“What’s going to happen with her? She won’t have a source of income or shelter now. Will she even be able to pay her way back to Falsgard?”
“She’ll acquire his home and savings, as well as the small farm he owns. She’ll end up better off than most. My men are escorting her back to Falsgard, where they’ll check on her brother,” he answered.
Gratitude swelled.
I’m not a good man, Etarla,he’d said to me what felt like years ago.
He was wrong. So incredibly wrong.
Sleep beckoned and silence descended, interrupted only by the occasional bird call or sounds of a night guard’s movement in the halls. As I closed my eyes and sank into him, the question that niggled at my mind came out. “What doescarellamean?”
“Something rare,” he answered vaguely and left it at that.
Chapter 25
Iwoke up alone, feeling deeply rested despite my midnight stroll. Harthon was gone, but his musky scent lingered in the blankets, an affirmation that I hadn’t dreamt the events of the night.
As to what those events meant, I hadn’t a clue.
Men and women could share intimate moments without any meaning at all. Some did it only for physical release or distraction. But the way my insides stretched and tickled when I thought of him now told me that was not the case—for me, anyway.
It was nothing more than attraction and comradery, though. It couldn’t be, because with all that Harthon and I had to deal with at the moment, with the constant risk of death, it would be plain foolish to yearn for anything more.
All the time I’d spent worrying for Merelda was plenty to know that caring for someone in this world weakened you. And I doubted that Harthon, with all of his strength, would ever allow himself to be burdened with any relationship beyond friendship. Out of all of us, he couldn’t afford to have a weakness.
And yet I still worried about how he would act today. Would he pretend it hadn’t happened? Sweep it under the rug and keep his distance like he had the last time? And if he did, what would I do?
Training with Callen was a sound distraction, but two hours later,anxiety nagged at me as Stefano accompanied me to the stables.
Harthon was already saddling his horse when we arrived, dressed in his usual tunic, leathers, and cloak, his sword holstered at his back and a series of daggers strapped to his chest. No one else was readying a horse.
“Thanks, Stefano. We’ll meet you when we return,” Harthon said, turning and addressing my current lifeline.
Stefano left, and Harthon’s warm gaze landed on me, traveling up my body before reaching my face. A knowing smile curled his lips. “Sleep well?” he asked, and I knew then that he wasn’t going to ignore me as he had the last time.
Absolutely.“It was fine.” I cleared my throat and headed to my mare’s stall, trying to sink into the comfort of the stable’s familiar scent of sweet hay and horse. While I’d only been learning to ride for a week, I’d already grown somewhat attached to the space and the agreeable mare that Jac had assigned to me.
“I wouldn’t name her if I were you. It’s important to connect with your horse, but don’t fall in love. They always die in battle,”he’d warned me in that matter-of-fact way of his.
It was only another reminder that relationships were tangled, painful thickets.
“If those delicate little snores were any indication, I’d venture to say it was better than fine.”
His low words came over the stall walls, and I nearly tripped and dropped the saddle.Delicate little snores?“I don’t snore.”
Flustered, my fingers fumbled for the straps, and I mentally thanked the mare for being so damn calm. Serious Harthon was easy to handle. Teasing Harthon always turned my face into some hue of crimson.
“Are any of your men coming with us?” I asked, trying to steer the conversation away from our night together.
“No. We can handle anything we come across around the citycenter.”
Wecan handle, notIcan handle.
I couldn’t help but be pleased by the fact that I was maybe becoming more of an asset than a burden. The goal of my training was to be able to hold my own, and I was getting better at it. Even Callen had been surprised at my progress this morning, and it was in no small part thanks to Stefano’s extra help. Soon, I’d start working with weapons.
“You don’t think we’ll go that far?” I asked, leading the mare over to Harthon, adjusting my cloak. It wasn’t terribly cold today, but riding brought a biting wind chill. Sharing the saddle with Harthon all those days had brought me far more warmth than I knew to appreciate at the time.
“We aren’t packing overnight supplies, so the day will naturally limit us. Are you feeling drawn to the south right now?”
