“We could do that,” he agreed, then switched to my language. “We use yours this day. How much more? I am want eating.”
Chuckling, I corrected him. “You want to eat. I do as well. We will finish quickly.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
HENRY
I couldn’t spend all day with Garrun. He worked at night and needed sleep. I went to my Erabi lessons with Alice, using what we’d learned to practice discussing trade and shopping in the market. It was a nice lesson, but when they switched to reading, I asked to return to my tent. I had no reason to be there for that.
Alice helped me to my feet, leading me out of the learning tent and pausing at the entrance. “Vaddarr? Would you mind taking Henry back to our tent? He wants to rest.”
“Of course,” Vaddarr agreed. He hadn’t been in the lesson with us, there was a different class for the barbarians not taught in the common tongue, but he must’ve been nearby. When Alice put my hand on Vaddarr’s arm, I made a face, murmuring a quiet apology in his language when he led me away.
“Sorry. You not busy?”
“No,” he told me, and I could hear the gentleness in his voice that Alice had told me about. He seemed almost shy. “You did not wish to stay?”
Shaking my head, I stumbled over a divot in the sand, grasping Vaddarr’s arm a little tighter to keep myself upright. Thankfully, he didn’t comment on it, slowing his steps even more to get me where I needed to go. “They practice reading. I not read.”
“Ah. I understand. Neither can I.”
Surprised, I turned to face him. “Really?”
He hummed, guiding me gently to the left as the sound of footsteps passed by. “I tried. Lessons are taught in common tongue, and the Northern Clan’s scribe created words for our language, too. But I get them mixed up often. It was too frustrating.”
Nodding slowly, I pursed my lips in consideration. “You ask Alice to teach you? She teacher in our home.” I switched to the common tongue, unsure how to finish the thought in his language. “She’s patient, and I’m sure she’d be happy to help.”
The sound he made was curious, like the idea intrigued him, and I was going to push the idea a little more when I heard someone shout. A very familiar someone.
“Garrun?”
I stumbled forward automatically to go searching for him, but Vaddarr stopped me, putting his hand on top of mine.
“He is not hurt,” he told me, his voice solemn. “He has nightmares. They wake him often. You should not go near him. It is not safe.”
My brows furrowed. It didn’t seem right to leave Garrun to suffer through a nightmare alone, but what was I supposed to do? I wasn’t a healer. The only thing I could do was–
“Can you take me to my tent? I want to get my violin.”
There was hope in Vaddarr’s tone when he asked, “You mean to help him?”
“If I can,” I agreed. I’d been told several times now that my music soothed Garrun. He napped whenever we sat together inthe forest. If playing my music helped him escape the nightmare and rest, I would play until my fingers bled.
Vaddarr didn’t think it was safe to bring me to Garrun’s tent. Instead, he set me up nearby, next to a fire where Garrun had brought me before when he’d spent half the time translating for me to ensure I felt included. I hoped I could bring him the same comfort he so often brought me. I could still hear him grunting and growling, like he was fighting something in his sleep. I didn’t want him to suffer.
Instead of letting my emotions guide my music, when I rested the bow against the strings, I decided to play the first song my mother ever taught me. It was soothing to me as a kid, the notes calmer and sweet. Like a lullaby. It took work to focus on the notes and not listen for Garrun, but eventually, his noises stopped, and I concentrated on what I was doing. No one bothered me or made any move to stop me. I wasn’t sure if that was because Vaddarr shared what I was doing or if they could tell on their own, but I heard people moving around me, the area I was in wasn’t isolated like our spot in the forest. If I was disturbing anyone, no one said anything.
I stopped playing when someone brought me some water. There wasn’t much shade where I was sitting, and I was getting overheated, but I wasn’t going to complain if it meant Garrun got rest. I was going to play again when Garrun spoke, his voice gruff like he’d just woken up.
“You are hot.”
Turning to look at him, I shrugged. “You needed sleep.”
He was quiet for a long moment. When I heard his footsteps approach in the sand, I looked in what I hoped was his direction, but with him being so quiet, it was hard to tell.
Large gentle hands took mine, and my heart stuttered when he pressed them against his face, leaning into my palms. Giving me permission to see him, to feel the furrow of his brow and seefor myself the way his lips pressed together tightly, like he was fighting his emotions. His breath brushed warmth against my hands as he said, “Thank you, erska. It helped.”
Falling into old habits, I spoke in the common tongue. “I can play more, if you’re still tired,” I offered, running my fingers lightly through his beard just to feel the texture. I liked it. It tickled.
