The steps creaked, and I cursed under my breath. Leighis came around the corner, and I hurried to his side, offering my arm. He took it, and I guided him to a chair.
“I don’t like you taking the stairsby yourself,” I said. “Especially when it’s dark.”
“I’m fine, child,” he replied. His tone was warm, and his eyes glowed with affection behind the rims of his rounded glasses. That’s how it was with him. Either he was present, as full of life as he’d been in his youth. Or he was hazed and absent. There was no in-between.I evaluated him briefly, but he seemed alright. He’d dressed himself and pulled back his hair, black streaked by touches of white and silver. Those contrasted the nearly all light gray of his short, pointed beard.
Content, I left him to starta kettle of water over the fire. “Could you not sleep?” I called back to him.
“I heard you when you rose. Have you told your brother the nightmares have returned?”
On a typical morning, it took Aureus quite some time to wake me. Sleep was something I could never have enough of, and though my bed was simple and the blankets all old, there was such warmth and coziness to them in the cold early hours of morning that it took a fair bit of pestering to stir me. Some days, Aureus resorted to pulling the covers off me. On those days, I took to adding castor oil to his tea, hiding the taste of the laxative with a strong mix of his favorite herbs.
“It’s the first I’ve had in some time,” I replied. “I’m sorry I woke you.”
When a few moments passed and Leighis gave no response, my heart sank. I turned my eyes to him, finding his gaze set onthe shelving of books, and let out a breath. Nothing could be done about it. His periods of awareness were becoming shorter and less frequent with each passing month.
When the kettle hissed, I took it from the hearthwith a cloth. My mind was distracted, lost in thoughts of Neirin and the marks on my wrist. Gods, the marks. I cursed my forgetfulness and retrieved the wraps, tying them to conceal the tattoo.
By the time Aureus woke, daylight lit the study. Leighis’s tea sat on the table beside him, cold and untouched. I would make him a fresh cup when he came back to himself.
“Have I slept in?” Aureus asked as he stopped byLeighis and put a hand on the old man’s shoulder. The hazed look in our mentor’s eyes showed he was elsewhere, lost. When he was like this, I found myself hoping he was, in his mind, walking the great library of Vitalis.
“No, we were both up early,” I replied, then added,“I’ve caught up on our orders.”
Aureus skipped a step as he came down from the platform to join me at the table. He looked over the packets, jars, and other miscellaneous containers.
The corners of his lips turned down.“This must have taken you hours.”
“I didn’t want us to fall behind,” I said.
Aureus shook his head. “You need rest, Evera.”
“I’m fine. I’m just grateful to be home and to be able to get back to work.” It was a half-truth at best, but I didn’t want to tell him about the nightmare. The last time I had one and brought it up, he’d been in a solemn mood for days afterward.
Aureus rubbed between his brows and sighed, but didn’t push further.
“They’re all pickup orders,” I said as I was organizing the finished items in a basket. I made sure each containerwas labeled with the customer’s name, dosage instructions, ingredients, price, and other essential details.
“No deliveries?” He took the basket when I pushed it across the table to him.
I shook my head. “Not today, no.”
Aureus carried the basket to the front room, and I followed him, passingthroughthe drape that separated the shop from the back room and the rest of our home.Aureus placed it behind the counter, then raised his hands above his head and clasped them, stretching. “I’m gladto be out of the wagon.”
I hummed my agreement, looking past him through the rippled glass windows that overlooked our garden and the stables across the street.After I dressed, I would spend some time in the pasture with Sorrel. She needed brushing, and I wanted fresh air and some time to myself. Nature was soothing, as was the presence of animals.
“Evera?”
I blinked, having missed Aureus’s question. “What?”
My brother’s lips were a thin line. “I asked if you made the tea yesterday.”
My fingers flexed, but I kept the bitterness from my tone. “I did.”
Aureus was only looking out for me. He wanted to talk about these things as little as I did, but he would not risk me coming with child. I wondered briefly what would happen to his plans of marrying me to Ruairc if I did. Knowing my brother, he would simply rush the wedding so Ruairc could believe the child was his. The thought of lying with my childhood friend made me cringe.
“Is there anything else you need from me?” I asked, changing the subject. “I want to go to the stables and groom Sorrel. Her coat is shedding.”
The shop door rattled, and Aureus and I both turned to it.
