He digs into his rucksack, retrieving two apples and feeding them to her. As she eats, he strokes the side of her head, and I swear I see his mouth twitch, like he wants to smile.
Wow. It’s nice to see he actually cares aboutsomething…whether he wants people to know it or not.
“We should name her.” I step closer, stroking her silky mane.
“I don’t name my horses.”
“Because what Big Hat said is true?”’
He frowns.“Who?”
“Big Hat. The one who sold you the horse. He said you don’t attach yourself to anything, which makes it abundantly clear to me that you have commitment issues.”
“Could be that, or maybe it’s because I know the horse might die during our journey and I’m sparing my feelings and hers.”
I gasp. “Wait. You have feelings?”
He sighs, not at all amused by my little joke.
“She won’t die.” I give my head a confident shake. “But if you won’t name her, I will.” I study her in the dark, her glossy black coat and the beautiful ivory mane and tail. Her mane has a shimmer to it.
“Pearl,” I say, finally. Her mane reminds me of the color of pearls.
Thane closes his eyes and rubs his forehead.
“Yeah. I’ll name her Pearl. To replace the one I lost.”
“Don’t get too attached,” he mutters, giving me his back. “You might lose this one, too.”
“Don’t listen to him, Pearl.” I run a palm along her jaw, and she chuffs like she, too, is annoyed with his remark. “He’s just a grumpy asshole.”
Thane finds a back door and kicks it open, disappearing inside again.
After giving Pearl two more love pats, I trail Thane as he sends up another orb of light to illuminate the interior of the building. The room is empty, minus a few broken chairs and random pieces of furniture spread throughout. Some objects are covered with dingy white cloths. The hearth is full of soot and ash, and cobwebs drape the walls. There’s also a mildew smell mixed with what is probably the scent of rodent pee.
Just lovely.
He rounds a corner and starts to climb the stairs. They creak under our weight, and I swear they’re about to splinter in half with how soggy the wood is. One look up reveals a massive hole in the ceiling. When we reach the third level, Thane pushes one of the doors open and gestures inside the empty room.
It isn’t any cleaner than downstairs, but at least there aren’t any cobwebs or disgusting smells assaulting my nostrils. A single window is built into the north wall. A hearth is on my right, and Thane stands in front of it, rubbing his right thumb across the pads of all his fingers to conjure a ball of fire in his palm. Bending down, he tosses the fire into the hearth, and the flames swell.
“You can stay in here,” he says, stepping out of the room.
“Oh. Where will you be?”
He points at the door next to mine.
“You swear you won’t leave?”
“Are you serious?”
I shrug because how in the shadows am I supposed to know if he’ll stay or leave? For all I know, he’s keeping me holed up in here so he can lessen my chances of survival and run off with the coins I paid him.
When I don’t budge, he releases a tired sigh. “You paid me for a service, and I’m seeing it through. Doesn’t matter what you think about me being—” He clamps his mouth shut.A shadow assassin, I’m sure he was going to say. “Doesn’t matter what you think about mylifestyle. I’m getting you to that temple, so just relax and get some rest. We’ll pick up first thing in the morning.”
“Okay.” That’s slightly reassuring.Slightly. I still don’t trust him. He starts to walk away, but I hold up a hand. “Actually—wait.”
He halts mid-step and turns to me.
