Her eyes caught the king’s, and she stared at him—almost cautioning for a moment.
“Of course,” I said, pointing to the back of the tent. “Take a lantern. It’s just beyond the bushes at the last hut.”
She nodded and walked away without another word. Roran and Aiko watched with me as she marched out.
I shook my head.
I needed to sleep. Soon. Today had been too much.
Chapter Seven
GWYNNORE
I grabbed a lanternfrom a wooden table and waited patiently for a harried servant to light it. S’Kir was a fucking mess right now, but I couldn’t hold it against them. Earth would be the same way soon if we couldn’t find the Breaker. Speaking of that, perhaps others may know where the Breaker was…
I stopped the servant before she could leave with a gentle hand on her arm—she was a druid and appeared dreadfully frightened of me. I asked quietly, “Excuse me, do you, by chance, know where I can find the Breaker?”
Her blue eyes widened in alarm. “Uh…”
Then she turned on her heel and ran away.
I furrowed my dark eyebrows. All right. The people here are frightened of the Breaker. Good to know. I would need to ask more delicately next time.
I traipsed past huts, keeping my head down. Eyes followed me anyway, as I was a new vampire here, but I tried to look as unassuming as possible. They had enough turmoil in this city. I didn’t need to become part of the chaos.
And how far awaywasthis primitive bathroom, anyway? I hated outhouses with a vengeance, not having used one since my timelong agowith Lord Pippin. Now, every time I needed to piss, I had to use astinkingshithole. It was far from the highlight of my day.
I ground my molars together and glared at the last hut. It was tiny, a one-seater. The stench would be even worse, everyone and their brother having used it.
I sucked in a large lungful of oxygen and quickly sped inside, holding the lantern high in the air. My eyes instantly watered at the putrid smell, my nose crinkling with disgust.
Oh my fuck.This was revolting.
Brown shit was smeared all over the seat.
My boots were wading in piss.
And…there was no toilet paper. Of course.
“I can’t do it!” I whined.
But, hell, I had to go. Ireallyhad to pee.
I swiftly set the lantern down on the empty shelf, where the toilet paper should have resided and yanked down my pants. I hovered my bare ass far over the seat, careful not to touchanything. I choked on the sickening air while I did my business as fast as I could—but my bladder was damn full after holding it for so long.
Note to my queenly self: Drink less water.
I moaned as my bladder finally emptied, more than ready to leave this horrible shitter. I wondered if I could ask for a private outhouse in the future. Fuck, my own tree would work just fine, too, at this point. Even a bedpan would be a step up from this hell.
The door to the hut creaked open.
A vampire stood outside, staring in.
“I’m in here!” I barked, quickly standing and pulling up my pants. “Shut the damn door.”
From under his hooded cloak, he gazed at me. “Are you Gwynnore?”
“Yes, I am. You could have waited until I came outside to ask me that.” I zipped up my pants, buttoning them quickly. I turned to the lantern and started to grab it. “Am I needed for something?”
