“With that sword? I believe it.”
I moved to sit on his lap, straddling his legs. “Please, don’t hold me back from the raid. I need to go. I want to go. I can’t pull my weight at the shield. So let me use my sword. Let me help. I’m nothing more than a magical puzzle, but I can do this.”
Rilen’s fingers tunneled through my shoulder-length sandy hair, darker in the approaching night than it really was. “I trust you, Kimber. I won’t stop you. You might still have to fight Dorian.”
“I’ll sneak away. Better to ask forgiveness than permission.”
His laugh was light. “You’re so beautiful. So strong. And I don’t have an iota of jealousy about sharing you with Roran and Dorian.”
“I’m glad.”
He cocked his head. “How do you feel about your little harem?”
