I try to answer him, but an enormous yawn comes out when I open my mouth.
“Agreed,”the prince says, then climbs beneath the quilts with me. He pulls me against him and closes his eyes. “And quit thinking so hard.”
“I’m too tired to think,” I mumble, holding the wrist with the bracelet against my chest and smiling despite myself. “Just need a little sleep before I start again.”
The next thing I know, the sun is shining through the window, and somebody is banging on the door to our room.
Toerr is human; to forgive is even more so.To forget is the province of the gods.
—Proverb attributed to Emperor Primus Altarran, first emperor of Altarra, inJourneys throughMyth in Altarra, Volume 2, by Nias Enaj, quoted by Captain Wynona Wavedancer inCaptainWynona Wavedancer and the Lost Island of Ell
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
“Go away,” Kaelen shouts.
We hear Chitai’s musical laugh, then she raps on the wooden door once more. “Time to get on the road, young … merchant. And if youhappento see Soli, please tell her the same.”
“She knows,” I groan, putting a hand over my eyes.
“I’m sure they all know. Does it bother you?” Kaelen rises on one elbow and looks down at me. “I’m sorry if—”
“No.No,” I say, even as Trick’s face flashes into my mind. I wonder if I’m telling the truth.Doesit bother me?
No, I realize. If this journey has proven anything so far, it’s that the threads of our lives can be cut short at any minute. I can’t be sorry I took this one night for myself. We could have died in the Barrows. Or in the attack at the palace.
I touch the locket, remembering the throne room where it all started.
“No,” I repeat with a smile that’s only a little forced. “It doesn’t bother me. But she’s right. We need to get going.”
We quickly dress before Kaelen opens the door to Chitai’s smiling face.
“It’s about time,” she says, folding her arms.
“We were busy,” Kaelen tells her, glancing back at me before giving her his most impassive expression.
“Wewere busy, too, but we’ve already been down for breakfast and are packed and ready to go,” she says, studying my face overKaelen’s shoulder.
The door across the hall opens. Elianna walks out and freezes, clearly unprepared to face us. Chitai grins at me and then turns, puts an arm around Elianna’s waist, and pulls her into the most passionate kiss I’ve ever seen in public.
Kaelen whistles. “I guess youwerebusy.”
“Let’s go,” Chitai says cheerfully, then turns and runs lightly down the stairs.
Elianna looks at me, and I look at her. Neither of us speaks until she breaks the awkward silence with a laugh. “What can I say? She’s persuasive.”
“And hot,” I say, grinning at her. “Really, really hot.”
“Soli, I’ll meet you outside after you get your things,” Kaelen says, shaking his head at the two of us. Then he grabs his bag and follows Chitai.
Elianna raises an eyebrow.
“Don’t say it,” I mutter, not in the mood to hear any warnings about how he’s not for me.
She shrugs. “I was just going to say it looks like he’s persuasive, too.”
I have to laugh. “And hot. Really, really hot.”
The silence between us is almost relaxed as we head down the stairs. I make a stop at my room to gather up my things. Before I leave the room, I rummage around in my pouch, decide to tempt fate, and twineJoyinto my hair.
