“The whole frog-marching to the privy thing. I think you get off on it.”
“I get what?” I ask.
“Get off?” Finn grins over his shoulder. “Meaning you find it sexy? Itstirssomething within you?”
I try not to look as confused as I feel. “Nothing’s…stirring.”
“I wouldn’t judge you,” Finn teases. “It’s good when a lady knows what she wants.”
“The only thing I want is for you to shut up.”
“I’m just saying.” He shrugs. “The whole arrangement is suspiciously kinky.”
Kinky?My face flames. Though I might not be familiar with the term, his smirk makes the insinuation clear. But I refuse to reveal my ignorance. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re a pain in the ass?”
“Plenty. Who toldyouto be so afraid of people?”
“My mother,” I snap. “Didn’t yours?”
Finn considers. “If my mother should have warned me about anything, it’s small women with rope.”
“And the Moragorion.”
He winks. “That too.”
I wait outside the privy while he finishes his business. The sun is bright overhead, and when Finn emerges, his face glistens with sweat. He keeps smiling as I steer him back to the cottage. His gait has significantly improved. I think in a few more days, he’ll be ready to travel.
He watches while I retie the restraints on his sickbed. Then he asks, “Are your parents hard on you?”
I look up from my knots, surprised by the question. “Why would you think that?”
“I dunno. You’re obviously independent.” Finn gestures around him the best he can with his hands tied, alluding to the hanging flowers, the bottles of tinctures, the pots bubbling on the stove. “All this healing stuff is beyond me. I thoughtmyparents pushed me, but based on whatyou’veaccomplished at this age…” He shrugs. “I guess I just imagined they might be hard on you, too.”
I’m still for a long moment as I consider his question.
“My dad isn’t in the picture,” I finally admit. “He died shortly after I was born.” My heart pounds as I wait for Finn’s response.
“Forgive me.” His entire demeanor softens in sympathy. “I didn’t realize….”
My shoulders jerk in something like a shrug. “I never knew him.”
“That doesn’t make it better,” he says firmly.
“No. It doesn’t.” I rub a knot on my neck.
“So, it’s just you and your mother?”
“Yeah. And…sheisa little hard on me,” I admit. I recall her expression when I asked to accompany her, my heart jerking at the memory.
Silence falls. I finish cooking and help Finn with his portion. When I settle down at the table to eat mine, he tries again. “So, no father in the picture. But your mother is a Healer, you’re her apprentice, you live out here alone…and?”
I stare at him blankly. “And that’s all correct.”
“Come on, give mesomething,” he prods. “At least a little lore!”
I roll my eyes. “Whatlore?”
“Where you’re from…how you got here…”
