I killed a tavern wench in cold blood.
That felt right, I thought, but I couldn’t hear my own thoughts over Hesper rifling about the room like an elephant.
“Why do you have to be so loud this early in the morning?” I asked, perching on my elbows to glower at her.
“I thought you liked the mornings,” Hesper tutted, wrapping a leather around her forearm.
“Idolike the mornings. But I don’t like your unnecessary racket,” I said haughtily, a shiver running through my body. I pulled my damp cloak around me, which only worsened the situation and my mood.
“Sounds like someone woke up on the wrong side of the ground.” She winked. So she was no longer mad at me, it seemed. I was sure a good night of rest had helped wash the anger away… too bad that only worked for one of us.
I scoffed and made my way onto my feet. Every part of my body ached, and it took me longer than usual to get into a standing position. “Do you know you snore?”
“Excuse me?” I asked.
“You snore. Loudly.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Uh,yes, you do. Have you ever been awake to see yourself sleep?” she asked incredulously. “And, by your own account, no one has ever slept over to hear the beast rage within you. They should count themselves lucky.”
I fumbled for words, trying to drum up an insult to hurl at her. But she’d caught me off guard. I thought I slept like a cozy carrot nestled into the earth, and now I was learning I… didn’t?
I crossed my arms in a huff and watched her clean up the rest of the room. At least she wasn’t fully naked this morning.Though, her tunic had come undone at the top, and the uppermost parts of her breasts peeked through when she bent low to rummage through her travel pack. A gentle pink painted her bronze cheeks.
“You look well rested, despite all my alleged snoring. Did Ez sneak in here in the middle of the night and see to your needs?” I tapped a finger on my arm.
“If she did, I wouldn’t tell you,” Hesper replied, finally tying the top of her tunic. She looked me up and down. “You look terrible.”
“Thank you,” I replied with a mocking, sweet voice. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
Well… Hesper had sworn to protect my life, which was arguably a very nice thing to say. But being a “brat” was a hard-won title. And I would make Hesper feel every bit of the title she’d given me for the rest of this damned quest.
“Eat up, princess.” She handed me a stale biscuit. No jam? I hated this day.
Warty and Edge rattled on our tavern-room window as I checked the seeds in my travel pack. Hesper slipped them both meal rations and instructed Edge to take Warty to “the edge of the wood” for the day, and that we’d meet them there that evening. I had no idea what any of that meant. I can’t believe Warty got to fly for his travel while I resigned myself to walking through the muck and mud.
We set out on the road before Wormwood stirred, the small village fading into nothing but a spec behind me. Moss would be waking up about now, the first morning rays accompanying Francis’s lute alarm. A familiar heart pain twanged through me, like a string pulled too tight and snapping. Thechasm where the magic once lived tried to react—wither something, kill a flower, the usual expressions of heartbreak. But nothing came of it.
Thank Goddess, I supposed.
Then, I doubled over, blinding pain slicing through my abdomen.
Hesper rushed to my side, checking me all over for wounds. But this wound could not be patched.
“What’s wrong? What’s happening?” she asked frantically.
“My cycle,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Oh, Clara.” She wiped strands of hair out of my face. “You have painful ones, then.”
“Yes.” I clenched my teeth, grasping onto her shoulder. It would pass soon enough, but another would be on in its wake. A full day of these on the road would be a nightmare. Usually, I was bedridden for a full two days, but I couldn’t manage that on the journey. I should have prepared better for this, but what does a girl do on an unexpected quest with cycles that can’t take a hiatus for a month?
Hesper left my side for a brief moment, rummaged through her pack, then returned with a small vial in her hand.
“Drink this,” she said softly. I did so without arguing. Immediately, the pain began to ebb.
“What was that?” I asked, managing to stand upright.
